The Hobbit

I thought I’d write a post expressing my love for this book and my excitement about the release of the first part of the film next month.  Personally, I didn’t mind when I heard they were making three films not one.   I want to see the White Council kick the Necromancer’s ass in Mirkwood and everything else.  I’m fairly confident in Peter Jackson’s ability as a director to ensure each film is just as amazing and visually stunning as well.    I loved the Lord of the Rings films (who didn’t) and for me, the part where Rohan enters the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is still the greatest cinema moment I’ve experienced and I’m hoping that in The Hobbit, the moment where Gandalf sees the goblins approaching in The Battle of the Five Armies eclipses it.  In fact, seeing Smaug for the first time should also be pretty good in the cinema.

The Hobbit is by far my favourite book of all time and I own many versions of it.   I dabbled with looking into a first edition to buy, but a few things made me say no.  Obviously the price was close to ten thousand dollars (!) but I was also thinking I had no experience in looking after rare, first edition books.  I looked at the first edition books on the internet that people had and they were all kept in a vacuum state, within almost safe-like glass and wood cupboards.  For me, I think books should be read and worn out and so I would want to read it and show it off but ultimately this would ruin it.  If I was going to spend that much money, I guess it would make sense to keep it pristine and pass it on as a family heirloom.  

After reading this book in primary school, my teacher got me into the Lord of the Rings and from there, I continued reading all of Tolkien’s work.   The Silmarillion is my second favourite book of all time.  What I loved most about The Hobbit is its broad appeal to both children and adults and the fact that so much happens, with such fantastical battles, descriptions and character dialogue despite the book being only a few hundred pages long.  It's the one book you can reread every year and get into from the first page, despite knowing how it will turn out.  Tolkien's writing just draws you in every time and you can't help but be transported into the Middle-earth straight away.  I’ve just never been able to get into another author’s fantasy series, such as Game of Thrones or The Wheel of Time, mainly because I lose patience and I just can’t help thinking perfection has already been achieved by Tolkien and everything else is just a poorer, longer copy version.

What does everyone else think about The Hobbit?  Are you looking forward to the film?

Super Spuds update:

In the last week I received some fantastic reviews:

Bloody brilliant. I loved these magical creatures and all the unique personalities and stories behind them! Very tongue-in-cheek humor with a great mix of fantasy and reality with comical twists on our modern world (Molly and Sculder anyone??) Mr. Diack has created a wholly enjoyable world to visit where you can expect the unexpected. I read this in one sitting as it was so enjoyable and entertaining, and admittedly very different from what I normally read. But I’m so glad I took a chance and if Mr. Diack writes any more in the future (I think he’s found his niche here) I’ll be the first in line to buy it.

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OMG lol what did I just read? Haha this has to be one of the most, if not THE most clever, original, and funny books I’ve ever read. I was chuckling almost from the beginning and I’ll never be able to look at potato chips (or “crisps”) the same way again! (Much like what happened after I saw the movie “Antz”). I could totally see this book (or its concept) being a movie, or even better a tv show cartoon on Adult Swim. Epic. There are so many great characters in here (love the list at the end, lol!!) and each are funny and awesome in their own right. It’s technically 3 books in one, which is why it’s called a “trilogy”, but it’s about the length of an average book so don’t be intimidated. Although when it’s done you’ll be wishing there was more! (5 stars).

Obviously I’m chuffed to bits by the response and I’d love to see this concept as a TV show or film.  I have no clue about how to go about doing this but it’s something I think I’ll have to research about.   At least give it a try and see what happens, otherwise I’ll never know.  My editor is busy on Book 4 of the Super Spuds and I’m hoping for a Christmas release, so that’s exciting as well.

Thanks everyone!