"The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien

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If you have watched the Lord of the Rings movies, you are probably familiar with the fact that - even before "Lord of the Rings" was ever written or published - there was a book called "The Hobbit," but in spite of the fact that you probably know the book exists, you might never have actually read the book (and in fact, you might know very little about it!).

JRR Tolkien had no intentions of writing the story that came "afterward" when he wrote  "The Hobbit" (that is to say, "Lord of the Rings"), even though he knew what happened in the story after "The Hobbit" ended; due to the success of the "The Hobbit," however, he gave in and decided to write the entire story - everything that happened after "The Hobbit" ended.

As you may have picked up by watching the "Lord of the Rings" movies, "The Hobbit" tells the story of how the ring came to be in Bilbo Baggins's possession, but the book also introduces a number of characters and story lines that pop up again in the movies and in the "Lord of the Rings" books. The manner in which "The Hobbit" is written, however, is the most intriguing thing about it; while "Lord of the Rings" was written with an audience of college students and older in mind, "The Hobbit" was written in such a way that it can appeal to children - and much like the great "children's works" that came before and after it (works such as Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland," CS Lewis's Narnia books, and JK Rowling's Harry Potter series), these books appeal to adults as much as they appeal to children!

You owe it to yourself to make sure you read "The Hobbit" if you are a fan of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy; but even if you are not a huge fan of those books - if you are just a fan of great literature, or if you are simply looking for a fun book to keep you company for a week or two this summer - you should consider giving Tolkien's "The Hobbit" a look.