Site Admin
Apr 24th, 2009
Apr 24th, 2009
The Hobbit
I listened to a very weird audiobook version of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein and I still sit firmly on the side of the fence with the folks who believe strongly that Tolkein is best read before the age of 16. The fantastical characters and the silly situations they find themselves in just did not grab me the way that they would for younger readers. I’m not a fantasy/sci-fi reader at all, though, and I am definitely not a young boy, who it seems is the target reader for this book. I somewhat enjoyed the movie versions of The Lord of the Rings, however, I also still maintain that they are an incredibly long adventure series about a piece of jewelry. I would definitely hand this book to a 12- or 13-year old.
Wow, I must be a 12-13 year old boy. Okay, maybe not. It’s true that I love Tolkein, but I haven’t reread The Hobbit as much as I have The Lord of the Rings. If you’re not a big sci-fi reader, then Tolkein might not be the best starting point, but don’t discourage girls from reading this. Just because you didn’t like it doesn’t mean there aren’t girls who will. I don’t think that I’m the only exception to the rule. So keep an open mind when making recommendations.
I would definitely give this to girls or boys, but in that 12 to 13 year old range. I remember picking this up as a 12 year old, and it was too long for my attention span, but I was open to enjoying it at that age. Now, I enjoy some sci-fi/fantasy elements in books, but this just wasn’t for me. :/