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30 Day Reading Challenge - Day 02

The Hobbit (Graphic Novel): An Illustrated Edition of the Fantasy Classic - J.R.R. Tolkien, Chuck Dixon, Sean Deming

.02: A book that I've read more than 3 times.

 

There are ALOT of books that I've read more than 3 times. I'm just going to pick a couple for this post.

 

First, off, I've read the entire Harry Potter series, front to back, more than 3 times. More on that tomorrow. Also, I've read Jane Eyre by Bronte, Pride and Prejudice by Austen, all of Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings, more than three times. I am a big re-reader.

 

I'm not going to talk about any of those books here - instead, I want to talk about The Hobbit. I swear that it is worth clicking the read more button!

 

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

 

So, I've read The Hobbit 3, no 5, probably a total of 6 times. The first time I read The Hobbit, I was 9 years old, and my mother read it to me and my younger brother. This was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with fantasy. There have been other books that have been important to me, but probably not a single book has had more of an impact on my reading life than The Hobbit. Nearly two decades ago, when my husband and I were still dating, we listened to The Hobbit as an audiobook on a road trip. While there are other reasons that, reader, I married him, the fact that he is a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien certainly didn't hurt.

 

In addition, I've read this book aloud twice! I have two kids, and they are nearly four years apart in age. I read The Hobbit to my daughter when she was 7, and my son was only 4 and too young to remember listening to it, although he did. Last year at about this time, I read it aloud again, to him, in preparation for the movie release.

 

After that reading, I interviewed him for my wordpress blog. I'm re-posting most of that post here, too, because I think he's adorable:

 

So, my most recent re-read of The Hobbit was a read-aloud. It took about a month for us to read it. In preparation for writing this post, I asked him a few questions about it.

 

Me: So, did you like The Hobbit?

Nick: Yes, I liked it a lot.

Me: What was your favorite part?

Nick: The part where the dragon got killed!

Me: Which character did you like the best?

Nick: I liked Bilbo, but I thought that Gandalf was really cool. I wish I could do magic.

Me: Would you rather hang out with elves or dwarves?

Nick: Dwarves. Because Thorin was the king under the mountain and they had lots of treasure.

 

I have to admit, I was surprised by the dwarf answer, since I’ve always considered the elves to be clearly superior (I suspect that Tolkien did, as well). But, I suppose it makes sense for a 12-year-old boy to be attracted to a short, bearded, axe-wielding dwarf as opposed to the pretty-boy elves who shoot arrows and sing. He did like it, though, even the parts where I sang Tolkien’s songs to my own, undoubtedly terrible, tunes. He provided back up drum sounds, which may in fact have been intended to drown out the singing. He’s not telling.

 

Anyway, I hear that there are people out there who haven’t read Tolkien. Start with The Hobbit. It is a wonderful story, full of wonder and beauty, some vanquished trolls, a shape-shifting bear, goblins and wolves, giant spiders who will suck the juice out of a man, harrowing adventures, narrow escapes, great battles, and a dragon who sleeps on a bed of gold and jewels. Seriously, who wouldn’t love that?