What are you reading? Monday February 23, 2015

It’s Monday! Time to talk about two great books – The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

The pants were from the second hand thrift store, previously loved.  They were an essential kind of pants, jeans, of course.  They were blue, but not that stiff, dark denim blue, but soft, changeable blue, with a little extra fading at the knees and the seat.  The story begins with Carmen talking about the magic pants, shared by four best friends, part of the summer adventure of each girl, Tibbie, Lena, Bridget (Bee) and, of course, Carmen.

The girls were going their separate ways for the summer, Lena and her sister Effie went to stay with their grandparents in Greece; Tibbie would stay home and work at a retail store; Bridget, the jock, was going to soccer camp; and Carmen was going to spend the summer with her dad.

The girls came up with the sisterhood, and promised to take care of the magic pants throughout the summer, passing them around to each other for a week at a time.  This story follows the girls through their summers; through love, broken hearts and promises, newfound friends and adventure.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

“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.”

The Hobbit (or There and Back Again) is a fantasy novel written by J.R.R. Tolkien.  It follows the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, who lives in a peaceful sort of cozy hole in the Shire, a place where adventures are uncommon and frankly, rather unwanted.

One morning, Bilbo Baggins, along with his friend Gandalf the Wizard, embark on an adventure with a band of dwarves into the depths of the earth to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from a dragon.  Along the way, Bilbo and company encounter ruthless trolls, beastly orcs, gigantic spiders, hungry wolves and a strange creature named Gollum, who calls himself “Precious.”  Bilbo discovers within himself surprising strength and courage.  In the ultimate confrontation with the fearsome dragon Smaug, the hobbit braves the dangers of dark and dragon’s fire alone.

I was surprised to find out that this children’s classic and literary masterpiece was first published in 1937, inspired by the author’s time serving in World War I! This fabulous fairytale is one of adventure and lessons learned. I especially enjoyed this book because I listened to it as an audiobook instead of reading.  I like to listen to books, and in this case, the narrator’s voice and performance were outstanding!  It was like listening to Gandalf, the wizard-such a deep, classically theatrical trained voice.  The Hobbit is a timeless classic that can be appreciated by readers (and listeners) of all ages.