The character development of Bilbo was pretty good. He really grows as a person, and from reading his internal monologues, I find it easier to connect with and understand him, which I couldn’t do as well in the movies, since we don’t get a direct look into Bilbo’s mind on the silver screen. Thorin Oakenshield seems different in the book; he was overall politer and more considerate than the Thorin in the movies. Yes, I already know that Tauriel and Legolas are not in the book, and that Tauriel is purely a movie character. But the addition of Tauriel is one of the rare instances where I appreciate the director/ scriptwriter’s artistic liberty. There was also not a single named female character in the book!

I actually got Beorn and Bard mixed up, due to the similarity in their names. Bard was more developed as a character in the movie than in the book, though. Radagast was only mentioned once in passing in the book, so I was glad that he made some significant appearances in the movie! Originally published in 1937, The Hobbit has gone on to sell over 150 million copies over the years. It tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit and unlikely hero, who goes on a grand adventure to the lair of Smaug the Dragon. Along the way, he comes into possession of the One Ring, an accident that will have some pretty sizable consequences in the years to come, as told in The Lord of the Rings. The return of Mr. Bilbo Baggins created quite a disturbance, both under the Hill and over the Hill, and across the Water; it was a great deal more than a nine days’ wonder.» Wow, this was amazing! I liked The Hobbit more than Lord of the Rings, because The Hobbit had a much more reasonable amount of setting description, imo. The setting descriptions were still fantastic and impressive in The Hobbit. I especially enjoyed the word paintings of the Misty Mountains goblin tunnels and the scary Mirkwood.It could be called Adventures of Tom Bombadil & other talesA collection of previously illustrated works with a few extra illustrations mixed in for padding, I could probably get behind that, because I agree the design/format is nice enough (though I'm still unsure on the green for Sil).

This new edition of The Hobbit follows similar editions of Tolkien’s other books featuring the author’s hand-drawn maps and artwork. There’s The Lord of the Rings Illustrated, which came out in 2021 and The Silmarillion Illustrated, which arrived last fall. I present only a singular critique of this film and it has nothing to do with the body of the movie itself: I feel compelled to comment that the decision to incorporate the endless scroll of Tolkien Fan Club members' names within the end credits is ill-advised and indirectly demeaning to the actual cast and crew. What do these people actually contribute to the film's production? Loyalty and moral support? The folks who have indeed delivered something more tangible are appropriately noted elsewhere within the credits. But most of the listed individuals have played no real part whatever, regardless of the syrupy patronization conducted by the film-makers toward this particular faction of Tolkien enthusiasts. Including these names in the film credits, which also takes in the so-called self-appointed "guardians" of Tolkien's work [a trivial minority of Tolkien Fan Club members], amounts to little more than a shallow ego-bribe. It's presumptuous as the devil to assert that Tolkien's books *need* guarding by anyone -- the affiliation here is more akin to pretentious posthumous tail-gating on the venerable Old Master. Ulmo wrote:I dunno. It’s kind of fun that they started with the “illustrated” concept, and tried out to see what they could pull off by stretching the concept to its limits. Even without the illustrations, these books are an attractive format, which people are obviously (I would say) buying. So let’s see if we can stretch the definition further, with a little imagination… The First Impression of the first US edition was published in 1938 by Houghton Mifflin Co. of Boston &New York. consisting of essentially Poems and Stories + Bilbo’s Last Song + fold-out maps—all her Tolkien maps!Furthermore, I think the point of having a fellowship of the ring, was not merely to dunk the ring into the fire at Mount Doom. It was also about building character for the adventurers, and having them learn to get along with people of other species. (Most notably, Legolas the elf and Gimli the dwarf become good friends.) For the first time ever, a special enhanced edition of the enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout with over 50 sketches, drawings, paintings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien himself [20 b/w, 36 col illus] and with the complete text printed in two colours. In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. »

Velmeran wrote:I hope they stop the Illustrated by the Author line here though, as they already had to stretch the definition of an illustration pretty thin for The Silmarillion and I don't think there is enough material left to fill another book after this release. I dunno. It’s kind of fun that they started with the “illustrated” concept, and tried out to see what they could pull off by stretching the concept to its limits. Even without the illustrations, these books are an attractive format, which people are obviously (I would say) buying. So let’s see if we can stretch the definition further, with a little imagination… For the first time ever, a beautiful slipcased edition of the enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout with over 50 sketches, drawings, paintings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien himself, with the complete text printed in two colours and with many bonus features unique to this edition.For the first time ever, a special enhanced edition of the enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout with over 50 sketches, drawings, paintings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien himself and with the complete text printed in two colours. In the first of the two *The Hobbit* entries [sub-titled: *Into The Wilderness*], a more youthful Bilbo Baggins is craftily crow-barred by Gandalf into embarking upon a great adventure (Hobbits *despise* adventures!) and by serving as a burglar for a grumbly troupe of thirteen dwarves, all of whom are determined to reclaim their lost family treasure from the Evil dragon, Smaug; however, the actual battle with Smaug at the Lonely Mountain will have to wait until Part II [to be entitled: *Into the Fire*] is released. Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature. I don’t know where he came from, nor who or what he was. He was Gollum — as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face. He had a little boat, and he rowed about quite quietly on the lake; for lake it was, wide and deep and deadly cold. » HarperCollins have announced a new edition of The Hobbit, illustrated with “a greatly enhanced” gallery of 50 paintings, maps and drawings – due out on 14 September