tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post4478127503496653890..comments2023-09-29T05:32:04.308-07:00Comments on StrangePegs: The Hobbit: A Review (Part 1)Andrew Leonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-66033532482150536802013-12-29T14:53:26.846-08:002013-12-29T14:53:26.846-08:00Trisha: Most of the books I've had that I had ...Trisha: Most of the books I've had that I had a specific attachment to the actual, physical book have had to go away because they fell apart. You can only tape them back together so many times.<br /><br />Lisa: Yea!<br />As long as you're not talking about the movie.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-62495996094848712792013-12-29T07:53:09.453-08:002013-12-29T07:53:09.453-08:00Confirmed Hobbit fan :-) Confirmed Hobbit fan :-) Lisa Southardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09711376747848601409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-42211843091462375792013-12-28T21:11:18.572-08:002013-12-28T21:11:18.572-08:00I read the Hobbit first as a kid, and loved it. I&...I read the Hobbit first as a kid, and loved it. I've re-read it since, as an adult, and loved it then too. I think one of the major reasons I'm so tied to this book is that I love my specific copy of it - an old, floppy paperback that was a hand-me-down from a cousin he accidentally left behind in a hand-me-down school desk I was bequeathed. ;)Trishahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16927558937796802496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-80381929772246959522013-12-28T12:05:56.494-08:002013-12-28T12:05:56.494-08:00TAS: Yeah, that's a great scene and one that y...TAS: Yeah, that's a great scene and one that you would mostly not see in current books. Death of characters, especially important characters, is so uncommon.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-48801815067299137922013-12-27T06:39:12.268-08:002013-12-27T06:39:12.268-08:00Without a doubt, one of the most important books i...Without a doubt, one of the most important books in my life. It changed the way I read for all of the reasons you mentioned. Thorin's final words to Bilbo is one of my favorite passages in all of literature, containing a fair summation of my own world outlook.The Armchair Squidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10739833215220853127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-89355384457203208142013-12-07T16:55:24.367-08:002013-12-07T16:55:24.367-08:00RG: Well, Tolkien also hated allegory, so everythi...RG: Well, Tolkien also hated allegory, so everything about Narnia bothered him. But Lewis took all in stride and didn't let it come between them. It took a woman to do that. heh<br /><br />Jo: Good! It's worth a re-read!Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-78050008669218399152013-12-07T11:52:38.210-08:002013-12-07T11:52:38.210-08:00I read it as an adult and in fact, don't reall...I read it as an adult and in fact, don't really remember it. other than enjoying it, that is. You have now inspired me to go back and read it again.Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14087140585742801854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-50998006699343893982013-12-07T00:07:46.146-08:002013-12-07T00:07:46.146-08:00You're actually convincing me to go back and r...You're actually convincing me to go back and read The Hobbit again. I didn't read it as a child...I picked it up as a summer beach read one year, as a precursor to reading the LOTR trilogy, so I could get them all covered before the movies came out.<br /><br />So now I've read and reread the LOTR books, but The Hobbit I just cannot get into. Once was enough. Maybe I just need to stop looking for stuff that isn't there. I can't expect it to be like LOTR when it isn't.<br /><br />The Narnia books I did read as a child and still do read today. You're right, Lewis and Tokien were the best of friends, and Tolkien absolutely hated Narnia. He was so irritated that Tolkien incorporated already known myths into the story, like Santa Claus, instead of creating an all-original world.Remembering Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14760441035721518260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-88017512566180070902013-12-06T22:52:41.707-08:002013-12-06T22:52:41.707-08:00Jeanne: Virtually no female characters? Wait, are ...Jeanne: Virtually no female characters? Wait, are you saying there's a female character in there that I missed?<br />One the one hand, I can get that. However... However, I have no way of responding to that in a concise manner.<br /><br />Pk: Yeah, most of the time, it's pretty great. Then there are those other times...<br /><br />Shannon: I have never been a huge fan of "I, Robot." I love the robot novels and the Foundation stuff, but I could never get into the short stories.<br /><br />Crystal: Yeah, it makes me wonder why so many stories where the character(s) doesn't change do so well. Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-67426582289021042462013-12-06T19:47:19.439-08:002013-12-06T19:47:19.439-08:00Definitely a classic--and I completely agree with ...Definitely a classic--and I completely agree with you about the character arc thing. If the characters don't learn and grow, you've got a stagnant story. Period. Crystal Collierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03912469552483168148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-25757499879212789202013-12-06T19:04:19.796-08:002013-12-06T19:04:19.796-08:00I discovered The Hobbit and I, Robot in elementary...I discovered The Hobbit and I, Robot in elementary school, and I was off! They created my love of reading. I haven't read I, Robot since then, yet it still sticks with me. I've read The Hobbit a couple times and intend to start reading it with my son when we finish the Harry Potter series.Shannon Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934641808195675935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-850956664119077342013-12-06T18:20:18.941-08:002013-12-06T18:20:18.941-08:00Agreed! It was my fave book as a kid, and still is...Agreed! It was my fave book as a kid, and still is. It's just as you say, git everything a good story needs. <br />Cool you're teaching at your kids school. I love doing those creative sessions. I need to do more!PK HREZOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11650153097981426833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-23377049462130956222013-12-06T16:26:06.882-08:002013-12-06T16:26:06.882-08:00The Hobbit is one of those books that I didn't...The Hobbit is one of those books that I didn't love or hate. It was well-written and I can see why people love it, but it never sparked anything in me. I guess sometimes it's hard for me to get into a book with virtually no female characters.J E Oneilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09780097298061829471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-17615460265867627742013-12-06T16:01:35.626-08:002013-12-06T16:01:35.626-08:00G_G: Well, Lewis and Tolkien were best buds, so I ...G_G: Well, Lewis and Tolkien were best buds, so I can understand where the confusion would come in.<br /><br />L.G.: LotR is a much deeper and I love it, too, but for different reasons.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-67053568078564175502013-12-06T13:55:42.745-08:002013-12-06T13:55:42.745-08:00Haven't read it in a loooooong time. I actuall...Haven't read it in a loooooong time. I actually prefer LOTR, but you make a great case for using it as a teaching tool for showing story arc. Classic hero's journey, and with unique, imaginative characters that none of us had ever seen before. Deserves all the praise it gets. Luanne G. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15762881276976395955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-14245448085550887932013-12-06T10:56:22.139-08:002013-12-06T10:56:22.139-08:00Many years ago my kids played the Carmen San Diego...Many years ago my kids played the Carmen San Diego games and you had to answer riddles to move on in the game. One of the games in that series had riddles with answers based on The Hobbit which is how I got my kids interested in reading The Hobbit, but there were also riddles in the same game with answers from the Narnia series which may have had me thinking the two were connected. I guess I should have looked it up. Thanks though for the clarification of the two. Gossip_Grlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06603645371306284338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-67386906224015295672013-12-06T10:20:09.601-08:002013-12-06T10:20:09.601-08:00JeffO: The Hobbit was written as a bedtime story; ...JeffO: The Hobbit was written as a bedtime story; The Lord of the Rings was written as a mythology. The amazing thing is that the same person wrote both things.<br /><br />G_G: No, Lewis wrote Narnia. Tolkien hated them.<br /><br />Rusty: You're not atypical in your interest in fact-based books as a kid. That is the normal route for boys. <br />And you may surprise yourself with The Hobbit. I wouldn't have read as many times as I have just for the sake of nostalgia. I mean, I don't re-read Anthony.<br /><br />Elsie: You should!<br /><br />David: The Hobbit is certainly more accessible to the average reader than LotR. I'm not sure I could call one of them a favorite over the other. It's like apples and oranges. Even if you like apples better and eat them more often, an apple won't do if you want an orange.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-27682900042321295902013-12-06T09:52:12.428-08:002013-12-06T09:52:12.428-08:00The Hobbit is one of my favorite books. Depending ...The Hobbit is one of my favorite books. Depending on the day, I actually prefer it over the entire LotR trilogy. It's just like you said, simple and effective. Bilbo is the ultimate reluctant hero turned bad ass. <br />I laughed when you mentioned the ultra-cliched training montage that sums up modern characters' growth in the space of a single paragraph or chapter. My story (the one I won't shut up about) has a brief training montage... But in my defense, it does the hero absolutely no good! [late spoiler alert]David T Listhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01926089396786215115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-42181714707367699762013-12-06T07:35:47.001-08:002013-12-06T07:35:47.001-08:00It has been a long while since I read the book. Y...It has been a long while since I read the book. You make me want to read it again. Only, this time as a writer rather than for pure literary enjoyment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-64036217769734317072013-12-06T05:52:22.018-08:002013-12-06T05:52:22.018-08:00I don't remember it, reading was never encoura...I don't remember it, reading was never encouraged when I was growing up... wait, that isn't entirely true, I suppose it was, but something like the Hobbit was never, ever, presented to me in any way I can imagine. <br /><br />By the time I was capable of making my own decisions I was getting choose those Ripley's Believe it Or Not Books, or Guinness Book of World Records, or... no joke... the World Almanac. <br /><br />Yes, I could tell you the population of the 20 largest U.S. Cities, the largest natural disasters in world history (complete with death counts), the batting average of the league leaders in baseball for the previous century. <br /><br />It really was a marvelous book. I read it daily, and eagerly awaited each years new installment, which didn't change much year over year, but I realized that as you move towards the center of the book, starting in any direction, those tidbits of info didn't change as much. So I eventually adopted getting one every few years instead. <br /><br />Anyway, I would spend whole afternoons with my nose in that thing, as well as the other books I mentioned. I'm not really sure why, except that knowing 'stuff' was important to me. <br /><br />When the internet came around, I was ruined for about a decade. Yeah, I'd say from 1994 or so until about 2004ish, I did my best to learn everything the internet could teach me. Eventually though, I realized my brain couldn't hold all that stuff and I finally just gave up. Seriously, I can go on a research binge on occasion now, but it isn't the same. <br /><br />Wow. I didn't realize how that might be weird until I just typed that out, just now. That just sounds odd to me. That I was that way as a kid. <br /><br />Anyway, what I didn't have, was any knowledge of The Hobbit until I was an adult. I think I may have seen the cartoon when I was a kid, but didn't realize it was based on the book. So, when I did know about it, I never wanted to read it, because it was a children's story written 60 years prior. So I missed that boat.<br /><br />I do intend on reading it now, but I don't expect to enjoy it very much. I don't have those childhood memories that I think might be necessary for it to really be special.Rusty Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09887821877521181811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-56975080221008973862013-12-06T04:04:20.177-08:002013-12-06T04:04:20.177-08:00I agree it is definitely a great story. I read it ...I agree it is definitely a great story. I read it in 6 or 7th grade. Wasn't the Witch, The Lion and The Wardrobe like a sequel to The Hobbit also? Gossip_Grlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06603645371306284338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-15614908132403865952013-12-06T03:38:23.498-08:002013-12-06T03:38:23.498-08:00It's a good story, well told, and one that I g...It's a good story, well told, and one that I go back to sample every few years.<br /><br />What's always amazing to me is how incredibly different--in complexity, depth, and <i>tone</i>--it is from <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>. They are very different books.JeffOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07947660745120963286noreply@blogger.com