The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There just aren’t words for this book. Not only is it a classic, a timeless adventure, an excellent story, but it is so packed with nostalgia for me that I couldn’t give it less than five stars. This was one of those threshold books for me that opened my world to countless other books and stories.

The last time I read this was about 1994. I was still a machinist and would secretly read books hidden in my toolbox while my vertical lathe ran giant oilfield parts. I didn’t know it, but like Bilbo I was on the cusp of my own adventure at about that time.

Going back further, to 1985, my wife of less than a year brought me a puppy, a Cocker Spaniel mix no bigger than a rat. I named him Bilbo and he was with us for 16 years.

The Hobbit is one of the books assigned by Virginia Atchinson when I was in an advanced reading class in junior high back in the late 1970s. That lady was the model by which I judge all librarians. The books she introduced me to are still among my all-time favorites.

Not much of a review, I know, but there are plenty of plot synopses available if that’s what you need. If you want a story that will reawaken the inner child, this is your book. Of course, I chose now to re-read this because of the pending Peter Jackson film adaptation. Oh, and I actually listened to the audiobook this time; I highly recommend it. Rob Inglis does a fantastic job of narrating the book.

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