In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit...

Hello readers!

I know it's been a little while since I last posted. This past month has been hectic, between Midterms and Halloween and work. I'm ready to get back in the groove.

So, in case you haven't already figured it out, I love reading fantasy. It's my favorite genre to read. So it should come as no surprise when I tell you that, in honor of the new movie coming out in December, I'm going to talk about one of the best classic fantasy novels, the Hobbit. I will give a warning to those who have not read this book: this post may contain spoilers, so if you want to read it first, go read the book (it'll only take a couple of hours) and then come back. :-)

In a previous post, I talked about why I choose fantasy as my favorite genre, and why others choose it. One of the books I mentioned was the Hobbit. It is, in my opinion, the book that any fantasy reader should learn to read fantasy with, and the one fantasy adventure they should have on their bookshelf, no matter what.

So what is the Hobbit? Well, it is the story that kicks off J. R. R. Tolkien's most famous work, the Lord of the Rings. With fantastic (no pun intended) prose and magnificent imagery, we are introduced to the One Ring and how it came to be in Bilbo Baggins' possession.

It begins with the classic "In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit...", hence the name of this post. It is, perhaps, one of the most oft quoted lines by fantasy fans. Not too many pages past this line the reader is audience to an amusing exchange between Bilbo and Gandalf the Grey, discussing the logic behind wishing someone a good morning. For me, personally, it just introduces the reader to the sassiness that makes up part of Gandalf's personality.

In a sense, this story can be taken as a fable, or a story which contains a moral lesson. In fact, if you look at it with that view, there is more than one lesson to be learned from this adventure. The first lesson, and perhaps the main lesson to be taken away, is to be willing to step out of your comfort zone. The Hobbits of the Shire were a peaceful, nonadventerous people, and Bilbo was one of the most respectable Hobbits. So you can imagine that when he decided to go adventuring across Middle Earth, the rest of the Hobbits shook their heads and muttered about it for the entire year he was gone. They said, in not so many words, that he had lost his mind, that he was no longer respectable. This perception followed him into his later years, which you can read about a little in Fellowship of the Ring. But on this journey, he realized that a Hobbit can go on adventures and come home perfectly fine. In fact, he surprised himself and the dwarves he accompanied. It is constantly implied that those who come into contact with Bilbo are continually amazed at the courage of Hobbits. In essence, the take away is if you believe in yourself, you can surprise even yourself with what you can accomplish.

Well, that's all I have for now about this amazing book. As I was writing this, I was inspired to write about the different lessons that can be learned from this story until the movie comes out. So, check back every week or so until December 17, which is the date the final installment in the trilogy (I know, a trilogy out of one book?) is released in theaters.

In the meantime, I want to hear your thoughts about this book, or any of Tolkien's other works. Tell me what you think about this lesson to learn.

If you haven't experienced this story yet, stop what you're doing, turn the computer off, go find a copy of The Hobbit, and sit down in a comfortable chair with a cup of something hot and read. You won't be disappointed.

Happy reading! :-)