Written by Tolkien before he went on to write The Lord of The Rings trilogy, which was actually intended to only be a sequel, The Hobbit remains a classic even today. It is a story that many of us are likely to have read whilst growing up, or were at least forced to during education, with the novel and its adaptations now being a part of one of the biggest film franchises to date.

Full of fantasy and imagination, The Hobbit is an epic journey that centres on bravery, friendship and loyalty. It’s one of the most original stories ever crafted, and it’s no wonder that it remains hugely popular even 80 years later.

Filled with exhilarating characters and fantastical monsters, the book is filled to the brim with both action and adventure. But there’s also a lot of laughter along the way, as we follow a host of extravagant and eccentric characters from wizards to dwarves, werewolves to trolls, rock giants to elves, and even a dragon.

And what a fantastic hero Bilbo is. We would all prefer the easy life but, at the same time, everybody has that spark of adventure in them. As Bilbo pushes himself through this tiresome journey, it’s this relatability that ignites with every reader as we laugh along with every twist, riddle, and skilful escape.

Although a seemingly light-hearted story and quite simply written, originally intended to be a story for children, the story is still incredibly complex and there’s so much depth to Tolkien’s creation that he had to go on to write The Lord of The Rings trilogy to bring all of his phenomenal ideas together.

Tolkien’s books are some of the most awe-inspiring of all time, and if you haven’t read this book yet, you need to change that pronto.