The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Never a reader -- or a watcher -- of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I decided to start with the lead-in to the series, The Hobbit. What an adventure! Tolkien's imagination matched with his pen might be unparalleled. He had awesome characters from hobbits (of course) to dwarfs to trolls to a dragon! Written for kids, this book follows an unlikely hobbit who spends most of his time in the comforts of his home playing host to guest. He has never been far beyond his front yard until one day a wizard named Gandolf shows up at his door stoop to tell him of the adventure he is about to embark on with 13 dwarves.

Along the way, they meet a host of characters -- some who help them and some who set them back. The book is littered with these episodes that are strung together to make an incredible journey that culminates at a dragon's lair.

Tolkien's greatest strength is his ability to make you feel like he is in the room telling the story. He made me feel 12 again, enjoying a cast of fairy tale creatures fight seemingly dangerous (of course we all know they will find a way out) ones. But this is also where the book had its setbacks. The story was pretty straightforward and juvenile. Most readers will be able to predict what happens in each episode and see it coming a long way out. Nevertheless, Tolkien still makes the story very worthwhile.

The LOTR trilogy is supposed to be much more complicated and genius as it delves into complex maps and the elvish language. The Hobbit served a good introduction and I think that my few complaints with it are more than compensated for in the follow-up.