This is my third time reading this book, and I had forgotten how approachable it is. The storytelling is casual and reads more like young adult fiction. I love the adventures and the world of Middle Earth. I only wish I could have read this book in a more continuous fashion; I only had time to read it in short spurts, usually maybe half an hour straight at most. I felt like my momentum kept getting interrupted, and that detracted from my reading experience. In fact, as soon as I finished the book, I felt like I wanted to go back and read it again! But I don't know, I guess I'll move on to The Lord of the Rings, as originally planned...So the reason I didn't give the book 5 stars is that it did leave me with a couple questions. I never quite felt like I understood why Gandalf chose Bilbo to go with the dwarves on this adventure. How did Gandalf know that Bilbo would be up for it? Partly, perhaps, because he had some Took blood in him, but then, why Bilbo and not another hobbit in the Took family? I was also a little surprised by how silly the elves were portrayed, always singing and laughing. They didn't have the kind of dignity that I associate with them from having read LOTR.
UPDATE 2/2/15: After watching the final installment of the Hobbit movies, I was inspired to re-read the book again. The first thing that struck me was just how many liberties Peter Jackson took with the movies. But that's beside the point. As always, a good read! This time I read it with an eye towards children, as I wondered if the book would be suitable as a read-aloud with the kids. In fact, I found the book to be pretty kid-friendly! The narrator assumes the air of a friendly storyteller, and all the potentially scary encounters are told so matter-of-factly that they aren't nearly as scary as the movie makes them out to be. Isabelle and Sebastien haven't shown much interest in this world of hobbits and dwarves, but if I can convince them to sit and listen, I think they would enjoy it!
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