is the book the hobbit a prequel to the lord of the rings books?
Yes, and no. The Hobbit tells the story of the finding of the ring; the Lord of the Rings tells what happens after. You can read The Hobbit first or not, whichever you prefer - there's a summary of The Hobbit at the beginning of most editions of the ...
do you find some thing common in hp and...?
They may have minor details in common, but really they are two different stories, yes they deal with a protagonist on a quest to Trump evil, and on the way there come upon self discover, but really so does every book in one way or another.
what book # is the Hobbit is it the first book in lord of the rings a continuence or the last?
It came before the Lord of the Rings series. It's sort of back story. At least I think. I saw the cartoon of the movie and that's what I think it was. You should check it out.