The Hobbit

 Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed wen the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.

Once again..........

Everything! I don't know if it was from watching the movie, or from reading the book, but for some reason, I think Bilbo is soooooooooooooo cute! Not like handsome-cute, but just funny- cute! Who agrees?

Once again, the plot is magnificent, the writing clear and expressive, the characters perfectly described, all the events fit together, I could ramble for days! 

I have been reading The Hobbit to my siblings lately, and I love it! One of my favorite things to do with my siblings is read aloud to them--as long as it's not one of MY books, because, ya know, that's just awkward (have you ever been in that situation? ...comment below). But I really enjoy it, and apparently they do too. I love giving the dwarves accents, and making Bilbo sound flustered, and doing voice fluctuations--it's just awesome. Do you like reading aloud?

*sniff*........

That.............certain people.........*sniff*............you know............... like, the coolest people IMHO............

*sniff*.....................

DIED!?!?!?!?!?!?!  And all those Elves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

MY KINSMEN

(that's a joke)

But really.........

If you ever watch the movies you might just cry your eyes out. I remember thinking, both when I finished the book and when we watched the movies, that.................you know, there really is no "happy ending" to The Hobbit. I mean, does anyone relate? Seriously, the only good thing that happens is that Bilbo gets to go home--and that they whup the bad guys. Think about it! *name*, *name*, and *name* all die, so do TONS of Elves and other dwarves, and I guess you've already reached the correct conclusion that The Hobbit struck me as kinda sad.

TELL ME THAT I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT FEELS THAT WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ehhh, just the usual. Battles and stuff. References to people getting killed, nothing serious. But if we're talking the movie? Shoot, y'all. And you wonder why The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies is rated R. (!!!) By the way, I thought that the rating label was sorta funny. All it said was "R. SOME VIOLENCE." I was like, "..........................SOME violence?!?!?!?!" :P

Ahhhhh. Now that I have //officially// finished my say about this (at least for now..................) we can move on. Yay, right? :D 
And of COURSE this one gets.................

FIVE STAAAAAAAAAAAAAARS!

Have you read The Hobbit? What was your favorite part? Have you ever seen the movies? Who is your favorite character?

And just for fun...............

Y'all are probably tired of memes now, aren't you? (like that could ever happen) So for a change, a gif:

So long for now! Keep on adventuring!

The Two Towers (Lord of the Rings #2)

  Sauron's forces increase.
The Ringwraiths return in an even more frightening form.
Saruman's army of Uruk Hai are ready to launch an assault against Aragorn and the people of Rohan. Yet, the Fellowship is broken and Boromir is dead. For the little hope that is left, Frodo and Sam march on into Mordor, unprotected.
A new number of allies join with Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Merry, and Pippin. And they must defend Rohan and attack Isengard. Yet, while all this is going on, Sauron's troops mass toward the City of Gondor, for the War of the Ring is about to begin.

^^^ THAT BOOK COVER. OHMIGOSH.  FANGIRL PROBLEMS.

Anyway, what I liked!

Faramir and Eowyn. Ok, so some people don't like Eowyn for her "flirting" with Aragorn (even though she supposedly knew he and Arwen were basically engaged), but she and Faramir are soooooo cute! (ESPECIALLY IN THE MOVIES)
And of course there's the obvious likes: the plot, the drama, the characters, etc. etc. etc. J.R.R. Tolkien was such a great writer! What's not to love about his books? :D

Once again.....

Nothing! At all! 

:D :D :D :D :D 

Again, only some battles and the like. Also, Denethor was too depressed for his own good. (As clearly shown in the book and also the movies.)

There is no other possible rating to give this one...

Five stars in a heartbeat!!!

Have you read The Two Towers? What was your favorite part? Who was your favorite character? Have you read anything else by J.R.R. Tolkien? If so, what was it and how did you like it?

(P.S. If I forgot to mention any other awesome parts, don't hesitate to let me know in the comments section below! :D)

The Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of the Rings #1)

  The dark, fearsome Ringwraiths were searching for a Hobbit. Frodo Baggins knew they were seeking him and the Ring that he bore--the Ring of Power that would enable evil Sauron to destroy all that was good in Middle-Earth. Now it was up to Frodo and his faithful servant Sam, with a small band of companions, to carry the Ring to the one place it could be destroyed--Mount Doom, in the very center of Sauron's dark kingdom.

  *hyperventilating*
EVERYTHING.
EV--ER--Y--THING.

 In my humble opinion, this is the best book that was ever written and ADFLKSDLFKJASDFLKJ HERE GOES FANGIRLING.

I LOVE the characters, the plot, the storyline, the settings, and if I could do anything at all it would be to live in Middle-Earth with the Elves.   

I have a confession to make.

Lord of The Rings is the only---ONLY---thing I obsess over. I better not hear anyone ask why.

It's a good thing someone already wrote some articles about it because I am too much of a fangirl to speak clearly on this subject. (well I probably could but...anyway...)

 The Lord of The Rings and the Five Dimensions of a Story

 How J.R.R. Tolkien Used Middle-Earth to Reveal Who We Are

Those articles, especially the first one, are sooooooo true.

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There is nothing to dislike about this. At. All. Some may disagree, but oh well. If you disagree I'd love to know why in the comments below. :D

I don't really think there is anything. Like. There's nothing bad. At. All.

There are some descriptions of battles, but they're not the kind that have you cringing, they're the kind that have you yelling stuff like, "Get 'em, Gimli!" and, "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!" and the like. (at least that's what I do)

(btw, in the movies I think there are a lot of "YEAAAAAH SAM" moments)

*sigh* This one is super obvious. 

FIVE STARS AND NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

Have you read this AMAZING book? Who is your favorite character? What was the saddest part, in your opinion? Have you read anything else by J.R.R. Tolkien? If so, what was it?

*the ultimate LoTR fangirl*

Shane

 "I had lain in my bed thinking of our visitor out in the bunk in the barn. It scarce seemed possible that he was the same man that I had first seen, stern and chilling in his dark solitude, riding up our road...He was far off and unapproachable at times even when he was right there with you."

          The Starret family's life forever changes when a man named Shane rides out of the great glowing West and up to their farm in 1889. Young Bob Starret is entranced by this stoic stranger who brings a new energy to his family. Shane stays on as a farmhand, but his past remains a mystery. Many folks in their small Wyoming valley are suspicious of Shane, and make it known that he is not welcome. But dangerous as Shane may seem, he is a staunch friend to the Starrets--and when a powerful neighboring rancher tries to drive them out of their homestead, Shane becomes entangled in the deadly feud.

         This classic Western is a profoundly moving story of the influence of a singular character on one boy's life.

Ok, peeps! If you haven't read this book, you need to. This book is so good that I read it four times in two days...I think. Anyway. I liked that this book was in first person. I don't usually like first-person narrated books, but this one was great. I don't think that a third person perspective would've worked for this one. Also, the story line is great. I mean, come on. A guy named Shane who just enters into this family on a whim, really (or maybe it was Mrs. Starret's cooking), gets involved in all the family difficulties, and whips up--no, not whips up, WHOOPS up--on the bad guys. And what is even more awesome, at the end of the book, when Shane leaves, the first guy he ever beat up.... oyhere is an overall sense of teamwork, and sticking together through thick and thin. I like how Bob looks up to Shane, and the relationship they have with each other. I really loved this scene. I thought it was sweet. And cool. Anyway, here it is:

        ...Like the time I was playing with a gun Mr. Grafton gave me, an old frontier model Colt with a cracked barrel someone had turned in at the store.

        I had rigged a holster out of a torn chunk of oilcloth and a belt of rope. I was stalking around near the barn, whirling every few steps to pick off a skulking Indian, when I saw Shane watching me from the barn door. I stopped short, thinking of that beautiful gun under his bunk and afraid he would make fun of me and my sorry old broken pistol. Instead he looked gravely at me.

        "How many have you knocked over so far, Bob?"

        Could I ever repay the man? My gun was a shining new weapon, my hand steady as a rock as I drew a bead on another one.

         "That makes seven."

         "Indians or timber wolves?"

         "Indians. Big ones."

         "Better leave a few for the other scouts," he said gently. "It wouldn't do to make them jealous. And look here, Bob. You're not doing that quite right."

And then he goes on to show Bob a few tips and tricks about holding and handling a pistol. It was so sweet how he didn't make fun of him, but instead plays along and even gives him more knowledge on the art of gunfighting. And you know how Bob feels after this. The attention he gives to Shane is basically hero worship. It is so sweet!

Hmm...was there anything to dislike about this book? I don't really think so. There is the overall disappointment about the bad guys being so dumb as to mess with a man like Shane. THEY SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER. And see what they got for not knowing. OH WAIT. No spoilers. 

The content was not that bad. I mean, there was the to-be-expected D-word, but I'm pretty sure it was only used in one or two places in the whole book... which is pretty good for a Western, you know? 

For an over-all great book, I do now therefore award thee, Shane....

A five-star rating!!

Have you ever read Shane? Who was your favorite character? Do you want to read this book? Have you read anything else by Jack Schaefer?

P.S. Don't forget to tell me how I did! (this was my very first blog post...ever. Like, ever, ever.)