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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to dislike the book The Hobbit?

71 replies

Davespecifico · 04/01/2018 18:07

I finished reading it with DD recently. I found it so so dull. It reminded me of a more literary Dora the Explorer adventure. Am I a philistine?

OP posts:
Readermumof3 · 04/01/2018 18:10

I've tried many times to finish it and can't. I first tried in the 80's as a teen and most recently in my late 40's but it's still bloody boring. My DH thinks I'm insane but each to their own.

BoucleJacket · 04/01/2018 18:10

How can you be unreasonable by having different tastes to others?

I couldn't get into Harry Potter - find it very formulaic and derivative - but then I reminded myself those books are for children.

As is The Hobbit.

Situp · 04/01/2018 18:12

there is a great radio play done by the BBC of the Hobbit about 30 years ago which is brilliant. DS has it on audiobook and we loved the films.

have tried several times to read the book to him and we just can't get on with it at all

Davespecifico · 04/01/2018 18:15

Boucle- I see what you're saying about different tastes, but this book is a classic and I expect there is something I'm missing if I don't like it at all.

OP posts:
Pengggwn · 04/01/2018 18:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RavingRoo · 04/01/2018 18:16

I personally loved it as a child. You just have to persevere through the first quarter of it.

Davespecifico · 04/01/2018 18:17

Why do you love it Penggwyn?

OP posts:
Ellie56 · 04/01/2018 18:18

Readermumof3 I couldn't even start it never mind finish it!

Navegante · 04/01/2018 18:19

My teacher made me read it when I was 10. I found it utterly boring to the point it put me off reading for a long time!!

Bunchofdaffodils · 04/01/2018 18:20

I loved it, made me feel cosy but adventurous at the same time. What did dad think of it?

Bunchofdaffodils · 04/01/2018 18:21

Dd not dad Hmm

WildImaginings · 04/01/2018 18:21

I hate it too, you're not alone!

Readermumof3 · 04/01/2018 18:21

@Ellie56 I have tried and tried as DH loves it so much however it's bloody boring! Whereas I love To Kill A Mockingbird and he thinks it's meh!! We both read a lot but completely different genres.

TheExecutionersBong · 04/01/2018 18:22

I could never get it into either, same for Harry Potter, much to my DH's digust Grin

Elphame · 04/01/2018 18:22

I didn't get on with the Hobbit but I adored the Lord of the Rings...

Still do - time for the annual re-read I think

ArbitraryName · 04/01/2018 18:23

It’s fine as long as you skip the songs.

SkaTastic · 04/01/2018 18:23

The book is soooooooooo dull. Lord of the Rings all the way for me.

yorkshires · 04/01/2018 18:23

YABU

Ellie56 · 04/01/2018 18:26

I also hate Harry Potter. I read the first few pages of the first book and then gave up.

CourtneyLoveIsMySpiritAnimal · 04/01/2018 18:27

Couldn't get into any of TLOTR's or Hobbit books. Ditto Harry Potter, which is derivative as someone upthread said.

I think you either like this kind of fantasy thing or you don't though. People seem to like to completely immerse themselves in the worlds which, to be fair in both TLOTR and HP, are very well though out.

For example, there are a few people I've seen on Instagram who appear to live their lives as though they are elves from LOTR's Confused

Loadedllama · 04/01/2018 18:28

I loathed it along with Lord of The Rings. I couldn’t finish either. YANBU

Glumglowworm · 04/01/2018 18:29

YABU for thinking everyone must like all “classics”

I can’t stand Jane Austen except Northanger Abbey. I tried Charles Dickens in my teens and couldn’t do it, I liked him as an adult but it’s not something I’d read to relax. I’ve read all of Lord of the Rings and didn’t really like it, read it mostly because i felt I should.

Most “classics” are written in a style that makes them much more of an effort to read than contemporary works. And if you’re reading for pleasure, most people don’t want it to feel like hard work. Plus if you struggle to comprehend due to the language and sentence structure, you’re focused on that rather than losing yourself in the story.

I went through a phase of reading classics because I felt I should. And I’m glad I did. Some of them I enjoyed a lot. But I gave precious little time to read these days and i choose to spend it reading books that aren’t an effort.

thecatfromjapan · 04/01/2018 18:29

I loved it but there's no reason why you should.

It may be a 'classic' but first and foremost it's a written story. Some stories (and writing) you will love. Some, you will hate.

I find it hard to warm to George Eliot. I admire her. I want to love her writing. But I don't.

I think you must never let the idea of something being a 'classic' obscure the fact that writing's first purpose is to delight, entertain, provoke, renew and/or light a path through life. It's because a book did any or all of these things that it became a 'classic'. If it's not working for you, ask other people what they liked about it - and see if that gives you a 'path' through the book. And if that doesn't work - find something that does work.

I liked The Hobbit because I'd never read anything like it - remember, it pretty much created a genre that didn't exist (two, if you include video games). It was utterly absorbing to be picked up and carried into this fully-developed imaginary world. I loved the fact that the world was so fully-developed, it was almost like being plunged into a virtual reality (and that description didn't exist at the time) with no edges. Somehow it also invited the imagining of further stories - so I could write my own adventures set in sections of the world. I loved that. And, yes, it was adventurous and cozy at the same time.

Natsku · 04/01/2018 18:37

there is a great radio play done by the BBC of the Hobbit about 30 years ago which is brilliant

My dad had the tapes of that and we listened to it in the car on a long long journey through Europe - can still remember the voices, and dad angrily telling us to be quiet so he could listen!

UnderslungBowlingBall · 04/01/2018 18:41

Nope. I love it, personally, but it is an acquired taste. Just because it's a classic doesn't mean you must enjoy it. I can't stand a lot of Jane Austen and I struggle with TT and ROTK, but I think as long as you give it a go you're never unreasonable to say 'not for me'.

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