2. The Hobbit

I am still reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.  To recape what has happened the dwarves and hobbit have set out on a quest to reclaim their lost treasure that has fallen into the hands of the dragon Smog.  Along the way they have incountered goblins, elves, Gollum, giant spiders, and the Lakemen.  Right now I am at the part where they have reached the mountain and have used the information gathered from the map to find the hidden keyhole. 

I think it is a good book.  It is very creative and I love all the characters.  I still think the author wrote it probably just because that is what he enjoyed doing.  I think this because it seems like he really got into the story.  He wrote multiple books which would take dedication and he would have to care about it some to stick with it and continue the story throughout the other books. 

 I think that one of the themes is that even the smallest, least likely person can be courageous and become a hero.  Bilbo is a definent example of this.  He's a hobbit so he shouldn't even be on an adventure, but he finds himself on one and has to save the dwarves multiple times.  Another theme the book brings up is how wealth and power can corrupt a person.  This is most clearly shown through Gollum and the Ring.  It has physically run him down and mentally driven him crazy to do things that any normal person would find insane.

There are a lot of characters I like in this book.  Gandalf is one of them because he's mysterious.  You don't know all that much about him and he somehow manages to pop-up when he is most needed.  He seems like a very interesting person with a lot of intellect.  I think that Thorin has changed throughout the book.  At first he really thinks a lot of himself and wouldn't have ever decided to take a hobbit with them.  Now he is grateful to the hobbit and he's leared to show more respect. 

I wonder what lead the author to want to write a book like this.  How did he come up with it all and did he base characters off real people he knew or just come up with them?  I can't wait to finish the book!