Now we've got summer and gatherings for this month. This time, I chose my dorm to get reading. Well, at least I can't get told off this time? Oh, by the way, Professor Snape still hasn't said anything about me almost breaking curfew so give him a break. He's not that bad really.
Anyway, I went to get my current reading book out and squealed with excitement because the answer was one of my favourite books The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien! When I mentioned about covering it here, Ragna went crazy-obsessed with it happening. That, along with the fact it's my current reading book, meant I was doing it whether I wanted to or not.
The Hobbit is the prequel to the massive Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it is one of my favourite books of all time. I love the way the heroes are Dwarves and well... an ordinary Hobbit who is whisked away on a journey that will change his life forever.
The whole book takes place roughly over a year, but starts the journey in late spring or early summer, and it just made me curl up with the book and my kitten Lavender. (Well my owl is in the owlery after all). I was instantly transported back to The Shire, another place I'd call home, and the first meeting of Bilbo and Gandalf at Bag End. It is rather a funny encounter and makes me chuckle every time I read it.
The Dwarves arrive and Bilbo really doesn't like them at first but he soon learns enough to become one of them but always longs for home. Well he is a Hobbit after all, and they always say home is where the heart is. Bilbo has to leave his home to help the Dwarves get back to theirs that had been taken from them.
I'd forgotten how long the chapters were, but then I remember how long Lord of the Rings is and I really shouldn't be surprised that the story is long. There aren't many chapters in The Hobbit, (a grand total of nineteen chapters) but it is 351 pages in total.
Anyway, it didn't take long before I was completely submerged back into the world of Middle-Earth and everything about it. I chuckle as always at Bilbo's reaction as the Dwarves greet him with the phrase "At your service." They always greet people that way and it never fails to make me smile. Imagine if we had to greet everyone like that! It would be rather funny.
The gathering at Bag End is a strange one, but it's also a lesson in that the world is bigger than it appears so you literally need to step out of the door and broaden your horizons. Even if you only look and plan but don’t do things for ages before you do things.
The group are then off on a journey that will take them over dangerous lands and it makes me think of journeys I have made to become who I am. A slightly different journey... but remember I said the journey changes Bilbo. In every journey we learn something about ourselves. It can make us a better person with the experiences we undertake. That is what happens to Bilbo. They say we can learn things from books as well, and we can.
Bilbo and the Dwarves meet many people along the way and the events climax in Durin's Day - which is close to the end of Autumn for the Dwarves. There's gatherings at Rivendell and the tension between the gathered Elves and Dwarves is rather funny and entertaining for reading.
Yes, this book is rather long for the amount of chapters that it has; but I love that the events start taking place over the summer months because this is the perfect time for adventures to start as there are many events happening. This also allows the story to have a great flow to it. One event flows into the other and you aren't waiting around for something to happen because there is always something happening.
I just love how descriptive Professor Tolkien is with his his words. A trivia fact for you: He fought in the Battle of the Somme in what the Muggles call The Great War or World War I! Now what was I saying? Yes, the words are descriptive and I am able to create such a vivid picture in my mind and I love that I am able to do that because it means that I can immerse myself in the book and feel like I am actually in the world instead of just reading about it.
Alas, I can hear my dorm mates coming so I'm going to try and finish this chapter before they arrive.
Until next time.
Adele x