Book #66: The Hobbit
I listened to The Hobbit as an audio book. It's been years, and I was a little saddened that the story didn't quite live up to my memories. I found the dwarves both annoying and a little stupid. Thorin was especially difficult. It was hard to see him as an inspirational but misguided leader. Rather, he came across more as a pompous, entitled windbag. Some of that perhaps was the way the reader did the voices, but I was frustrated at how the dwarves were so very incapable of handling, well, anything.
The reader was decent. He did voices, and I especially liked his Bilbo and Gandalf. His Smaug was ridiculous, not nearly threatening enough. (Benedict Cumberbatch was by far the best part of the disappointing Peter Jackson movies.) I did not like the way he tried to sing all the songs that are mentioned in the novel. It was far too much of a distraction. I might listen to The Lord of the Rings trilogy at some point.
The reader was decent. He did voices, and I especially liked his Bilbo and Gandalf. His Smaug was ridiculous, not nearly threatening enough. (Benedict Cumberbatch was by far the best part of the disappointing Peter Jackson movies.) I did not like the way he tried to sing all the songs that are mentioned in the novel. It was far too much of a distraction. I might listen to The Lord of the Rings trilogy at some point.