The Hobbit

The Hobbit By: J.R.R Tolkien

To start, I LOVE THIS BOOK! I also love The Lord of the Rings. (LoTR) I try and read this and the LoTR trilogy every year. I had quite a few friend who read it back in elementary and middle school but i never picked it up. Not sure why. I found it though While I was in Barnes an Noble with my friend waiting for the 5th Harry Potter book to be released at midnight. I saw it and thought well we have time to wait and I started to read it. I was instantly hooked. Course I didn't pick it up again till after Harry Potter. :p But when I did finally pick it back up I couldn't put it down. I loved this book so much that I decided to read the LoTR. I enjoyed those too. I loved this book and other works of Tolkien that any book that I have found by him I have bought and either started to read or haven't got around to it yet. (silly habit of buying to many books and then having them sit. Since I am such a slow reader) I have also done a lot of reading about Tolkien himself who was a fascinating man. Anyway. I do love this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy. Here is what Amazon.com had to say about this book.

"Now a major motion picture

A great modern classic and the prelude to THE LORD OF THE RINGS

 

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."

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban By: J.K. Rowling

It has been so much fun re-reading these. I always feel like I get transported back to an old friend. When I re-read books not only do I remember the way i felt when I read them for the first time. but it always takes me back to where I was in a certain time in my life. I love it! If you have never read these before they are so much fun to read and such a great story and series for that matter. here's a synopsis if you are not sure what it's about.

"For twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort.

Now he has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter's defeat of You-Know-Who was Black's downfall as well. And the Azkban guards heard Black muttering in his sleep, "He's at Hogwarts...he's at Hogwarts."

Harry Potter isn't safe, not even within the walls of his magical school, surrounded by his friends. Because on top of it all, there may well be a traitor in their midst."

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. By: J.K. Rowling

Yes I finished two books this weekend. :) Anyone proud of me? I know I am. Well for those who know me well, knows I love fantasy books. So of course I would love this series. I will admit when it first came out I didn't know anything about it. I think I might have seen my niece reading it or my mom. Anyway I didn't become interested in Harry Potter till my sister bought the first movie and we watched it. After that I was hooked. I read books 1-4 in a little over a month and eagerly awaited book 5. I did the harry potter parties at Barnes and Noble with my friend and then read the 5th book in 3 days. HIGHLY unusual for me. For the 6th book I was out of the country but I was once again at Barnes and Noble at midnight for the release of the 7th book. Which I dragged a slightly annoyed husband to. But was later annoyed myself when he wanted me to wait and finish book 6 with him so that we could read book 7 together. :p
The point of my rambling is if you haven't read this series yet due to all the "fandoms" and all the excitement that they create I would say I was exactly like you early on and I was missing out.
here is a summary of the book from Amazon:

"The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he’s packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls’ bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley’s younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone — or something — starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects… Harry Potter himself!"

The Magicians Nephew

The Magicians Nephew. By: C.S. Lewis

I have mentioned on her before that my husband and I like to read to each other. We use to commute an hour to and from to work everyday. That's how we read Harry Potter together, the Shannara Series and so forth. After I had our baby and wasn't driving with him as much we stopped. But we both really missed it and decided to start again. He has never read the Chronicles of Narnia so we decided to start. Well after a long time (since we don't drive as much) we finished this tonight on our way back from a birthday party. I really enjoyed reading this again especially with my hubby. Our baby girl seemed to enjoy listening to me read the story out loud as well.
Anyway for those of you who don't know The Magicians Nephew is the 1st book in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and starts off with the story of Digory and Polly and how they were able to not only enter into the land of Narnia. But to see it's creation and help this new world get started. I am a Christian and I know C.S. Lewis was a christian although he didn't like the idea of organized religion. I with a lot of other people can see the symbolism in these books and how they relate to our Lord and Savior as well as our Heavenly Father.I feel like reading them is like being in Sunday school. I know this idea has stirred up some heated controversy. But I do see this in his books. And that's just my opinion. But religious or not this book has a wonderful story line and can help spark the imagination in anyone.

Hans Christian Anderson

Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales

I love fairy tales have ever since I was a kid. So when I got a compilation of Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales on MP3. I was pretty excited. But I have to say a lot of his stories were rather depressing. I actually had to stop listening for the day just to try and do something a little more cheerful. I like some of the concepts but Wow I had no idea. A few of the stories I listened to were...

Shoes of Fortune
The Fur Tree
the Snow Queen
the Leap Frog
Elder Bush
The Bell
The Little Mermaid
and more

Dracula

Dracula by Bram Stoker

"A dreary castle, blood-thirsty vampires, open graves at midnight, and other gothic touches fill this chilling tale about a young Englishman's confrontation with the evil Count Dracula. A horror romance as deathless as any vampire, the blood-curdling tale still continues to hold readers spellbound a century later."

I went into this book not really know what to expect other than a traditional vampire story. I was a little shocked to see that it was all written from the characters point of view in journal format. I questioned it at first but found myself drawn in to each character just like I would any other book. In fact maybe even a little more so. Due to the fact that the characters would "write" things of a more personal and private nature. So you got to know them better then the other characters knew them. This wasn't the horror book that I had expected and I am actually very grateful for that. I am not someone who copes with horror well in any form. So this book was actually pretty perfect. I really enjoyed it and I am happy to check it off my "Classics to read" list. On to the next. :)

Forget Me Not

Forget me not  By: Dieter F. Uchtdorf

This is a book based off a talk that President Uchtdorf gave at an lds general conference. It is a book that talks about the forget me not flower and how we can use it as a symbol of the Lords Love for us. He talks about the 5 petals that are on the forget me not flower and the 5 things we need to remember when we see the forget me not flower. I REALLY love this book. It is a great short read for those days when you are feeling down. He helps remind you of just how special you are in our Heavenly Fathers eyes. It is directed towards women but I think it's a great read for anyone.

"You are closer to heaven than you suppose. You are destined for more than you can possibly imagine. Inspired by the five petals of the tiny forget-me-not flower, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf reminds us of five things we would be wise never to forget: to be patient with ourselves; to distinguish between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice; to be happy now; to focus on the why of the gospel; and to know that the Lord loves each of us infinitely. Our journey toward perfection may be long, but we can find wonder and delight in even the tiniest steps in that journey. Like the forget-me-nots, our successes may seem tiny to us and may often go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him."