Houghton Mifflin Harcourt just released this special anniversary edition with Tolkien's originial cover. You've gotta love this product description:
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 when 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 guarded by 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.
If you've never tried any Tolkien, I urge you to pick up The Hobbit. It's wickedly funny, full of great character interactions, adventure and unexpected heroes. It's much faster paced than LoTR, and loads fewer pages to get the complete story.
In honor of The Hobbit's anniversary, I'm participating in The Hobbit Second Breakfast, in which we share our love of good food and good friends in true hobbit style. Since you friends are scattered across the globe, today's treats will have to be virtual and a feast for the eyes and imagination.
On the menu today:
Crisp waffles with fruit. (Just don't expect me to share the red raspberries.)
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| photo by DannySan, Flickr Creative Commons |
A succulent, savory omlette, chock-full of veggie goodness and cheese.
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| photo by ukanda, Flickr Creative Commons |
To make that toast on the side even better, your choice of spreads and preserves:
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| photo by KRebaud, Flickr Creative Commons |
Juice in any flavor that you fancy. I'm torn between mango and kiwi...
And for the caffeine addicts, your choice of coffee or tea.
Stop and sit a spell. Tell me a story. When were you called on an unexpected adventure like Bilbo? Ever face a nemesis and outwit him or her? Ever take an awesome road trip with friends? Ever discover a hidden treasure?
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| photo by BaboMike, Flickr Creative Commons |
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| photo by fred pipes, Flickr Creative Commons |
Stop and sit a spell. Tell me a story. When were you called on an unexpected adventure like Bilbo? Ever face a nemesis and outwit him or her? Ever take an awesome road trip with friends? Ever discover a hidden treasure?
My son and I have scones baking right now for our Elevensies. :)
ReplyDeleteBTW, I'm drooling over the 75th annv. edition, though I love our copy with illustrations by Michael Hague.
Scones, yum! The anniversary edition uses the cover that Tolkien himself illustrated.
DeleteWe also have a really beautiful hardcover, though ours is illustrated by Alan Lee (who worked on the film version also).
Breakfast looks divine! I had toast this morning, and I am still hungry. Should I make myself some waffles? :) Thanks for bringing this celebration to my attention. Happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteNothing will stir your appetite like looking at food photos! :-)
DeleteHappy weekend to you, too.
Love this post!!! I've been on a few unexpected adventures . . .but sorting out which story to tell . . .well that would be hard.
ReplyDeleteHave an adventurous day! ;-) And thanks for coming by to enjoy the virtual feast.
DeleteI hate to admit that I have't read the hobbit, even though it's been in my library for years. Maybe this is the post to spur me to action or I'll just wait for the movie. BTW - that omelette looks amazing makes me hungry.
ReplyDeleteYou might enjoy an audiobook version on a long car trip with your family. The films--three of them-- will be adding in a bunch of extra material from the LoTR appendices, so they'll be a different animal than the original children's book.
DeleteThanks for stopping by to sample the virtual feast!
Hooray for all things Tolkien and Middle Earth! It's not long after elevensies now.
ReplyDeleteHear, hear! Enjoy the virtual feast! ;-)
DeleteYesterday I had my second breakfast at my favorite creperie. When I'm in that town, I have to sit at the seaside table with a warm crepe filled with brie, orange butter and slice oranges on the side. Did I mention this is heaven?
ReplyDeleteToday I had my usual egg&toast but I'm planning a deli-fresh rye bagel to celebrate Bilbo.
Ooh, yum. That does sound delicious. I've never tried orange butter. Is it sweet or more tart like marmalade? And hooray for crepes. There are a couple of wonderful creperies in Philly I've tried, offering both savory and sweet varieties that are heavenly indeed.
DeleteBilbo would surely approve of a bagel in his honor.
It is soooo delicious. The butter is sweet butter with tiny bits of orange rind and probably orange juice mixed in and then chilled again.
ReplyDeleteOoo! I want that omelet! Everthing's better with cheese on it (too bad I'm not supposed to eat cheese, le sigh). Love the "second breakfast" idea. And THE HOBBIT is the only book I've read of the Lord of The Rings type books. Bad me. But I've watched the movies. :)
ReplyDeleteMy deepest sympathies for the cheese ban in your diet. I'd sooner give up meat!
DeleteI recently re-read Fellowship of the Ring aloud to my daughter and was struck by how intensely s-l-o-w paced it is. I think my adoration of the story is best in hindsight. LOL. Because he IS a master of world building. But such a realist in his fantasy that he drags you through the long quest blister by mosquito bite by empty water flask.
Love your choices! I had a croissant and a latte, and thought about Bilbo and Frodo - and my cat, Frodo, who's birthday is today, along with the hobbitses :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for alerting me to this fun celebration. I loves me a good croissant, too. Had some amazing ones on my honeymoon in Quebec.
DeleteAnd Frodo is an AWESOME cat name.
Thanks! His brother's name is Sam :-)
DeleteI was tying to find obscure Tolkien names, but it didn't work...
I love waffles! And too waffle, actually waffle is just such a great word.
ReplyDeleteThat's my favourite cover for The Hobbit, gorgeous artwork.
Waffle is a great word. It's funny, I was just rereading an old post I wrote about burnout and described, among other symptoms, that you sit down to write and the only word you can think of is "waffles."
DeleteThat original cover is the one Tolkien himself drew. He apparently drew all the maps inside as well. A multi-talented guy.
I read The Hobbit twice in high school and LOVED it. But for some reason haven't been able to make it through any of the LOTR books.
ReplyDeleteThat waffle looks yummy!
Hi Kistin, thanks for coming for virtual treats. I can totally understand the hard slog LoTR is. I loved the books as a teen but recently began reading them aloud to my daughter (age 10) we got bogged down in book 2. The pace is quite slow, which was ok for an earlier generation of readers, but hard to stick with nowadays--technology is eroding our patience, I guess. :-)
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