Monday, January 17, 2011

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I enjoyed reading this book again. I find it an easier way to ease into my annual re-reading of Tolkien's Middle Earth materials than The Silmarillion. This time around, I particularly enjoyed seeing it both as a children's book and as a mixture of genres (poetry and prose, adventure and fantasy). I also noticed in particularly the various strategies Gandalf uses to convince others to do as he asks: the reflecting strategies of getting the dwarves invited to Bilbo's for tea and them all to Beorn's for shelter and aid, and the way that he leaves so that Bilbo can assume leadership of the venture (and provide the crucial Arkenstone that allows everyone start talking--and thus be able to unite against the threat of the Goblins and Wargs at the last moment).

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