Alan and I went to see Peter Jackson’s new movie The Hobbit.  We enjoyed it a lot, but got into a discussion about how much Jackson had added to Tolkien’s original story, and about how on earth Jackson was going to spin three long movies out of such a short book.  So there were shiny unread paperbacks of The Hobbit and all three Lord of the Rings books on the bookshelf, bought to replace my loved to tatters old paperbacks, and Alan decided to reread The Hobbit to figure out some of the answers.  Nearly all of the cool Radogast the Brown’s hedgehogs and rabbit sled stuff is new for the movie, but everything else is very close to the book.  I read the book again too, and it is great, lots of adventures and action; it’s short because a lot is crammed into a much faster pace than The Lord of the Rings.  I think Jackson and the screenwriters will have plenty for three Hobbit movies, and I want to see them all.  More new material like Radogast and his animals is fine with me.  Not sure how Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug AND the Necromancer will work, but hey, it’s Benedict Cumberbatch, yowza.  Also Lee Pace as Thranduil in the next movie, he’s good too.

I enjoyed The Hobbit so much, I’ve started The Fellowship of the Ring.  I used to be one of those people who read The Lord of the Rings once a year, but I haven’t really done that since the movies came out; I’ve been watching them once a year instead.  It’s high time to read the books again.  Then watch the movies again to see how they are different from the originals.  What a great plan.