I not going to beat about the bush here, read The Hobbit. It is such a great book and it captures the spirt of simple travel so well. Reading it was a part of what made me interested in bushcraft. Another reason to read it now is that Peter Jackson as some of you may of heard has just started filming a Hobbit movie. So in a couple of years everyone is going to be going on about the hobbit even if they haven't read the book. Anyway all I want to say is this. "Read this book before seeing the film." It's worth it and it's not a massive saga like Lord of the rings so it dosen't take long to read. Anyway, enjoy!