Chapter VI has always felt to me like the end of the beginning. Up until now, Tolkien has been setting the stage, establishing the characters and putting the plot in motion. After this chapter we will get into the real meat of the story. There is a lot of action in this chapter. Bilbo finds…
If you’re reading The Hobbit as a prequel to Lord of the Rings, this is the chapter you’re looking for. The original version of this chapter is one of the few things by Tolkien that I’ve never read. After writing Lord of the Rings, Tolkien rewrote much of this chapter to bring the two books…
This is another short chapter, but it has a lot of action in it. It starts with the thirteen dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf climbing the Misty Mountains. It is slow going, but they start off confident and cheery. The good mood doesn’t last long. The main action of the chapter starts when they are caught…
A Short Rest is a short chapter. It is our first introduction to elves and to Elrond. Elrond is a minor character in this book, but he will be huge in Lord of the Rings. The elves will be important to this story later on. The are a few important pieces in this chapter. We learn…
Chapter II is special to me. When I was a kid, I’m pretty sure I didn’t know what to make of Chapter I, so it was Chapter II that drew me in. It’s about perfect juvenile literature. There is plenty of action and danger, but also plenty of humor, mostly of the slapstick variety. This…
The Hobbit is one of my favorite books. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read it. The first time, I think, I was in sixth or seventh grade. It’s been one of my go to books ever since. Whenever I need something that I know I’ll enjoy, it’s there for me. I decided…
I recently re-watched Star Trek The Next Generation (aka TNG). I enjoyed the experience. I hadn’t seen many of the episodes since they originally aired. It’s interesting how differently I view the show now. It was a formative show for me. I was twelve when it debuted. There was a lot that went over my head…
I know it’s distastefully ironic to write about writer’s block. At least I’ve thought so since college. I was taking a writing class, and we had to read a general audience book about writing. I chose one called “On Writer’s Block” mostly because it was what I saw when I went to the bookstore. It…
I loved going over to my grandfather’s house when I was a kid. He’s 6’4″, and was this larger than life man who gave my brothers and I as much candy and toys as we could handle. To top it off, he had cable, a luxury that my family couldn’t afford. We would arrive at…
Carrie Fisher died today. I wasn’t going to write about it. Even though I’m a huge Star Wars fan, I figured there were tons of pieces being written by better, more knowledgeable writers. What could I add? But, as I was reading many of these pieces this afternoon, I realized something. I seem to be…
