Happy Birthday to The Hobbit

On this day, in 1937, the world first read the words "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." From that small beginning, first scrawled on the back of a page used for a different purpose, came books that have been a part of my life and the lives of millions of others. And as we get closer to the release of the movie, more and more people will be introduced to the unique vision and storytelling abilities of JRR Tolkien.

This lovely watercolor cover of The Hobbit is by David T Wenzel

I fully admit that I am not that big a fan of The Hobbit. In all of Tolkien's books, it comes down the list for me. But my basic dislike comes from a multitude of angles and history and I will still enjoy watching the story unfold on the screen through the unique interpretation and vision of Peter Jackson. It may not be your vision, there may be casting decisions that you dislike or characterizations that you disagree with, but the rich, multi-level vision of Middle Earth that he is placing on the screen makes this small world live. Finally my inner vision of a world, one that I read and still read annually, has come to life in front of me and it's lush, and colorful, and populated with fantastic creatures and people with whom I would adore conversing for hours on end. There are buildings to explore and landscapes to roam and...basically...it is a beautiful view of the Middle Earth that I adore.

Martin Freeman will make a brilliant Bilbo. The more I see in the film trailers, 

the more I like his characterization.

So thank you, Peter Jackson, for loving the books of Tolkien as much as I have and having the ability, vision, and financial backing, to bring them to the screen so that all can share your vision. I may not agree with all of your choices, but the chance to once again immerse myself into this rich world gives me such joy that I forgive the mis-steps.

Radagast is played by Sylvester McCoy. I'm not fond of the hat, but I love the character. 

 Yeah - I'm a Radagast fangirl.

Tomorrow...autumn thoughts.