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    The Hobbit
    The Hobbit
    The Hobbit
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    The Hobbit

    Written by J. R. R. Tolkien

    Narrated by Martin Shaw

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable and quiet life. His contentment is disturbed one day when the wizard, Gandalf, and the dwarves arrive to take him away on an adventure.

    Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he casught a sudden thin ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug’s left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance!

    Whisked from his comfortable hobbit-hole by Gandalf the wizard and a band of dwarves. Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon…

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 17, 2005
    ISBN9780007227761
    The Hobbit
    Author

    J. R. R. Tolkien

    J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 80 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

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    Reviews for The Hobbit

    4.5/5

    26,307 ratings590 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be an excellent book with great narration. The narrator's voice is soothing and the different character voices are well done. The book is enjoyable and the story is well-paced. Some listeners found the abridged version to be a bit confusing and wished for a longer version. Overall, this audiobook is recommended for fans of medieval fantasy and those who enjoy a fun adventure story.

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 1/5

      Feb 20, 2025

      Abridged garbage. The full audiobooks is on here as well.
    • 5/5

      Oct 21, 2024

      Timeless tale read by the best reader of Tolkien's work out there! If you want to listen to Tolkien, look for Martin Shaw as the reader. Excellent!
    • 5/5

      Jul 2, 2024

      Martin Shaw did a great job with narrating this classic book
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      J.R.R Tolkien was an Excellent writer and I am a big fan of his books, especially the LOTR series.
    • 4/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      Well, my last book of last year was The Hobbit and it's the first book of this year, too.

      I read it this time, instead of listening to an audiobook. I actually enjoyed reading it a bit more since it helped me absorb places and names a bit better. Oddly, though, I still didn't enjoy the second half of the book as much. I'm not really sure why. I like it up to Mirkwood but after that, I get a little restless until we meet Smaug. Maybe it's the way the elves treat Bilbo. They're kinda mean.

      I also think the whole Bilbo-knocked-unconcious-so-the-author-doesn't-have-to-describe-a-battle-in-depth thing is funny and a good work around. Gotta love limited 3rd person POV.
    • 4/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      My mom recommended this to me. Now I know why. It’s a great book and I would recommend it to a lot of my friends.
    • 3/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      In my opinion it was fine It can get confusing. so just a Warning for young listeners
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      I really enjoyed it! Great reading! Thank you !
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      Greetings!
      this audiobook Helps me to Focus within my mind to venture off into a far off landscape draft from my reality always makes me feel wonderful about myself
      Thanks!!
    • 4/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      Finished it in 1 day! I liked it a lot, which I expected. The only thing that bothered me was that throughout the book, the narrator changed Bilbo's voice and accent a few times. The narrator had a really pleasant reading voice and speed throughout.
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      good book.
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      Loved it such a great book worth the read
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      One of my favorite stories, and so well narrated! Do listen to this!
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      The voice for the reading was perfect, he has a deep voice, as if he is one of the dwarfs himself. Along with how he changes to different characters, like Thoran having such a presence, and Gollum giving you shivers. All in all it was a great listen! In my opinion better than the actual author reading it, not sorry.
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      good fantasy
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      Über book! Fell in love with it at the first sight and even more after I've read it.
    • 4/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      I didn't realize this was an abridged version when I borrowed it from the library but it was really enjoyable. I felt like I was listening to the movie.
      The audio though was all over the place. I can forgive the original but I feel like the new release could have edited the sounds better.
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      This a great book for young readers to be introduced to the world of Middle Earth.
    • 3/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      It must come with age and being disappointed with the film but listening to this now it has lost the wonder and charm it once held for me.
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      I'm reading this to Henry, who actually sits still for it and is following the story. I remember reading it to Parker when he was about the same age, and I'm not sure who enjoys the experience more, the boys or me.
    • 4/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      Before The Lord of the rings movies came out made sure to read the book, I try to do that with good books. So my husband encouraged me to read this one. I didn't really want to, it felt like too childish a tale.

      Once it began I was reminded of the mastery of Tolkiens writing. The tale is fabulous but the way it is written, the prose, is amazing. Gush - gush - gush. He is a great writer.

      Go read another review for in depth character analysis, I will just tell you about how good he writes.
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      I personally loved this novel. Hated some of the characters but It was still a good novel and had good humor. :)
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      Still love it after all these years.
    • 3/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      I know he's considered a master, but I couldn't help feeling what I always feel reading Tolkien: a little bored. I don't feel that he draws strong enough characters to pull me in. The plot feels like "this happened, and then this, and then this..." While I enjoy some of the scenarios, I don't ever feel like it adds up to...much. And though I enjoyed refreshing my memory of the story (looking toward the film), I wish that I enjoyed it more. Will I ever tackle the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy? Maybe. I hear so many great things. On the other hand, I might reread Zelazny (Amber) or finish Moorcock (Elric) or begin reading Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire).
    • 3/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      Rob Inglis Audiobooks's 2011:

      I started these as a combination of reading another favorite series of Stephanie's and challenging myself to read one of the few series in my teens that I voted "too boring to continue" (in the middle of Two Towers), yet it is something so well known, considered canon/classic.

      My favorite part of listening to this one:

      Listening to Rob Inglis sing, and listening to Rob Inglis sing in every single type of race and kind of voice. I own that I would really listen to this man sing anything at this point. I totally want to know if he has cd's.
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      Yesterday -- or, by the time this goes live on my blog, the day before yesterday, the 22nd -- was Bilbo and Frodo's birthday, so naturally that constituted the final bit of excuse I needed to reread Lord of the Rings. And it never quite feels right without starting with The Hobbit. It doesn't have quite the same cleverness that I enjoy with Lord of the Rings -- Tolkien hadn't come up with, or didn't see the need to explain, his complicated text provenances, for example -- but I still enjoy the narration, the sense of being told a story, and the fact that he expects you, dares you, to be on the ball. As a kid, I didn't notice some of the flaws in Bilbo's plans at all, but Tolkien's narration gives you the benefit of the doubt there. Self-deprecating, almost.

      I think the reason I dislike the Hobbit films so much is because they are adapting the book I love to blend with the films they've made already. I can see why they're doing that, and why people enjoy it, but I don't feel the desperate need to rationalise the difference between the tones of the two books. I like my dwarves goofy, the hero's journey a little less blatant; I like that Bilbo makes his way through all the adventures because he's a hobbit, with hobbit-sensibilities, not just a hero in hobbit form. I love that hobbits are basically Tolkien taking aspects of himself and letting them run around in this fantasy world without the illusion that of course he'd be the heroic type. It's still wish fulfilment, but it's a kind of wish fulfilment where the hero probably would be better off as a grocer or something else quiet, and manages despite that.

      I mean, I bet a very small percentage of self-insert fanfics have the sense to admit that in reality, they're more like the hobbits than the typical heroes. I really enjoy that Tolkien quite blatantly did that with his layers of authorship and the characteristics of hobbits as a race, and didn't give in to the urge to over-romanticise it -- while still making hobbits endearing, funny, brave, worth reading about, still pulling out aspects of character from even the most countrified bumpkin that could make them a hero.

      And, let's be honest, I just don't understand people who don't see the skill in Tolkien's writing, in the way he builds up the world. Even here, where it isn't taking the main character very seriously, he still takes the world seriously, shadowing it with the threat of the Necromancer, the Ring, the great alliances of the orcs -- hinting at twisted dwarves and the complicated history of the elves, deftly bringing in little bits of lore so that they're natural when we come to them in The Lord of the Rings. Not because he was planning it, but because he knew his world and knew how to show it to the reader.
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit that gets dragged into this adventure with a wizard, a bunch of dwarves, trolls, goblins, elves and a dragon. Amazing right?I can’t believe I didn’t read this sooner. I’ve read The Lord of the Rings, and loved it, but for some reason I never read The Hobbit. Which is crazy because it’s beyond amazing. I had high hopes for it and I was still completely blown away.The plot is so fast paced and it seems like something happens in every single chapter. There are no slow moments. You need to just keep reading to see what will happen to Bilbo next.I loved Bilbo. Unfortunately, most of the other characters just blend together. Yet that somehow didn’t take anything away from the story for me.Overall, I wish The Hobbit was a bit longer and some of the characters more developed. However it is still a five star book for me. It is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Please pick it up and read it if you haven’t already.
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      Still my favorite Tolkien.
    • 5/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      The staple of all Fantasy Works...This book is priceless.
    • 4/5

      Sep 16, 2023

      I know. I can't believe I had never read this either. I don't usually dig fantasy, but I really enjoyed this one. Or maybe it was all the singing on my audiobook. Either way, a good read.