Finished THE HOBBIT yesterday morning, just before it was time to start working. None of my thoughts around the book are fully baked yet, but my initial reaction is I enjoyed it very much. I get why it knocked people’s socks off when it came out in 1937 — Tolkien was just out there inventing the epic fantasy tropes. Given how saturated the genre became over the last century, it’s remarkable how fresh THE HOBBIT still feels today.
More later, but I’ll also add that the thing most surprising to me about THE HOBBIT is that it’s made me actually want to read THE LORD OF THE RINGS. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.
RECENTLY:
- Trump compares first strikes on Iran to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor:
“We didn’t tell anyone about it because we wanted a surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan?” Trump said to laughter. “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” [Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae] Takaichi’s eyes widened and her smile disappeared as she leaned back and drew her hands in at the mention of Pearl Harbor. - WNBA, players’ union agree to new CBA (I don’t give a hoot about sports, but in this house we celebrate when a labor union win)
LAST READ: THE HOBBIT, J.R.R. Tolkien
LISTENING: CURRENTS, Tame Impala