this was super cute :) it's not like the stakes are low in the hobbit, but tolkien's writing here definitely makes the plot feel cozier- like you're hearing about it for the 20th time and there's no reason to be stressed about what's happening lol. i guess some people might find that that slows the book down too much, but i didn't have a problem with it. 

the only thing i take an issue with here is the character of bombur :( he's our only fat character and every time tolkien mentions him he has to include some comment about how bombur is kind of a burden on the rest of the party because of his size. these comments aren't super biting or cruel or anything; this is a 1937 fantasy novel, clearly we're supposed to be giggling about how bombur is too fat to do the same things as everyone else, but i just thought it was weird idk. this is what was funny at the time, so i wont be super harsh about it not working in 2023.

ive also seen people complain about how this doesn't have any female characters. again, this was long enough ago that i feel fine saying it was a completely different time. we can't judge pre-wwii novels by their 21st century wokeness level lmao. not saying it wouldn't have been better for women to be included, i just think it's kind of a big ask for this novel..

other than that this was really fun. tolkien has a kind of joking tone throughout the story, making this book automatically 12 times more readable than any other classic ever written. love bilbo he keeps it so real