I've always liked the battle at the end the best. Everytime they're on the verge of losing, fresh reserves pour in from somewhere and tilt the balance back towards winning. The only negative part is that Thorin dies...I still almost cry when reading that. Overall, the book is a nice introduction to Tolkien, but nowhere near the level of seriousness that Silmarillion or LOTR has. That doesn't make it any worse though, just different in style.