Art and Literature News

‘The Hobbit’ Will Be Library’s First Book

Posted by on May 1, 2013 at 3:24 pm

As construction finished on the new library that looks over Centenary Square in Birmingham, England, the final addition was the 400,000 books that will have to be on the shelves for the September 3 grand opening. It is estimated that 1,100 crates will be brought into the library every day for three months – 66,000 crates in all. Placed end to end, the library’s books would stretch from Birmingham to Edinburgh.

TheHobbitBookThe library asked readers on Twitter to pick the first book that would be placed in the library on Monday, April 29. Considering the author’s strong links to Birmingham, and the recent release of Peter Jackson’s first film, it should come as no surprise that The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien won that honor!

Here is the list of the top ten books chosen by reader:

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

2. The Rotters Club by Jonathan Coe

3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

4. Paradise Lost by John Milton

5. Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson

6. King James Bible

7. Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah

8. John Madin: A Biography

9. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

10. 1984 by George Orwell

Sadly, no other books by Tolkien made the list. What would you choose as your Top Ten?

Thanks to the Library of Birmingham for sending us this story on Twitter! Follow them @LibraryofBham.

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Author: Lily’s first experience with Tolkien was when the eccentric Mrs. H performed all of the characters from The Hobbit in her seventh grade class. In high school, she felt obliged to decline a second date with a boy who said he had no interest in reading The Lord of the Rings. In college, she unwisely decided to reread her beloved copy of The Hobbit during finals week, with only semi-disastrous results. When not writing for Middle-earth News, Lily tries not to unnerve her coworkers and family with her extreme geekery, but somehow, Star Wars, Star Trek, Sherlock, Merlin, Doctor Who, The Princess Bride, Back to the Future, superheroes, Disney movies, and of course, Tolkien, seem to have relevance in EVERY conversation.

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