“Go back?” he thought. “No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!”
For my fifth pick I decided to choose my favourite childhood novel, which is of course, The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien
I’m sure I don’t need to summarise The Hobbit, even those who haven’t read it will probably at least be aware of its successor, Lord of the Rings – but on the off chance, the novel is about Bilbo Baggins of Bag End (who lives in a hole in the ground… you know how it goes) who gets drawn into a wild adventure by a wizard and some dwarves to defeat a gold-hoarding dragon. Cue lots of excitement, a little mystery and a couple of battles (including one of wits) – it is a fun romp.
I remember my Mum and I reading this together at bedtime when I was young – it is one of her favourites too – and being so mesmerised by the incredibly imaginative world of Tolkien. I used to re-read the ‘Riddles in the Dark’ chapter over and over again because I thought it was so clever – I truly cheered for Bilbo. I love the Lord of the Rings too, and obviously it has become a cultural phenomenon, but it is so different in tone to The Hobbit, more serious and grown-up. There is so much whimsy and wonder in the children’s classic, and I’ll always appreciate that.