The Hobbit

Going forward, the only acceptable way to consume this story is via audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis.

I'll be honest. I didn't get it at first. I was so bored the first time I read this story. I barely would've given it 3 stars. My second reread was better, but not by much. Solid three star. I didn't love how Tolkien addresses the reader. It pulled me out of the story and stopped me from connecting with the characters. Then I tried the audiobook narrated by Rob Inglis, and that was a flop for me (though I enjoyed him for LotR for some reason). But eventually I came to love the story for how it set up the world in LotR, and The Hobbit was officially a four star read for me. My humor also developed over the years, which helped me with Tolkien's writing a lot.

Then the disaster that is 2020 came along and Andy Serkis bestowed upon us the most wonderful gift to ease our suffering: Hobbitathon. He read the whole book straight through, live on YouTube. I woke up at 3 AM and watched/listened to the whole thing. He brought this story to life for me in a way I had never experienced, as cheesy as that sounds. Seriously, he made me absolutely LOVE The Hobbit. Teenage me would never believe it. Anyway, I love the journey, the characters, the writing, and I still can't get over ‘Gollum' reading Riddles in the Dark.