Why I prefer the hobbit

[Tinman]

I've been a fan of the hobbit since I was 11 years old. My grandmother, the year she passed away, surprised me by ordering me a limited edition hard cover of the book. There is an illustration on nearly every page (Some original art, some from the movie), as well as 2 or 3 fold out pages to show large battle scenes.

Since then, ive read and reread the book 15 times. Every chance I got in highschool for a book report, I did it on the hobbit. Unlike most students, who didn't actually reread the book and just reported on what they already new, I actually (gladly) reread my book.

How many times have I read LOTR? I managed to get halfway through the fellowship after my first read of the hobbit. After the movies came out, I managed to reread fellowship, and get halfway through the two towers. I finally finished the series with audio books.

So why can I enjoy the hobbit for so many rereads, but not make it through lord of the rings? Ive considered this:

1. The narrative. The lord of the rings is just so dry to me. The witty narration of the hobbit makes it fun to read, and a little more interesting to me. I love character interaction, and LOTR doesn't keep my interest in between these scenes.

2. Bilbo. He's one of my favorite characters, and his absence from the lord of the rings story discouraged me from it.

3. The lack of explanation. The hobbit briefly touches and hints on a lot of things. The ruins bilbo see's while going to rivendell, beorns past, the necromancer, the unknown blades from some "goblin war". I liked that the hobbit mentions these things, but left it up to my own imagination to wonder what they were all about. In a sense, LOTR, while fascinating, kind of ruined that. Every think is given in full detail, and what isnt is thrown into an appendix in the back. I love learning this stuff, but at the same time, i miss the wonder that the hobbit created.

Most people, actually all people, i've talked to about this seem to completely disagree with me. But that's my view on the whole thing.