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.