The Hobbit

Hello All,

Let me first begin by apologizing for the serious delay in activity. I have some ideas to maybe enliven things a bit, but renovations are slow.

Now, in lieu of the fact that The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is being made in to a movie, supposedly coming out in 2012, I think it is probably a very good thing for everyone to read and re-read this tale, just in case the movie is nothing like the book. It will be such a shame if people think that the movie is the same as the book if it really isn't. Perhaps the movie will be exactly like the book, and all will be well. :) Who knows what will happen, but regardless, it is a good book to read, especially if you have read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and have always wanted to read "that first one that has something to do with the Lord of the Rings!"

If you have read (or seen- I highly recommend read) The Lord of the Rings, then you know how the story ends. The Hobbit follows the beginning of the tale, when Bilbo Baggins first comes in to possession of the ring. This book really is more of an adventure story than the Trilogy because it follows Bilbo as he travels through unknown lands with a band of dwarves, battles with a dragon, finds hidden treasure and becomes a legend in his own time.

If you have read The Lord of the Rings, then you are probably thinking, "Gosh, I don't have enough time to read The Hobbit- the Lord of the Rings took me three months!!" Don't be dismayed. The Hobbit is actually written in a much easier style than the Lord of the Rings, and the plot line is miraculously more simple. I read somewhere that Tolkien had actually written the Hobbit with the intention of children in mind, so, hopefully this book won't take you a few months to down. :D

I highly recommend reading this book because it is fun to know "the beginning" of the Lord of the Rings saga. It is totally not necessary to read it before the Trilogy, but is absolutely worth reading at some point in time. I don't like this book as much as the Trilogy, but it is still very well written and a good adventure story for a rainy day.

I also highly recommend the Lord of the Rings movies, which follow the books pretty well, surprisingly. (I have high hopes for the Hobbit too.) Don't get super super critical though because there are a few things that are wrong. I admit that I like them anyway. Some book lover I am. :)

Thanks for reading! And pass us on.... it feels like DC is dying.

~Tony

Recommended 4/5

Troll Sat Alone on His Seat of Stone

Good morning everyone!! Here is a hilarious poem by J.R.R. Tolkien. This time I decided to post in directly on the site, rather than connect a link to it. What does everyone like better?
~Tony D

Troll Sat Alone on His Seat of Stone

Troll sat alone on his seat of stone,
And munched and mumbled a bare old bone;
For many a year he had gnawed it near,
For meat was hard to come by.
Done by! Gum by!
In a cave in the hills he dwelt alone,
And meat was hard to come by.

Up came Tom with his big boots on.
Said he to Troll: 'Pray, what is yon?
For it looks like the shin o' my nuncle Tim.
As should be a-lyin' in the graveyard.
Caveyard! Paveyard!
This many a year has Tim been gone,
And I thought he were lyin' in the graveyard.

''My lad,' said Troll, 'this bone I stole.
But what be bones that lie in a hole?
Thy nuncle was dead as a lump o' lead,
Afore I found his shinbone.
Tinbone! Skinbone!
He can spare a share for a poor old troll,
For he don't need his shinbone.

'Said Tom: 'I don't see why the likes o' thee
Without axin' leave should go makin' free
With the shank or the shin o' my father's kin;
So hand the old bone over!
Rover! Trover!
Though dead he be, it belongs to he;
So hand the old bone over!'

'For a couple o' pins,' says Troll, and grins,
'I'll eat thee too, and gnaw thy shins.
A bit o' fresh meat will go down sweet!
I'll try my teeth on thee now.
Hee now! See now!
I'm tired o' gnawing old bones and skins;
I've a mind to dine on thee now.

'But just as he thought his dinner was caught,
He found his hands had hold of naught.
Before he could mind, Tom slipped behind
And gave him the boot to larn him.
Warn him! Darn him!
A bump o' the boot on the seat, Tom thought,
Would be the way to larn him.

But harder than stone is the flesh and bone
Of a troll that sits in the hills alone.
As well set your boot to the mountain's root,
For the seat of a troll don't feel it.
Peel it! Heal it!
Old Troll laughed, when he heard Tom groan,
And he knew his toes could feel it.

Tom's leg is game, since home he came,
And his bootless foot is lasting lame;
But Troll don't care, and he's still there
With the bone he boned from its owner.
Doner! Boner!
Troll's old seat is still the same,
And the bone he boned from its owner!
~ JRR Tolkien