Ooooohh I'll start the discussion!! So. I have read the Hobbit one time before this. It bored me to death the first time, and I barely made it through. Tolkien's style was very... Long. Not necessarily wordy, just long. That being said, this second round is going so much nicer. I'm actually enjoying this time! The first time i kinda skipped most of the poetry. What did it have to do with the story anyway? But this time I'm reading it and finding that I'm learning about the characters through their songs. They sing about their passions, and their sorrows, and it's so very POETIC! I'm enjoying it so much more than I thought i ever could.

As far as age range goes,I personally feel you have to get closer to your later teens before you can fully appreciate it. There's so much WRITING to absorb with The Hobbit and i feel like a lot of younger readers might not have the focus to get through it. Obviously that varies per reader 🙂

Such is my experience with the book.

1. I have read The Hobbit once before. I've also read Lord of the Rings.

2. Well, he's certainly more...professor-ish than Lewis...?

3. I tend to think, at least at the moment, that it's more for adults and teenagers, if only because his style is, as Tenny put it, long.

4. Ehh...last time I kinda skimmed them. Didn't skip them, but I didn't exactly read them either.

5. Lemme think about that one.

I've read The Hobbit before, probably around 5-6 times - this was after I watched the LotR films and needed to get my hands on the material Middle-earth was based on. I did have an encounter with the book when I was in 4th grade: I pulled it from the shelf because the binding looked interesting, but the title put me off. Who wants to read about a Habit that is spelled wrong? 🙄 I've read aloud two times, which is a different experience since one has to become much more involved, changing voices and well, acting, I suppose. I've also read LotR, some Silm (really should try going through this one again), The Book Lost Tales, and his translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Tolkien's style, in The Hobbit, feels different from LotR as it is geared toward a younger audience: he breaks the fourth wall many times, especially at the beginning when he introduces hobbits and the characters of Bilbo and Gandalf and I associate that literary technique with books for children than with adult books. Still, it can be enjoyed by young children, adolescents, and adults alike because he makes it engaging and a bit mysterious; Bilbo Baggins is also an "everyman" character that people will be able to connect with - who has ever had a wizard knock on his door and whisk him off on an adventure? Not many, and I think that's what really makes it a story a person of any age can read. We all want to go on an adventure and do heroic things, but we would likely act like a hobbit if we were taken from our comfort and thrown to dragons, but Tolkien allows us to see that even the most comfort-loving creatures have the potential to do great things and we want to read about characters like that because they are us.

When I first read through, I'd go over the poems/songs like I would the other material but since I've seen the films, I put the film's music to them.

Anyone else like how Tolkien wants to make this new world feel real, make it feel like it was once our world by giving us the intro?

I've read The Hobbit either once or twice before. Each time I read one of the books from LotR, I understand and enjoy it more than before. I checked out The Simarillion from the library, but I haven't started reading it yet.

I like Tolkien's writing style in general, though it's erm, long, like Tenny said. I like the writing style in TH better because I think it's geared to slightly happier and lighter tones than LotR, and not as much darkness and war and death and stuff.

Ditto Tenny again. I was a few years younger the last time I read it so it seemed long and boring and just plain weird. 😆 New things will probably jump out the next time I read it.

This time through I've been reading them, some trying to sing them in my head, though no specific tunes decided to pop into my head.

"I brought him, and I don't bring things that are of no use." is one thing Gandalf said, that I thought was applicable to the question. Around the beginning of the book, he said it was because there were 13 dwarves "and you can just go with the thirteen of you and have all the bad luck you want!" or something like that. 😆 And ya know, trying to get Bilbo out of his house and and make friends and be more sure of himself. How awesome is it to say that you beat a dragon?

1. Have you read The Hobbit before? If so how many times have you read it? Have you read Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion?
I don't know how many times I've read "The Hobbit". I've read LOTR two and a half times and am partway through my first read-through of the Silmarillion.

2. Do you like Tolkien's writing style?
Oh, my, yes!!

3.Tolkien intended The Hobbit to be read by both children and adults. Do you think that it's suited for one age group more than another? What do you think appeals to each group?
I think it's equally suited for both groups. It has the ease of reading for the younger audience and the hidden bits of humour for the older readers. And ifsomeone read it as a kid, I don't think they could ever truly grow out of it.

4. There are lots of songs in the book. Do you skip over them, just read them, or try to sing them in your head?
I sing the Misty Mountain song, but the others I just read. I'm not a huge fan of the Peter Jackson version of the What-Bilbo-Baggins-Hates song. Sorry. 😕

5. Why do you think that Gandalf picked Bilbo to go on the quest with the dwarves? He lies and tells them that Bilbo is a burglar, but adds that hobbits can often go unnoticed. Why include a hobbit at all since they hate adventure?
I think he might have been missing the fun of sending hobbits on adventures (the book quite clearly states that he used to, and implies that he hadn't done so in a while) and, since he had known some of Bilbo's family, figured that Bilbo was as good a choice as any. He might have wanted to stir up the Shire a little, too; it seems like the sort of thing he'd do just for the fun of it. And there probably was a bit of the logical hobbits-are-quiet-and-small-and-Smaug-isn't-familar-with-their-scent in Gandalf's mind too, but I somewhat doubt that it was the main reason.

Happy Week 2 everyone! I have honestly not worked on my reread of the Hobbit as I'm starting a class that requires me to do a bunch of other reading (Ironically Fellowship is on my list).

Questions for this week-

1. Do you see Gollum as a sympathetic villain, a victim of robbery or some other kind of combination? Does knowing his part in Lord of the Rings shape your understanding of Gollum as a character while reading the Hobbie?

2. Anyone got any good riddles? Did you guess the answers to the riddles before Bilbo?

3. Shapeshifters aren't really mentioned much in Middle Earth lore with the exception of The Hobbit. Thoughts on how this fits in with the rest of the narrative of Middle Earth. Does ME seem more fantastic to you in Hobbit than in LOTR?

Week two is the hardest of EVERYTHING, guys. It's the hardest of school, the hardest of NaNoWriMo, and the hardest of Book Club. Get it read! I believe in you!

To begin with, I... don't know anything about Lord of the Rings. I've long struggled with it, deciding if it's really something I'm okay with reading or not, and so what I did read and see years ago I barely remember 😛

I've never really settled on how I feel about Gollum. In some ways, I feel like he's just a character that's full-out evil. He doesn't want to be that way, but he's chosen it for himself and has been choosing it so long he's just kinda stuck there. Mostly though, I just feel like he's seriously bipolar, could use counseling, and is pitiful 😛

I'm really bad at riddles. But here's one that Kristi told me once: How is a raven similar to a writing desk?

I'm behind on the readings, but now I'm not going to be busy all day every day I should be able to catch up pretty quickly.

1. Do you see Gollum as a sympathetic villain, a victim of robbery or some other kind of combination? Does knowing his part in Lord of the Rings shape your understanding of Gollum as a character while reading the Hobbie?
The "The Hobbit" Gollum is quite different from the LOTR Gollum. The "The Hobbit" Sméagol is quite different from the LOTR Sméagol. In "The Hobbit" I feel mildly sorry for Sméagol because he lost his precious but (I'm sorry Nia) I almost have this feeling of "well, it serves him right for wanting to eat Bilbo!" whereas in LOTR I feel all this sympathy for Sméagol because his life has been seriously rough.

2. Anyone got any good riddles? Did you guess the answers to the riddles before Bilbo?
No riddles I can think of at the moment, though I still have one in the Who Am I? game thread. And I guessed about half of the riddles before Bilbo the first time I read the book.

3. Shapeshifters aren't really mentioned much in Middle Earth lore with the exception of The Hobbit. Thoughts on how this fits in with the rest of the narrative of Middle Earth. Does ME seem more fantastic to you in Hobbit than in LOTR?
Beorn was pretty cool, but he reminds me in a strange way of Tom Bombadil. The LOTR Middle Earth is much more intense than the "The Hobbit" Middle Earth, but I'm wondering if most (if not all) of that was intentional on Tolkien's part. Because at the end of "The Hobbit" it has more of the LOTR voice, and that was the part that Frodo and Sam wrote, and they saw a darker side of Middle Earth than Bilbo ever did.

1. Do you see Gollum as a sympathetic villain, a victim of robbery or some other kind of combination? Does knowing his part in Lord of the Rings shape your understanding of Gollum as a character while reading the Hobbit?
I see Gollum as this creepy thing who murdered his cousin, wanted to eat Bilbo, and tried to kill Frodo and Sam. So, yes, his part in LotR shapes my understanding of him.

2. Anyone got any good riddles? Did you guess the answers to the riddles before Bilbo?
Nope and nope.

3. Shapeshifters aren't really mentioned much in Middle Earth lore with the exception of The Hobbit. Thoughts on how this fits in with the rest of the narrative of Middle Earth. Does ME seem more fantastic to you in Hobbit than in LOTR?
Doesn't Beorn say in the movie that he was the last of his kind? That might be why they're only here.

How is a raven similar to a writing desk?
I don't know, Tenny. How?

Sorry so late on this week. I wasn't able to come up with good questions so I just have one....

What did you think of all of the stuff that the movie inserted in the middle of these chapters here?

*Finishes the chapters and posts a few questions of her own* aaand i hope I haven't read too far ahead and cobfused what chapters these questions are from.

1. Bilbo is described as the true leader of the group. What are some good character traits of a leader and which of the ones that you thought of does Bilbo have?

2. Do you think burglar is an accurate word for Bilbo or not? Why or why not? And if not, what word would you use to describe Bilbo's roles in the group?

As for Tooky's question... I haven't seen the movie so i don't have anything to say 😛

Tooky's question: I saw the movies before reading the book and therefore have no opinion.

Tenny's question 1: Well, being smart is certainly one Bilbo seems to have, and levelheaded, and not greedy (less than the dwarves, anyway).

Tenny's question 2: Hmm... I think not. He wasn't stealing anything (from Smaug, anyway) that didn't rightfully belong to the dwarves. I'd say he's, like, the only one with common sense?

I haven't seen the movies either. 😛

1. Bilbo is described as the true leader of the group. What are some good character traits of a leader and which of the ones that you thought of does Bilbo have?
I think that it's good for a leader to be sympathetic and knowledgeable and is willing to admit their mistakes and take suggestions. Bilbo is obviously willing to take suggestions, admits his mistakes a couple times, is rather sympathetic, and suggests things that seemingly don't occur to the dwarves, so in part he has all of these traits.

2. Do you think burglar is an accurate word for Bilbo or not? Why or why not? And if not, what word would you use to describe Bilbo's roles in the group?
"You can say Expert Treasure-hunter instead of Burglar if you like. Some of them do."
I don't think that "burglar" is any more applicable to Bilbo than it would be to a bounty-hunter. Taking treasure from Smaug wasn't stealing; it was regaining. Trying to take the troll's purse might have been counted as stealing, but Bilbo wasn't successful anyway.
Personally I prefer burrahobbit. 😉

@Hobbit: In what ways do you think the end of TH echoes the voice of LotR in terms of style?

I am waaaaay behind. Ah, well. I'll answer a few and give some questions of my own.

Riddles? Nope, none here. I first read the book too many years ago to remember if I guessed them or not, but I have a feeling I wasn't able to, or guessed only a few. I remember reading the riddles out loud during a car trip and having my family guess them, which was fun. Anyone play that online movie tie-in game based on the "riddles in the dark" scene? It had a collection of user-submitted riddles to be guessed by the players, but I don't think it's up anymore.

The Hobbit takes place up in the north while LotR takes place in the south, and since Beorn lived further up north where his kin would eventually reside, I think it's fair to assume that we do not hear about shapeshifters because the Fellowship does not pass through that territory. I think a greater unexplained difference would be the lack of talking trolls within the narrative of LotR; I can see why they were not touched upon as they fit more to the fairy-tale feeling of TH than the seriousness of LotR, but it is one of those things that makes the two works vastly different. I'd also add in the the anachronistic line Gandalf utters about "pop-guns" into the mix of differences. Who in ME would know what that is? Anyone else have other anachronisms from TH to add?

I get adapting material, I really do. And I appreciate when changes are made to reinforce a theme or to straighten out details that the general audience may not wholly understand if the writer/director decided to go word-for-word with the source material. However, I did find many of the added scenes gratuitous.