The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again Resources

The Tolkien Society is an English charity dedicated to spreading the word about J.R.R. Tolkien and his many works.

This website contains some interesting trivia and artwork about The Hobbit. Our favorite part, though, are the quizzes – we got a perfect score! Woo!

This absolutely extraordinary fan site is a wealth of information. But it also contains all of the latest details on MGM's (somewhat troubled) future film of The Hobbit. We're definitely keeping our eyes glued to this one.

These are just amazing. We especially like this artist's vision of Gollum.

The focus of this blog may be on Lewis and his creation of Narnia, there's plenty of material on that equally famous Inkling Club member, J.R.R. Tolkien.

A helpful biography of Tolkien's life, from his birth in 1892 to his death in 1973 at the ripe old age of 81. This is attached to the Inklings blog listed previously.

Another useful directory of biographical and textual information on J.R.R. Tolkien.

This directory is maintained by Tolkien's current published, HarperCollins. It contains a wide range of special editions not only of The Hobbit, but also of some of Tolkien's lesser-known works.

Basically, a Tolkien version of Wikipedia. This is a fan-edited site filled with helpful articles tracing the terms and characters that appear in Tolkien's vast mythology.

This society is an international literary group that organizes conferences and prizes for writers in the tradition of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis – in other words, fantasy writers. Some of the best scholarship we've read on Tolkien, such as Tolkien and the Great War and The History of the Hobbit, have received prizes from this society.

This book is available in its entirety on Google Books. It reproduces tons of short stories and legends that have influenced Tolkien's work. Some of the fiction in this collection is great!

Surprisingly, there has only been one completed film of The Hobbit so far (although there have been a ton of video games). This one is it.

So it's just part one of a three-part series, but we kind of loved it. And yes, that says 169 minutes.

This amazing collection of maps includes the map Tolkien himself drew, showing Thror's map with the side door indicated in moon-letters. But the site also contains a ton of other maps from the world of The Hobbit, often including what we know about the landscape of The Lord of the Rings.

Oh my gosh, the animation seems hilariously clunky. Make sure to click through all eight parts!

The man himself.

He talks about the script of the new Hobbit.

Arco Records Radio Adaptation (Sound Only) – Part One of Three.

Listen as he brings Chapter 5 of The Hobbit, "Riddles in the Dark," to life. Dramatic!

Sir Ian McKellen (the new Gandalf) is much better looking.

From Finnish illustrator (and Moomintroll inventor) Tove Jansson.

An illustration by David Wenzel.

Quite the responsible looking young lad.

And not just J.R.R.'s – his wife joins him in this grave. They were laid to rest in Oxford, England.