It’s the 22nd of September, the birth dates of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, according to our Middle-earth calendars.
That means it’s officially Hobbit Day!
As I’m re-reading The Lord of the Rings just now, I simply wanted to share 3 of my favourite chapters from each volume (and another 3 from The Hobbit).
Now, it’s hard to do so. I’m sure that many (like me) would pick the whole book, but there are some chapters that really stand out from the rest every time they are re-read.
The Fellowship of the Ring
– Three is Company
– A Short Cut to Mushrooms
– A Conspiracy Unmasked
The Two Towers
– The Riders of Rohan
– Helm’s Deep
– Journey to the Cross-roads
The Return of the King
– The Battle of the Pelennor Fields
– Many Partings
– The Scouring of the Shire
The Hobbit
– An Unexpected Party
– Queer Lodgings
– Flies And Spiders
Let us know YOUR favourite chapters in the comments below! 🙂
Finally, here’s my absurd (and time-consuming) contribution for this special day…
Happy Hobbit Day folks!
A Tolkienist's Perspective 
Ha, ha! That’s an awesome contribution!
I have too many favorite chapters to count. In The Hobbit, I adore Queer Lodgings. When I taught middle school English, I managed to get The Hobbit on the reading list. (It was a total nerd fest!) Every time we hit that chapter, I would reenact it as we recapped what we had read. I’d start telling the story like Gandalf, then keep waving students up to join me. Before the end, the whole classroom was standing at the front, staring towards the back of the room at the imaginary Beorn I’d been talking to the whole time. It was hilarious but really helped them appreciate why Beorn was so impressed. 🙂
That’s a fantastic story! And yes, Queer Lodgings make me laugh every time I read it. Glad it was given a subtle nod in the Extended of The Desolation of Smaug 🙂
I have to say I love The Council of Elrond, although some people find it slightly boring…
Love the Messenger conversation 😀
I also enjoy The Council of Elrond! I’m always impressed at how everything comes together.
Agreed! Many people find The Council of Elrond boring, but I actually see it as a kind of appendix to the main narrative – where you get to learn about all the other side-stories occurring throughout Middle-earth during the War of the Ring.
The Messenger! Shows how strong and cool Dain and the Dwarves are 😀
Although I’ve heard them Lorien folk prefer Instagram nowadays…. 😉
I love A Knife in the Dark. It’s so sombre and ominous, always gives me chills. Many Meetings and The Council of Elrond are warm and full of history – love them a lot too. But otherwise it’s hard to choose. These favourite chapters tend to change from time to time 🙂
Oh yes Knife in the Dark isn’t something to be read after sundown! Tolkien’s play with shadows is just spine-tingling 😀
Well, I’ve once made a mistake of reading it at night in the countryside and the Nazgúl haunted me in my dreams for half of the night 😀 That was truly horrible!
(0_0) … though at the same time it shows how entertaining Tolkien’s writing is 🙂
Absolutely 🙂 And so vividly written that it impresses one so much 😀
Riders of Rohan definitely! Eomer is my favorite character. I also love Window on the West and, given your confession last time that Faramir is your favorite, I’m surprised it did not make your list. Happy Hobbit Day, my friend!
Can I make another small confession? I always find the chapters “Window on the West” and “The Forbidden Pool” slightly dragging (please don’t hate me!). True, Faramir is one of my favourites, but I prefer his scenes in “Houses of Healing” and “The Stewart and the King” strangely enough …
Happy Belated Hobbit Day!
I would need to go back to the books to find my favorite chapters… it’s been (shamefully) too long.
Happy Hobbit Day!!
I guess I should bring up one chapter in particular, not by virtue of it being my favourite chapter (there are just too many awesome favourite chapters to choose from, and omitting any would be criminal for me) (this is prolly not a shoe- in for favourite chapter anyways), but by virtue of it having a massive impact on me.
I present to you “Concerning Hobbits”, first chapter readers will encounter unless they skipped the Prologue. This was my first encounter with Tolkien and Lord of the Rings.
“…Hobbits are a unobtrusive but very ancient people, more numerous formerly than they are today; for they love peace and quiet and good- tilled earth: a well- ordered and well- farmed countryside was their favourite haunt… The Hobbits of the Shire, with whom these tales are concerned, in the days of peace and prosperity, they were a merry folk…”
And it goes on to introduce the Hobbits, pipe- weed, and the finding of the One Ring followed by the epic we all love. This was how I began my journey through Middle- Earth, and I will never forget.
That gif. Might be the Sackville- Bagginses indeed. Haha. That Bilbo face really scared the living shit out of me back when I was a kid though.
Oh my … I still remember how I jump from my cinema seat almost 15 years ago!
Intriguing choice Joshua! I actually always re-read the Prologue whenever I start The Lord of the Rings. Some people skip it, but I always feel it’s part of the story itself and the proper introduction to Tolkien magnum opus 🙂
That was a completely darling text conversation. Especially the little selfie of Frodo and Gandalf. Nicely done!