With The Hobbit movies coming closer this will be even more so. I suspect that many will try and read The Hobbit this summer before they go and see it later this year. Of course they can go and pick up one of the many movie cover editions, but let us not forget that is now 75 years ago that the Hobbit was released and that there many nice sets out there that are looking much better!

This new boxed set, published to mark the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit, offers readers a new opportunity to discover Tolkien’s remarkable world of Middle-earth and to follow the complete story of Bilbo Baggins and the Hobbits’ part in the epic quest for the Ring – beginning with Bilbo’s fateful visit from Gandalf and culminating in the dramatic climax between Frodo and Gollum atop Mount Doom and Bilbo’s departure to the Grey Havens.

The designs by Tolkien are used and the colors make this set really stand out. It is a good alternative to the movie cover paperbacks. I only wonder why this set was only released in paperback format, since it would look much better as hardback. Also I wonder why the designers tried to keep the sizes of the books so equal, which means the type-set in The Lord of the Rings is much smaller then that of The Lord of the Rings; still it is a common problem with Lord of the Rings paperbacks. The design however is so fabulous that I can only advise to pick up this set if you did not read the books yet.

The prelude to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most beloved and influential books of the twentieth century.

The design of the paperback brings us a re-design of Tolkien's classic cover. Since 1937, few books have provided more pleasure than J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Originally published in England with a first printing of 1,500 copies, The Hobbit today celebrates its 75th anniversary this year! I would suggest to read it and celebrate this special year before the release of the movies.

In the beginning of the year I had to idea to write one article a day, something like 'one hobbit a day keeps the doctor away' - it would have been possible. There are now over 60 translations available world-wide, with the Latin The Hobbit being the 64th translation, and many hundreds of re-prints. One could easily show one of the nice editions, every day of one full year. But alas, as good as the idea was, I did not even manage to write one of the articles. I can only refer back to the "hobbits around the globe gallery" (that needs some serious updates) and show you how much fun that would have been. But I will be reading The Hobbit again this summer and this is the set I choose. I do hope many will follow.