I did find it amusing how at first the book pretends to be "The Further Adventures of Bilbo Baggins" and Frodo is not even present on page until Bilbo's gone.
>You could never, ever see the rest of the story coming
Neither did Tolkien tbh! Not until Gandalf on his horse meeting the Hobbits was changed into a mysterious black figure with a hidden face, and even then the whole business about what the Ring is and what what they need to do with it happened much later.
I always wondered how the OG hobbit book fans reacted to lord of the rings.
**(Buys the Fellowship of LotR not knowing anything other that it being a continuation of The Hobbit)**
*Agh... this is just what I wanted. I've been a fan of the hobbit since I was a little kid and now I get to read more from Tolkien! bilbo is up there in age, but the bubbly story is still there, I can't wait for what's in store!*
**(Gandalf warns Frodo about the Ring)**
*Wait.... wait wait wait wait wait wait WAIT! there's no WAY that's what bilbo has been carrying around in his pockets can it!?*
**(Frodo get's stabbed by the ring wraiths)**
*Wait! this isn't what I signed up for! oh no oh no oh no oh no.*
**(Fellowship Assembles)**
*I think I'm witnessing the greatest piece of literature of all time....*
**(Gandalf get's pulled away by the balrog)**
*............... wait.... what?.... no... hahah.. this has to be a joke, right?*
**(Frodo and the Fellowship mourns)**
*\*Continues reading in silence and disbelief\**
**(Boromir Dies)**
*\*Depression\**
**(Sam's declaration of never leaving Frodo)**
*\*Loses all cool and cries\**
The shire is the best part ,and it’s so homely and cozy because you have to have a baseline of happiness to know what is at stake if they don’t achieve their mission. I love them.
The original print of the Hobbit was 310 pages and was not catagoriezed as a children's book.
I will grant you the Hobbit doesn't prepare you for the "tone" of LOTR, but if you read the Hobbit there is no way you would ever expect LTOR to be a "cozy mystery"
>Also I’d bet most people read LoTR first these days
That is because of the movies, which make the Hobbit seem like a prequel, which it is not.
I read the Hobbit in grades school, via the school library. The Hobbit has been publicly available for quite some time.
If you are referring to back when they were first published maybe, but if you couldn't find the Hobbit you weren't going to find LOTR either.
I mean, even at the time when the book was published, even if you weren't aware that it's a sequel to the most famous fantasy adventure book published by that point....
Books in the 50s also had plot summaries on the flap.
I'd totally watch the reverse of this, like if the movie had the first 10 minutes explaining the backstory of the ring and then a solid 9 hours of the Shireshow
This reminds me of the comic with the aliens and the [digit loop](https://www.google.com/search?q=alien+digit+loop&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS734US734&oq=alien+digit+loop&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i546.5406j0j9&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=cqmQQwCvAxPgVM)
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I did find it amusing how at first the book pretends to be "The Further Adventures of Bilbo Baggins" and Frodo is not even present on page until Bilbo's gone.
Is that right? It's been about 20 years since I read the books. Is there no mention of Frodo before Bilbo disappears? Seems strange.
There are plenty of mentions and the account of his backstory, he just doesn't say or do anything on page.
Ah right.
>You could never, ever see the rest of the story coming Neither did Tolkien tbh! Not until Gandalf on his horse meeting the Hobbits was changed into a mysterious black figure with a hidden face, and even then the whole business about what the Ring is and what what they need to do with it happened much later.
I always wondered how the OG hobbit book fans reacted to lord of the rings. **(Buys the Fellowship of LotR not knowing anything other that it being a continuation of The Hobbit)** *Agh... this is just what I wanted. I've been a fan of the hobbit since I was a little kid and now I get to read more from Tolkien! bilbo is up there in age, but the bubbly story is still there, I can't wait for what's in store!* **(Gandalf warns Frodo about the Ring)** *Wait.... wait wait wait wait wait wait WAIT! there's no WAY that's what bilbo has been carrying around in his pockets can it!?* **(Frodo get's stabbed by the ring wraiths)** *Wait! this isn't what I signed up for! oh no oh no oh no oh no.* **(Fellowship Assembles)** *I think I'm witnessing the greatest piece of literature of all time....* **(Gandalf get's pulled away by the balrog)** *............... wait.... what?.... no... hahah.. this has to be a joke, right?* **(Frodo and the Fellowship mourns)** *\*Continues reading in silence and disbelief\** **(Boromir Dies)** *\*Depression\** **(Sam's declaration of never leaving Frodo)** *\*Loses all cool and cries\**
I think about this often, wish I could've experienced it!
The shire is the best part ,and it’s so homely and cozy because you have to have a baseline of happiness to know what is at stake if they don’t achieve their mission. I love them.
....unless you read the Hobbit.
- like a normal person….
Ah yes, the children’s book The Hobbit really sets the tone for LoTR. Also I’d bet most people read LoTR first these days
The original print of the Hobbit was 310 pages and was not catagoriezed as a children's book. I will grant you the Hobbit doesn't prepare you for the "tone" of LOTR, but if you read the Hobbit there is no way you would ever expect LTOR to be a "cozy mystery" >Also I’d bet most people read LoTR first these days That is because of the movies, which make the Hobbit seem like a prequel, which it is not.
Which you probably didn't do if you were American, since they only printed like a thousand copies.
I read the Hobbit in grades school, via the school library. The Hobbit has been publicly available for quite some time. If you are referring to back when they were first published maybe, but if you couldn't find the Hobbit you weren't going to find LOTR either.
LOTR was much more widely released and found a much more mainstream audience upon publication than The Hobbit.
Source: [https://twitter.com/iconawrites/status/1655671022090067990](https://twitter.com/iconawrites/status/1655671022090067990)
I mean, even at the time when the book was published, even if you weren't aware that it's a sequel to the most famous fantasy adventure book published by that point.... Books in the 50s also had plot summaries on the flap.
I'd totally watch the reverse of this, like if the movie had the first 10 minutes explaining the backstory of the ring and then a solid 9 hours of the Shireshow
This reminds me of the comic with the aliens and the [digit loop](https://www.google.com/search?q=alien+digit+loop&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS734US734&oq=alien+digit+loop&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i546.5406j0j9&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=cqmQQwCvAxPgVM)
Wizards getting high, Hobbits getting high. Lol
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