The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien: audiobook vs book, which should you choose?
A storyteller narrates one journey. The book has thirteen songs and poems, and a map with secret moon-letters on it.
Short answer: for The Hobbit audiobook vs book choice, we say read it on Kindle (61% confidence, close call). Andy Serkis reads the unabridged HarperCollins recording in 10 hours 24 minutes. The printed book has Thror’s Map with its runes and a second map, and the thirteen dwarves have near-identical names. Against that, there is one storyteller and one narrator.
Read it on Kindle
Thirteen dwarves with near-identical names and two reference maps in print point to reading, but there is one storyteller and one narrator.
Affiliate links: we may earn a small commission, at no cost to you. It never changes a verdict.
Confidence 61%, which puts it in the close call band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | Andy Serkis (HarperCollins) | Rob Inglis (HarperCollins) | BBC Radio 1968 (dramatised adaptation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Andy Serkis, solo | Rob Inglis, solo | Full cast, with Paul Daneman as Bilbo and Heron Carvic as Gandalf |
| Length | 10 hours 24 minutes (10h 24m) | 11 hours 2 minutes (11h 2m) | 3 hours 42 minutes (3h 42m) |
| At 1.5x | 6h 56m | 7h 21m | 2h 28m |
| At 2x | 5h 12m | 5h 31m | 1h 51m |
| Abridged or unabridged | Unabridged | Unabridged | Dramatised adaptation, not the full text |
| Audio publisher and year | HarperCollins, 2020 | HarperCollins, recording from 1991 | BBC, first broadcast 1968 |
| Print length | 336 pages (HarperCollins paperback, with nine illustrations and two maps) | ||
| Reading time | About 6h 41m at 238 words a minute (estimate, from a 95,356-word count cited by Tolkien scholar John D. Rateliff) | ||
Other recordings: Martin Shaw (abridged, 5h 57m), an NPR full-cast dramatisation (4h 13m) and the BBC Jackanory multi-voice reading (abridged, 2h 27m). In the US: Recorded Books also publishes Serkis's reading (10 hrs 25 mins), and the Mariner paperback is 320 pages.
Lengths checked 13 October 2026. Speed times are calculated from the listed length.
The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien
- Genre
- Children's fantasy
- Published
- 1937
- Length
- 336 pages (HarperCollins paperback)
- On audio
- 10 hrs 24 mins (Serkis)
- Narrated by
- Andy Serkis and others
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: single point of view and narrator (7), 7 points. Reading: many similar-sounding names (8), maps, family trees or footnotes (3), 11 points. 61% of the confirmed points favour reading, so the verdict is read it on Kindle at 61% confidence (close call).
The recording in detail
- Narrated by
- Andy Serkis, unabridged, released 3 September 2020
- How it was made
- Recorded over four days; Serkis donated his fee to the Disasters Emergency Committee and HarperCollins matched it
- Also on sale
- Rob Inglis (unabridged), Martin Shaw (abridged), and BBC and NPR dramatisations
- What audio adds
- Sung songs, character voices, and Serkis's Gollum
- What you miss
- Thror's Map, the runes and moon-letters, the Map of Wilderland and Tolkien's illustrations; no map PDF is listed
What this book actually is
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, was first published on 21 September 1937 and turns 90 in September 2027. The current HarperCollins paperback runs to 336 pages with nine illustrations and two maps drawn by Tolkien, and a new edition illustrated by Tove Jansson came out in September 2026.
It has 19 chapters and a single storyline that follows Bilbo, told by an all-knowing narrator who now and then breaks off with asides. Thirteen songs and poems run through it, from chapter one to chapter nineteen. The “Riddles in the Dark” chapter was rewritten for the 1951 edition so that Gollum's scene matches The Lord of the Rings.
The case for reading it
The maps are the main reason to read it in print. Thror's Map shows the Lonely Mountain with East at the top, a secret entrance and runic inscriptions, including the moon-letter instructions that matter to the plot. The runes are Anglo-Saxon letters spelling English words, which a reader can decode and a listener cannot. The book also includes the Map of Wilderland.
Then there are the pictures. Tolkien illustrated the book himself, and there are several illustrated editions: the new Tove Jansson edition, with drawings from a 1962 Swedish edition in English for the first time, and others by Jemima Catlin and Alan Lee. No audio listing mentions a map PDF.
The case for listening to it
The book reads like a story told aloud, because Tolkien wrote it that way. It follows one journey and one group of travellers, and the narrator stops now and then for asides. That is the easiest kind of story to follow in an audiobook.
Then there are the songs. Tolkien wrote thirteen of them into the book, and a recording can sing them. A reviewer of Andy Serkis's version says “he goes for it with the singing” and that there are “a LOT of songs in here, way more than you remember”. Serkis played Gollum on screen, and reviewers single out his Gollum and his range of voices.
The audiobook in detail
HarperCollins released Serkis's unabridged reading on 3 September 2020. It runs 10 hours 24 minutes, which is 6 hours 56 minutes at 1.5x and 5 hours 12 minutes at 2x. He recorded it over four days after reading the whole book live for Covid-19 relief earlier that year, a broadcast The Bookseller says raised over £300,000. He has since read The Fellowship of the Ring and The Silmarillion.
Rob Inglis's unabridged reading from 1991 runs 11 hours 2 minutes; he sings the songs too, and he also reads The Lord of the Rings. Martin Shaw's reading is abridged, at 5 hours 57 minutes. The BBC's 1968 radio version, adapted by Michael Kilgarriff with music by David Cain, is a 3 hour 42 minute dramatisation, not the full text.
Who should ignore this verdict
Listen if you want the songs sung. Tolkien wrote thirteen into the book and Andy Serkis sings them; one reviewer says “he goes for it with the singing”. Reviewers also single out his Gollum and his range of voices.
Listen too if you want it as a story told aloud. It follows one journey and one group of travellers, with a narrator who stops for asides, which is easy to follow in an audiobook. It runs 10 hours 24 minutes unabridged.
The maps and runes are only in the printed book, so anyone who wants to decode Thror’s Map for themselves should read it.
Read differently from most people? The app, coming soon, will let you switch off any of the thirteen checks. Get notified →
Related verdicts
Fourth Wing
A fantasy with a map and names to keep track of, though its verdict is listen.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
A children's fantasy classic with more than one recording.
Letters from Father Christmas
Tolkien’s letters to his children, with drawings. The verdict is a close call in favour of audio.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates The Hobbit audiobook?
The Hobbit audiobook from HarperCollins is read by Andy Serkis, unabridged (2020). Rob Inglis reads an older unabridged recording, Martin Shaw an abridged one, and the BBC and NPR versions are full-cast dramatisations.
How long is The Hobbit audiobook?
The Hobbit audiobook read by Andy Serkis is 10 hours 24 minutes (10h 24m) long, unabridged. That is 6h 56m at 1.5x and 5h 12m at 2x (calculated). Rob Inglis's reading is 11h 2m.
Is The Hobbit audiobook abridged?
The Hobbit audiobooks read by Andy Serkis and Rob Inglis are unabridged. Martin Shaw's is abridged, and the BBC (3h 42m) and NPR (4h 13m) versions are dramatised adaptations.
Should I read or listen to The Hobbit?
Read it on our checks (61% confidence, close call). Thirteen dwarves with near-identical names and two reference maps in print point to reading, but there is one storyteller and one narrator.
Does Andy Serkis sing the songs in The Hobbit audiobook?
Yes, according to reviewers: one says “he goes for it with the singing”. The book has thirteen songs and poems. Rob Inglis also sings them in his recording.
Is there a full-cast or dramatised Hobbit audiobook?
Yes, two: the BBC Radio dramatisation first broadcast in 1968 (3h 42m), with Paul Daneman as Bilbo, and an NPR full-cast dramatisation (4h 13m). Both are shortened adaptations.
Do you agree with this verdict?
We said read it on Kindle. One tap, no sign-up.
Spotted a mistake on this page? Tell us and we will fix it. Or tell us how the site could be better.
How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: the Audible UK listings for each recording, the Waterstones and Blackwell's edition pages, Tolkien Gateway's records of the maps and songs, The Bookseller's report on the Serkis recording, and reviews of the Serkis and Inglis readings.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
Deciding about a different book?
Search for it. If we've written it up, we'll take you to the verdict. If not, we'll add it to our list of books to check.