The Hobbit is a tale of high adventure, undertaken by a company of dwarves in search of dragon-guarded gold. A reluctant partner in this perilous quest is Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving unambitious hobbit, who surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and skill as a burglar. Encounters with trolls, goblins, dwarves, elves, and giant spiders, conversations with the dragon, Smaug, and a rather unwilling presence at the Battle of Five Armies are just some of the adventures that befall Bilbo. Bilbo Baggins has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals of children’s fiction. Written by Professor Tolkien for his children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when published.
Log it
Sign in to log this.
Character
Classical in form, resolved, effortless and earnest.
- classical in formformally daring
- resolvedopen-ended
- effortlessdemanding
- earnestironic
- intimateepic
Who loves it, who doesn't
14 profiled raters. Loved most by The Empaths; disliked most by The Provocateurs.
Where do you stand?
Answer first; then see how everyone, and your circle, split.
“Is this J.R.R. Tolkien's best work?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
“Is the first half stronger than the second?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
“Is The Hobbit a masterpiece, not merely a very good book?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
Ask the title
A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
Reviews
- cartographer_cyThe Cartographer★★★★★
A children's book with a map at the front, which is all a children's book needs. Read it aloud.
About the book
- Author
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- First published
- January 1938
- Pages
- 310
- Publisher
- Ballantine, 1973, HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Jeunesse
- Editions
- 481
- Language
- German, bul, heb, ang
- ISBN
- 9780563528807
Where to read
Libraries first: a card gets you most books for nothing. Each opens that service’s page for this title.
On Open Library, 837 have read it and 3,927 want to.
“In een hol onder de grond woonde een hobbit.”
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was a major scholar of the English language, specialising in Old and Middle English. Twice Professor of Anglo-Saxon (Old English) at the University of Oxford, he also wrote a number of stories, including most famously The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), which are set in a pre-historic era in an invented version of the world which he called by the Middle English name of Middle-earth. This was peopled by Men (and women), Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, Orcs (or Goblins) and of course Hobbits. He has regularly been condemned by the Eng. Lit. establishment, with honourable exceptions, but loved by literally millions of readers worldwide. In the
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
Circe 201853% alikeBoth classical in form, earnest.
Project Hail Mary 202146% alikeBoth classical in form, resolved, earnest; this one is more contemporary.
The Hunger Games 200838% alikeBoth classical in form; this one is more contemporary.
The Left Hand of Darkness 196937% alikeBoth earnest; this one is more open-ended.
Dune 196534% alikeBoth classical in form, earnest; this one is more open-ended.
Pachinko 201733% alikeBoth classical in form, earnest; this one is more open-ended.
Dungeon Crawler Carl 202025% alikeClose across the board; this one is more contemporary.
The Secret History 199222% alikeClose across the board; this one is more intimate.
The Sea Beast 202280% alikeFilm · Both classical in form, resolved, effortless.
The Wizard of Oz 193979% alikeFilm · Both classical in form, earnest, effortless.
