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By: New Line Home Video The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

©2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY and THE HOBBIT, names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.A fellow named Bilbo Baggins lives in the Shire--but perhaps you've made his acquaintance already? If you're familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien's epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the films that Peter Jackson wrought from them, of course you have. And here is Bilbo, played again by Ian Holm, shuffling about his hobbit hole and recalling a grand adventure from his past, when he left the Shire with a wizard and some dwarves and found a certain ring and a very peculiar creature named Gollum. This is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which Jackson and his LOTR crew have expanded on from Tolkien's 1937 novel. And boy, have they expanded: this 169-minute escapade is merely the first of three separate movies made from that one book, and it gets the young Bilbo (played by Martin Freeman) only a little ways into his grand trek. Many loud, garish battles and chases fill the time, along with some (it pains one to say it) fairly tedious adolescent-level humor. Jackson tends to dally with scenes that might have been more effective in half the time, and the bumptious dwarves are some of the least charming characters in the Tolkieniad. Thank goodness, there's Gollum (played, as before, by the digitally transformed Andy Serkis), who shares a riddle-trading scene with Bilbo that sends genuine shivers up the spine. Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf, and a few other LOTR folk make cameos, but the more An Unexpected Journey goes on, the less you sense the magic afoot. Despite the fun moments, this feels like a prologue for the actual movie, which is still to come. (Originally released on many screens in 3-D, the film was also showcased in some theaters in a pioneering format that increased the clarity of the image--or made it look like a soap opera, depending on your receptiveness to the flat, frictionless technology.) --Robert Horton

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Blu-ray/DVD + UltraViolet Digital Copy Combo Pack)

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Bibliocast (2006)
ISBN 0964967936

This book presents a selection of essays that were developed, at least in part, out of readers’ responses to messages on “Waking Up’, an on- line e-zine. The author characterizes those messages as challenges “to give more, love deeper, and engage wholeheartedly with life”. She truly believes that each of us can grow purposefully into richer, fuller lives.

The book promises much and, indeed, it has many strengths. The gems of philosophical insight that preface each chapter have been thoughtfully chosen, and are stand-alone inspirational reading. Readers will be able to identify with the book’s subject matter of human experience that serves as a springboard for lessons learned. The sidebars and stories, which have been drawn from contributions by readers of the e-zine, are engaging. They capture elements of struggle and insight in a conversational style that is more palatable than straight lectures would have been. The thoughtful reader who is open to spiritual growth will find here both challenges and inspiration.

The content of the chapters sometimes can be aptly described as magnificent and inspirational. At times Ms Wright’s thoughts and writing soar. There are enough of those moments to make the book worthwhile… absolutely.

Whether a reader is inspired by all or only by some of this book, they are well advised to savor it in small bites. It is not a page-turner in the sense that a novel might be. Read and reflect. Then return and read again. It will be worth your while.

The author generally writes in a lively, engaging style and she is able to communicate compassion and caring. Most of the essays will leave readers encouraged, perhaps energized, even inspired. I recommend the book for spiritual seekers of either gender and for mature readers of any age.

This is not your typical travel memoir. Eat, Pray, Love is a very candid sharing of one woman’s experiences in dealing with trauma and upheaval in her life. Elizabeth Gilbert shares with the reader not just her year of physical travels to Italy, India and Indonesia, but also her spiritual travels to find herself after her bitter divorce and subsequent struggle with depression.

Gilbert’s time in Italy is spent immersing herself in a language and cuisine she loves. And yes, I do indeed mean immersing herself in Italian cuisine. Eating in Italy is a main event and the descriptions provided to the reader of the food consumed were absolutely mouth watering.

Gilbert then takes the reader on her very personal journey of self-awareness and enlightenment during her time spent in the Indian ashram of her guru.

The last destination on her year long journey was Bali, Indonesia for an unplanned reunion with a seemingly ageless medicine man. Gilbert very respectively explains the social intricacies of the Balinese culture, explores the ex-pat sub-culture present in the tourist destination and the Balinese people’s struggles after the Bali bombings.

While I immensely enjoyed listening to this candid retelling of the author’s experiences, at times it ventured a little too far into self-indulgence for my personal tastes. I am extremely fortunate to not have personally experienced depression and so although I am in awe of the author’s bravery in recounting something so personal, there was a point where I found the introspection in this regard laboured. I also found the concept of following a guru hard to identify with. I must however provide the context that I am not a religious person, and while I admire and seek to emulate certain qualities of those I most respect, I have never been one who explicitly seeks direction from others. I do not however disregard the benefits others may gain from such experiences and applaud Gilbert for sharing her personal journey as I am sure many will benefit from that.

The high point of this memoir for me was Gilbert’s time spent in Indonesia. Her interactions with the medicine man were simply charming and uplifting, consistently bringing a smile to my face. The eclectic mix of people she came into contact with during her time in Bali provided her with opportunities of self-discovery and self-empowerment that I whole-heartedly identified with.

Despite some of my misgivings about Eat, Pray, Love, its bestselling status is definitely warranted. It is enthralling and compelling – one person’s very personal journey shared in the hope that others may find meaning and comfort in it.

Other titles by Elizabeth Gilbert include ‘Committed’, ‘Stern Men’, ‘Pilgrims’ and ‘The Last American Man’.

“The Zahir” meaning ‘the present’ or ‘unable to go unnoticed’ is one of the best works of Coelho. The novel has both spiritual and philosophical touch to it. Its about this man, the protagonist and his quest for discovering his own self. It centers on the narrator-a best-selling novelist’s search for his wife.

Having enjoyed all the privileges that a man can, thanks to money and his celebrity-hood, he realizes that his life is now confronted with some of the most unpredictable questions. Esther, his wife for ten years has disappeared from their home and immediately he is suspected of foul play by the authorities and the press. Unable to comprehend Esther’s inexplicable disappearance, he is forced to re-examine both his marital relationship and his own life.

The narrator has questions aplenty which have no answer. Was Esther kidnapped or did she decide to part ways with him after having a failed marriage? Eventually, his only link in Esther’s disappearance is Mikhail, his wife’s friend. Then the narrator starts his journey- his quest to find out his wife. Like Coelho’s other stories, this one too focuses on journey. During this journey, he discovers a lot about life and love and its various faces.

It is then that he realizes about his obsession for his wife, rather than his love. All this does make him a much more enlightened human being who is continually traveling in the pursuit of his dreams. Man can fulfill his own dreams and destroy them too. That’s exactly what the author tries to and in fact, successfully portrays in this beautiful novel of human emotions and continuous enlightenment of an individual. The narrator understands the worth of what he had long taken for granted only after losing it to time and is left without an answer to his questions.

HarperCollins first published ‘The Dragon’s Journey’, by Duy Long Nguyen and James Knight, in 2004.

As a 5 year old Duy Long Nguyen (Longy) saw the death and destruction of the Vietnam war. When a teen, he ruled the streets of Saigon, and after escaping Vietnam on a boat he started a new life in Australia as a refugee. Longy eventually went on to use his gift to heal, treating some of the most powerful people in the world. The foreword to The Dragon’s Journey was written by Rupert Murdoch and Frank Lowy.

Brief outline:

Longy had achieved many things by the time he was 15. He was accepted as a member of a primitive hill tribe, trained by South Korean masters in taekwondo, achieving his black belt at 10 and hunted alongside combat seasoned soldiers. Longy had also witnessed the death and destruction of the war first hand, seeing for himself the aftermath of the Tet offensive.

Moving with his family to Saigon, Longy soon gained a powerful reputation with his back street brawling and he took command of his own black-market gang at 14 years of age. Longy eventually escaped Vietnam with his brothers and sisters, on a small-overcrowded boat. After surviving an attack by pirates, they were rescued from their sinking boat by a Japanese tanker. Longy and his family stayed in Japan for a short time, where he attained his black belt in Karate. Longy later immigrated to Australia.

In Sydney Longy faced racism and many other challenges as he struggled for acceptance. He survived, when shot three times at Sydney’s Chinatown and helped the New South Wales Police Force expose corruption from within their ranks.

Longy redirected his focus on his instinctive gift for healing. He was introduced to therapeutic healing by the Jarai mountain people in central Vietnam as a five year old. It was there he first learnt the use of pressure points to heal. His techniques were developed over many years from masters in Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. He has studied herbs and natural remedies, Thai therapies, acupressure, acupuncture and reflexology.

In the following years, Longy became a therapist for the Australian rugby league test team and State of Origin series. Longy was on set for the three Matrix movies, helping Keanu Reeves recover from a neck injury and prepare him for the fighting sequences. He also helped Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fisbourne and Hugo Weaving prepare for the martial arts and action scenes.

Other celebrity clients include Pat Rafter, Linford Christie, Anthony Mundine, Elle Macpherson and Megan Gale and many international sports stars.

Excerpt from the foreword by Rupert Murdoch and Frank Lowy, 2004.

“Longy’s life is a study of the times, indeed a journal of recent history. War, death, politics, violence, crime, refugees, integration, racism… he has dealt with each in his own unique manner…Longy is a remarkable human being…”