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I like the fact that the trolls just outright ask Bilbo to give up his companions, I mean what better way to get more food than to directly ask the first one?

Also, they intended to skin and bone Bilbo before eating him. That makes them more civilized than Gollum already.

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First of all, these trolls had purses. Secondly, that is a fairly good alarm system to prevent snatch robbers from grabbing your stuff. What I really want to know is where can we buy a troll purse?

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Really Bilbo? Pinching the very mutton off the spits? Not even with a ring could you do that and get away with it. 😂

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I'd like to think these 3 aren't just any old trolls. They are the Anthony Bourdains of troll-land, the adventurous chefs who go around Middle-earth seeking to find the finest ingredients and making the greatest cuisines out of elves and men.

I might be making this all up as I go along.

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I have yet to be able to tell the difference in hoots between a barn-owl and a screech-owl. Is it the tone, or the octave?

Also, apparently dwarves are really bad at the stealth thing. Mind you, I'm not all that surprised seeing as they are a travelling circus band.

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I like that even though Thorin is the leader, everyone in the group voices their own opinion and the decide what to do as a group. Of course if Gandalf were here they'd probably all listen to him, but that is what a wizard is for.

Oh, and Oin and Gloin getting into a fight over their inability to get a fire going is hilarious.

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And here we have the minor dwarves roles described in pairs: Dori and Nori I'm attributing the role of making meals, Oin and Gloin in charge of starting the fire for the campsite and Fili and Kili in charge of the ponies.

Also Bilbo is the burglar, Balin the scout and Thorin the pompous leader.

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Just as the company of dwarves (and hobbit) set off on their adventure, Gandalf decides to tag along a bit for a sightseeing trip. Really, eating most, talking most and laughing most! It is almost as if he was on a holiday!

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It may be yet too far West, but I suspect some of these evil looking architecture might have represented when Angmar and it's Witchking was a presence in these parts.

It is times like this that I really wish I could enter the book and look into the history of days bygone.

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Notice how a dwarf is just considered as much a usual sight as a farmer? Even though they like their peace and quiet, the hobbits are not as cut-off from the world as you might think. Really, I think part of their 'isolationism' was really imposed on them - the fall or Arnor to Angmar essentially cut off the hobbit branch of Men from the rest of the Men further east.

And for all of the protection the Dunedain provided, I do think that hobbits are far more hardy than most people think. Sure they were not prepared for war, but that was because the other people deliberately kept them away from those information. If they were not sheltered away, I do think the hobbits would have managed to rise up against enemies. They may not have enjoyed peace as much, but they would not have been overrun as easily by Saruman either.

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This is something I genuinely missed from Gandalf in the other adaptations. They concentrate so much on him being a sort of Merlin figure, that they miss out the way he sometimes acts like Santa Claus. He knew Bilbo will be missing his little comforts on this journey, and so Gandalf brought them along for him.

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Actually Dwalin didn't leave me as bad an impression in the books as he did from the movies. Rather than being Thorin brooding bodyguard of sorts, I like this younger and more easy-going adventurous brother of Balin.

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I wish we got to see this part in the movie. Humorous, without being over-the-top comical, and encapsulates Bilbo's deep misgivings and Gandalf cheeky forcefulness.

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I find is very heart-warming that Gandalf would know Bilbo's habits well enough to see that Bilbo had been flustered by the events the day before.

Also, apparently Oliphaunt or Mumakil is a curse word for Gandalf. 😂

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It seems the washing up after themselves the previous day was only due to the fact that the dwarves were hoping to count on Bilbo's hospitality for the night. When they don't need any favours in return, who cares about clearing up the mess they made?

1 chapter done and I cannot stand the dwarves already. And unfortunately there are very few redeeming moments as we proceed further on in the book.

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I really really dislike the way Thorin, and by extension the entire company of dwarves who all follow his lead, treat Bilbo throughout the entire book. They only ever occasionally pay lip service for his deeds, but seem to view him as a servent by default.

Damn it Gandalf, why don't you do something about this?

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When Thorin says the dwarves paid the goblins of Moria, he meant suffering such a pyrrhic victory so that despite the win they still left Moria for the goblins to infest. To then even consider going after Sauron... Well madness doesn't even begin to cover it.

And as we all know, even the dragon and the Mountain were tasks that others helped them accomplish.