Few books have had as much influence on my imagination as The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Not long ago I listed the book and the accompanying Lord of the Rings at number two of the 25 books that most influenced my life. And I doubt if I need to write a review of a book so beloved and well known.

However … recently we received the new Hobbit movie from Netflix and sat down to enjoy the story. Wow, was I ever disappointed. They turned the brilliance of Tolkien into just another action movie. They cut some of the funnest parts, overdid the action scenes, changed dialogue, and even altered personalities.

Now if they had done this and made a great movie, well then maybe I’d be in a forgiving mood. But they didn’t — the movie was poorly acted and felt more like the promotion of a new theme park ride than a real story.

Even before the movie ended I was downloading The Hobbit onto my Kindle and started rereading it. I needed the freshness of Tolkiens fluid writing to refresh my memory of this magnificent story. What a joy to be back in Middle Earth as the author described it!

So skip the movie. Buy the book. And enjoy the power of a whole new world where Hobbits, Dwarves, Trolls, Elves and Dragons live.