My 23 page adventure with The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

"Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum."

So I'm in Chapters, just walking about looking for a book to spend my some of my moolah on and I find The Hobbit. It had caught my eye immediately because the title was known to be in my list of "big-classic-that-most-people-say-readers-should-read list". Buy it, cha-ching, and bring it home. Sits on my dresser for about a week and I finally get to crack it open when my parents force me to go along with them for dinner at the beach. I go through half of the preface (see, I thought preface was a fancier word for prologue) then realising it didn't have anything of my interest, I skip to the first chapter.

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

The beginning of the chapter was a little bit slow but it picked up pace right away. There were some confusing parts in the chapter though, but I'm not sure if it was because I was reading too fast, or if I wasn't paying much attention because my hair was flying about... ANYWAY, I did have to read bits of the chapter repetitively just so my brain would register what was going on.

I actually found the story (or what was of it in the first chapter) quite interesting. It was detailed, but not too detailed that you became overwhelmed with the pressure of having so much to visualise with. Which, come to think of it, was quite easy. While I read the story, my mind easily played it out because the Tolkiens leavesenough space for the reader's imagination to take control.

The characters were easy to picture as well because of the description that was given in the chapter and in that little blurb before it. Bilbo also seemed to have very human characteristics which I wasn't surprised with, but just a bit shocked when it sounded just like someone I knew.The guests that had arrived at Bilbo Baggins hobbit-hole were real to life too. I think we've all had guests over that were demanding, or raiding our fridge.. right? ..

"Chip the glasses and crack the plates! / Blunt the knives and bend the forks! / That's what Bilbo Baggins hates."

Other then that, I realised that the story started right away with Gandalf visiting and all, telling Bilbo about the journey 'there and back again', which I was surprisingly comfortable with. Usually I like to have a good introduction to what was going on, maybe a little bit more about the protagonist is a plus as well. But that's the awesome thing about the Tolkiens, they sneakily tell you about the Baggins in a quick couple of pages that don't even bore you! I was interested in knowing more about the Baggins past (which I think was kind of the  point with Baggins having Took blood).

The first chapter definitely deserves a 9.5/10. Now if I'd just get around to reading the rest of the book...

*this review was just for fun