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Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug’s left eye. He was only pretending to be asleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance…
Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole in Bag End by Gandalf the wizard and a company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon…

This is a book I couldn’t help but adore. My boyfriend has been slowly introducing me to the world of Middle Earth, and when I saw a boxed set of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings for just £5, I couldn’t resist but pick them up. It’s taken me wayyy too long to get round to this famous adventure, but I’m so glad I got there in the end.

The best way to describe this story is an absolute adventure. It is the best love letter to fantasy. It is incredible. It is timeless.

I didn’t honestly know when this book was published, and to find out it’s published so many years ago blew me away. How can a book be so important, so consuming and still be amazing so many years on? What Tolkien has achieved has impressed me so much. It is the perfect example of something that can be enjoyed by all ages.

“”Go back?” he thought. “No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!””

It’s strange to think this was a children’s book, actually. This book reads, more than anything, like a fable. And once I realised that, I knew I would fall in love with it. I fell in love with the world, more than anything. It is something so well built and described, I felt like I was inside it.

I adored Bilbo. His story is so extraordinary and unique, as he actually changes with his surroundings. He adapts, he matures, and we follow him. We join him in this journey of true self-discovery and learning, and it stands out more in The Hobbit than in any other book I’ve ever read.

“So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.””

I can’t find the words to describe this story. It is something I will probably hold in my heart for a long time. It is a true example of an amazing novel, and it is something every author should aspire to.

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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