Tolkien was a professor of English literature at Oxford University and loved Anglo Saxon and Middle English, and he was also fascinated by Norse mythology. A lot of his ideas in The Hobbit were based on his love of these real-life older languages and myths.

One of the greatest things about The Hobbit (and his The Lord of the Rings) is that Tolkien created an entire, very believable world called Middle-earth in the books, involving its entire history, and maps of the land. Middle Earth even has its own languages, including the two types of Elvish: Quenya (spoken in Rivendell) and Sindarian (spoken in the Woodland Realm ).

Tolkien's Middle Earth is so detailed it makes the reader totally immersed in this world and feel like they are part of Bilbo Baggins' adventure along with all the fun, scary and fascinating characters.

I also enjoy the way that Tolkien makes you feel that in some way, it exists inside us and is a part of us.

As well as being a very exciting adventure story, there is also a sense of cosiness and warmth to the book, like how the Hobbits live in little villages like "Hobbiton" and "Buckland", and how they would "prefer to sit at home by a warm fire drinking a mug of hot tea than outside and having an adventure and doing anything unexpected." This makes the thought of their adventure even more amazing and gently amusing too.

I think The Hobbit is a truly great book to read and would definitely reccommend it to others. Everyone should read it!