The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

What hackers pick instead

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Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 66 comments. Each links to the original.

1. The Hobbit does a wonderful job of introducing the ideas and characters of LotR in a way which is accessible for children

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

2. Done in a classic childrens' story illustration style, rather than the modern sleek style of CGI-heavy fantasy.

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

3. I don't really see it as intrinsically wrong. It's just less of a "standard" depiction

   Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

4. As presented, Gollum is badly off, I reckon - missing the books textual description.

   Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

5. My favorite art for The Hobbit is from the version released in the USSR.

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

6. he deeply pondered the moral implications and theology of his world

   Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “JRR Tolkien reads from The Hobbit for 30 Minutes (1952)”

7. the Tove Jansson illustrations make it all worthwhile. Adorable.

   Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “Hollywood's spent 25 years chasing the wrong lessons from The Lord of the Rings”

8. it contains many things that can inform your character for life

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

9. the most magnificent audio version ever recorded of The Hobbit

   Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “JRR Tolkien reads from The Hobbit for 30 Minutes (1952)”

10. I read it to my daughter when she was six, and she loved it.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

11. his voice is perfect, esp. for the tone of the Hobbit

    Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “JRR Tolkien reads from The Hobbit for 30 Minutes (1952)”

12. my mother read it to me when I was three years old

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

13. Of his works I still enjoy The Hobbit the most

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “JRR Tolkien on 'the most tragic moment' in The Lord of the Rings”

14. Always a fan of Gandalf's response to Bilbo

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “A proposal to classify happiness as a psychiatric disorder”

15. the illustrations are great. I love them.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

16. What I didn't like was the color grading.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “JPEG Compression”

17. it is still a wonderful children's book

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

18. Jansson's seems very fresh to me.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

19. these illustrations don’t appeal to me at all, and don’t match my mental imagery of the story

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

20. The text is also so small as to be difficult to read in all but ideal lighting.

    Criticizes · Oct 2026 · in “Publishers Killed the Paperback, Then Blamed Readers”

21. Gollum as massive creature is so inaccurate to the book

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

22. But as an illustrated book, it's lacking.

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

23. Dreadful and painfully Nordic.

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

24. The 48 fps of The Hobbit was glorious. First time I have ever been able to see what is happening on screen

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Stranger Things Creator Says Turn Off "Garbage" Settings”

25. My son and I are about 3/4ths through Fellowship of the Ring after he loved The Hobbit.

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Show HN: Lyra Kids – I built an AI bedtime storyteller for my daughters”

26. had randomness and emergent gameplay in ways that even Infocom didn't quite reproduce

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “The Rise of Computer Games, Part I: Adventure”

27. I don't find KJV's writing style engaging at all. The Hobbit was much better IMO

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “The revolt of the reader”

28. They do represent the original material, as interpreted by the illustrator.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

29. it fits the nature of hobbits well while referencing the "bag" in Baggins

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “The Perils of ISBN”

30. It feels like a Nordic interpretation of a folk tale shared across Europe

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

31. wish there were more examples of this in the images shown in the article

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

32. this makes it carelessness, which probably could have made me read it

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

33. I enjoy the storyline that doesn't have to be tied into the main arc

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

34. Hardcovers may be made as small as paperbacks, but far more lasting

    Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “Publishers Killed the Paperback, Then Blamed Readers”

35. mainstream things like The Hobbit and Guardians of the Galaxy

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

36. I really liked this book Hobbit by someone named JRR Tolkien

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Attention is all you have”

37. We have Jansson to thank for the clarification, it seems!

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

38. But the Hobbit is much shorter and is a much easier read.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Tove Jansson's criticized illustrations of The Hobbit”

39. you're much better off reading The Hobbit in English.

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “The Vatican's Website in Latin”

40. much, much prefer the clarity of motion 48fps offers

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “JPEG Compression”