As a middle school student, a friend of mine loaned me her Hobbit book.  It was the first book that I could not put down.  I was caught up in Bilbo’s adventure.  To this day, The Hobbit is one of my favorite pieces of literature.  To prepare for the release of the movie, I revisited the story with even more enjoyment the second time.  With The Desolation of Smaug being released in December 2013, I wanted to do more preparation for the movie.  I have often had many unanswered questions about the elves, “the all seeing eye”, the ring’s power, etc.  Tolkien wrote another book titled The Silmarillion.  This is a challenging read, but many questions get answered if you enjoy Tolkien’s writings.  The attached video simplifies Silmarillion.  Watch it to the end.  You will be rewarded and have a great foundation about how The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings fit into Tolkien’s imagination.