HarperCollins The Hobbit Classic Hardback

Amazing book. The book is in great condition. Great addition to your bookshelf.

This has been a long-delayed product, but I found it to be worth the wait. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the slipcase was and it arrived here in the U.S. undamaged, which is not always the case. I had to order this from AmazonUK because AmazonUS cancelled the product, several times. And I wasn't going to wait for them to actually get it in stock. Because frequently many of the Tolkien offerings from AmazonUK never end up here in the U.S. To me, it's well worth international shipping.As others have mentioned, the first edition of The Hobbit is not within most folks budget and so I was quite excited to see this offered many years ago. I'm not sure I am going to actual pore over it and check to see what the differences between the first edition and subsequent ones (Rateliff's  The History of the Hobbit  does that). But just to look at it and page through it is worth the purchase price.It is a wonderful addition to my bookcase! The History of the Hobbit

Who would have thought that reading about short, hairy footed creatures with a peculiar nature and a distinct lack of wanting to leave the safety of their Hobbit-Hole would be enjoyable. If you'd asked me before, I would have unquestionably chosen Elves as my most favourite of Tolkien's creations. But maybe I was wrong, because it turns out Hobbits are more relatable and far more hilarious than originally thought; hairy feet aside. It would appear that Hobbits are also stupendously resilient, loyal and respectable creatures with far less sass than Elves!I would imagine it would be quite difficult to find someone who didn't know the tale of The Hobbit, at the very least from the movies. But The Hobbit, the novel, is something else entirely and an experience all its own. Tolkien's narrative is lyrical, completely compelling and, whilst not nonsensical at all, has a whimsical feel to it akin to Alice in Wonderland. I adored how the story is addressed to the reader, as though a secret is being shared of a story well-known and enjoyed between friends. Perhaps that was Tolkien's intention, given that it was ostensibly a tale to entertain his children, initially.There are some unusual choices and some areas which, for me, lack depth. It feels absolutely crazy to say that about a world so rich and beautiful, but The Hobbit really does feel like a more accessible and less descriptive world than that of The Lord of the Rings, presumably to allow for a younger audience to enjoy it. Battle scenes, deaths and transitions between key moments are sometimes more quickly resolved than I expected from such a rich tapestry, and character connections are formed with the reader from very superficial descriptions. Because of this, I didn't enjoy the book as much as I expected to, and nor did I really feel the connection I hoped to with key characters. But you'd be hard pressed to criticise this book anywhere else.The Hobbit is a perfect adventure; a terrifying, hilarious and heart warming combination uniquely its own. Tolkien's imagination is limitless, and The Hobbit feels so small in the grand scheme of the world he created, but it's a world I would gladly explore to the ends of its map.

"In a hole in the ground there lay the YA fantasy genre. A nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of swords and a perfumed smell."One of my favourite genres seems to have gone to the wargs in the last few years. The rot probably started when J.K. Rowling introduced a new generation of young people to the joys of fantasy fiction. Standards dropped and social media helped create huge fandoms, and cult like followers, loyal to the brand. Fan fiction has also allowed anyone, no matter the talent, to write a "book" based on any intellectual property they fancy. Then Twilight happened and that was the beginning of the end. Publishers saw the kind of drivel that could make them rich and the Young Adult Fantasy genre was ripe for the picking. It began to move towards a new type of story, appealing to a new audience and asking a new question."What if Fantasy but with a girl one?"Alongside the Strong-Female-Character™ protagonist, this new normal often contains a sprinkling of the following; "diversity*", some unsubtle social commentary, a patriarchal villain and most importantly, a poorly written, chemistry free romance with a handsome boy/angel/girl/minority/vampire/furry/other** that takes up half the book, often causing the plot to grind to a halt so the perfect lovers can stare passionately at each other for 50 pages. Bonus points for inserting a third wheel to create some false tension and so fans can pick a team.After all, these books are written primarily for teenage girls, by former teenage girls***. Then there are the hordes of twenty-something women that receive advanced review copies and post their reviews on Goodreads****. These Goodreads girls, as I shall call them, might not be able to make a book successful, but they surely hold sway with publishers and more importantly, the content they publish. For it is said that "those who control the review copies, control the genre".Thank Tolkien then, for the classics, and for the sexless, romance free world of The Hobbit. Although not entirely romance free as this book contains a beautiful relationship between a Gollum and his precious. Then there's the love between a Hobbit and his home, his breakfast/second breakfast/lunch/afternoon tea/supper/dinner/elevenses and his weed. Then finally there's the relationship between a dragon and/or a dwarf, and his treasure.I'd take that superficial love over all the beautiful-perfect-people-fall-in-love-because-they're-both-beautiful-and-perfect-and-sometimes-there's-a-faux-love-triangle dross, that's infected the YA Fantasy genre since Twilight first ruined the word twilight.I never thought I'd be pining for the days of Hunger Games knock-offs, but here we are.But what of The Hobbit, you ask? Well, it's one of the finest young adult books ever written. At it's heart, The Hobbit is an adventure story. THE adventure story really. In fact, it's so jam packed with adventure, there's very little time for character development. Bilbo gets the lion's share and it's his adventure so I can't really grumble too much about the rather bland companions. Besides, there's so many wonderful things crammed into this short novel, it's never anything less than an entertaining page turner.I truly envy any child who has yet to experience The Hobbit in book form as they read -or are read to- about Bilbo Baggins, dwarven guests, pipe smoking wizards, singing elves, hungry trolls, goblin caves, tricksy riddles, magic rings, eagle saviours, shape-shifting men, murky forests, giant spiders, prison breaks, barrel riding, secret doorways, greedy dragons, brave bowmen, brave hobbits, great battles and most of all, burglary. Saviour this book. Read it to your kids and hope it inspires them to read more, and maybe even to write. The beginnings of the next Fantasy classic might be this one story away... Someone has to drag the genre back from the brink.If, like me, you have the stunted, feeble arms of a mammalian T-Rex, then you can listen to The Hobbit on audiobook, and it is a fine way to experience this most excellent of adventures. This review is based on the rather wonderful recording by Andy "CGI" Serkis. Riddles in the dark is even more memorable with the voice of Gollum™ and the whole thing is a joy to listen to.I can't say anymore really, just read it if you haven't. There are still quality YA fantasy books to be found, even if you have to go 'there and back again' to find them.* Black, trans and/or lesbian minorities -in order of perceived oppression by the American online- are the click generating hashtags of the moment. Make said minority the main character for more critical acclaim but less commercial gain. The readers might claim to be allies who want to read more books from a none cis-hetero perspective, but what they really, really want is a book in which the straight, white, female protagonist (them), gets a beautiful, shiny boy.** But mostly boys, because that's hot insert-self fan fiction in the making.*** Who may have started out writing terrible fan fiction. I blame Twilight, fifty shades of grey and low standards of literacy for this.**** They're also liable to have Instagram accounts full of pictures of books next to foodstuffs, candles (dangerous), flora (not the marge), bedding and Apple products. The book lovers lifestyle is obviously lots of reading in bed by candlelight, surrounded by houseplants, munching on snacks and incessantly checking ones social media

Stunning cover. Mine has worn out a little from time. Comes with a map on the inside covers - front and back. And a couple of illustrations throughout.

It’s the story we all know and love but in a smaller version! There’s a new(ish) foreword, which I hadn’t seen before and none of the colour illustrations which I have in my own, older copies but otherwise it’s excellent. I must say that if I’d realised that it lacked the colour plates, I would have looked for another version and their lack is the only reason I’ve given it 4 stars instead of 5.The print is very small; rather than keeping the font size and adding pages, it has the same number of pages with a smaller font. Personally I would have struggled to read it but fortunately my grandchild has no such problems.The recipient claimed it was too big for a pocket but thanks to my raincoat I was able to demonstrate that it’s the perfect size, which made a great impression.