those people who published the hobbit are bastards! (and smart too)…since the hobbit is the prequel to the lord of the rings, they kindly attached the first chapter of the first book from the lord of the rings (which also links to the hobbit)…so after reading the hobbit you can jump right into the lord of the rings…except only one chapter worth…soo it means you have to goto the book store and buy the next book from them…or wait for the movie!