Alexis Lampley's Blog, page 11

Maddie Moo Kid's Book Review: Hello In There; A Big Sister's Book of Waiting

By: Jo Witek
Illustrated by: Christine Roussey

Yep.
You read that right.
Madeline is going to be a big sister!
She's actually super pumped about it. 
I'll let you know how she feels about it this time next year, though. A good six months with a new sibling ought to have her searching high and low for the receipt for a return lol
In the meantime, she's enjoying this book a ton, and being quite sweet to my little bump {this is mainly because I keep telling her not to elbow/kick/lay on my stomach or she will "squish the baby" haha}

Now, as far as the book goes...

I am really pleased and impressed with this book. I knew I wanted to announce the pregnancy using a book, and figured what better way to do so than to reveal it on a baby book review?! I started searching for a book about big sisters that looked appealing, and I stumbled on this one. One of the reviews I read said something that actually got me to hit the "this was helpful" button, which I have never done before fyi. It was something along the lines of: "Other sibling books focus on how annoying the new baby is, or how the older sibling doesn't get enough attention anymore, but this one focuses on waiting on the baby and the older sister's excitement." 

I really loved that. And I can't imagine a better book to have Madeline reading right now. It's positive, it has the right kind of focus, and it's what she will be experiencing for the next 5 1/2 months or so. I love how the baby grows with the belly, and how it has flaps where you can open it up and see what the baby is up to {as this is what the sister is wondering on each page}. Madeline loves the flaps, and currently enjoys acting out what the baby is doing in each one. The poses where the baby is upside down are quite hilarious when she tries to copy it.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I'm due August 4. This baby better come on time, since this happens to fall on my free week for work hahaha I'm kidding. I'll make sure we work ahead. But really, it would be most convenient if the kid sticks to the schedule. Just this one time.

The Stacks: January 2018

Despite being sick at the beginning, and slammed with work at the end, this month I was able to read quite a nice stack of books. I am in love with the Red Rising trilogy, the Outlander series keeps on being awesome, and I really really really wanted to continue to book two of the Name of the Wind book, but I have a lot of other books I really must read for work first, so I'm forced to wait. And the Art of How to Train Your Dragon was absolutely fantastic. Everything I hoped it would be! I'm looking forward to the second one in that, as well, but again, I must wait for some leisure time. Of which I have very little in February. So it will have to wait till March.


The Art of How to Train Your Dragon    
As an artist and storyteller {and lover of HTTYD} this book was everything I hoped it would be, and more!

Golden Son   Pierce Brown
Do not read this without having the third book in hand. You will regret it because it's cliffhanger city.

Morning Star    Pierce Brown
I will just say that the end of this book was emotional overload for me. I cried for like 20 minutes with like seven different emotions happening at once. It was such a rollercoaster ride of a trilogy and after closing the book I knew instantly it was on my "top shelf" as a favorite ever series.

A Breath of Snow and Ashes   Diana Gabaldon
I really enjoyed this one. It definitely held a lot of tension for me for the characters as they went through a lot in this book.


The Name of the Wind    Patrick Rothfuss
Review to Come

Sailor Moon

by: Naoko Takeuchi
I honestly cannot say what it was that had me picking up this book and deciding I should read all of these. But something did, and so here I am. I'll only be discussing book one today, as is my modus operandi on this blog, so here we go!

Part of my decision to dive into this book series was because it was small, and I tend to read graphic novels/ manga at a much faster pace than traditional novels. I took this on vacation with me, feeling it would be a good, light, fun read for the trip. And it totally was. Sometimes it was a little hard to follow, not because the format is of course Japanese and therefore back to front {aka opposite of what we are used to here in the US}, but because I couldn't always follow or catch the references. For instance, I didn't realize one person could be called so many different variations of names. {I mean, I have a lot of name variants, but usually book characters don't}. So I would trip up a lot on that. The other thing is that you actually sorta have to read this in Sailor Moon's voice/personality from the show {which I found later}. She is, at least this is how it comes off to me, a ditsy young teen--I think she's 14?--whose focus is on exactly the types of things I remember a lot of 14 year old girls to be focused on, including myself. *insert eyeroll here* So sometimes it was hard for me to put myself back in a 14-year-old me's shoes and feel the same tension about things that happened as a younger, more naive version of myself would have felt. That being said, once you realize that's the type of character you're dealing with, these books get a bit addicting. I haven't read them all yet, as I've been buying them in small batches to read when I need a quick something, but I'm really looking forward to the next time I can pick one of these books up and dive back into this world. It's really fun. And bonus, my daughter already loves the show, which I let her watch with me when i found it after reading the first three volumes! I'm proud of myself, I've actually held off from watching farther into the show than I've read! Even though I'm tempted to keep watching anyway. 

Maddie Moo Kid's Book Review: Thelma the Unicorn

By: Aaron Blabey

Madeline chose this book today for her book review post! She was really excited. Probably because she loves anything unicorn, even if that unicorn actually happens to be a donkey who wants to "be special" instead of "regular."

I thought this book was really cute. And a fun way to show kids that they don't have to fake who they are to love themselves. 

Thelma the donkey wants to be a unicorn, and with a happy accident, she appears to be one. She then has to deal with fame and all the good and bad that comes with that. 

While the message is a really good one, it's also a fun and silly book so it's really entertaining as well, and so the message just sneaks in amongst the fun which is great.

This One Summer

by: Jillian & Mariko Tamaki
An unforgettable summer.
Rose and her parents have been going to Awago Beach since she was a little girl. It's her summer getaway, her refuge. Her friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had, completing her summer family.
But this summer is different.
Rose's mom and dad won't stop fighting, and Rose and Windy have gotten tangled up in a tragedy-in-the-making in the small town of Awago Beach. it's a summer of secrets and heartache, and it's a good thing Rose and Windy have each other. {cover copy}
I will admit, I picked up this graphic novel because of the cover. I thought it was going to be slightly younger in content than it was, based on the cover. I didn't read much of the copy when I bought it, because I was at the Strand for the first time and was overwhelmed by it all so I was sortof just grabbing things that looked interesting as I walked around gaping! haha

The artwork is done on a really limited palette, and the style of the art combined with the content of the story gives off this feeling when you are done reading it as though you just spent any old summer at the beach while you read it. Like, a whole season seems to pass. I feel like nothing was really resolved as far as the interesting parts of the story, but it is very clearly an imitation of life in that it honestly just shows a glimpse in a life, so you won't get everything resolved. Still, it was an entertaining read and I'm not disappointed by the way it wrapped up, I just wasn't really expecting it to be that way when I started it. So I'm warning you. Come into it with the expectation that you are along with them for the summer, and I think you will find it quite enjoyable. 

As this is a graphic novel, I find myself never marking quotes or passages I like, so this review ends here! None of the extra stuff for you this time!

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

by: Lewis Caroll
I will admit, I have about 7 different copies of Alice in Wonderland {by accident, mind you. I haven't intentionally collected it} and had never read the book until this year, when we decided to do an Alice theme for Nerdy Post. It was a great excuse to finally read the book, which I found quite easy to read. It went pretty fast for me, which was nice. It was about as strange and curious as I remember the Disney movie being. 

I think if I had read this when I was younger, I would have really loved it. It's a little bit... not deep enough to hold my heart, having read it so much later than my teens or pre-teens. But that's okay. I will just be sure to read this one to Madeline early. Along with all the other books she should be able to look back on her childhood and remember fondly.
All in the golden afternoon
Full leisurely we glide;
For both out oars, with little skill,
By little arms are plied,
While little hands make vein pretence
Our wanderings to guide. {first line}
"There will be nonsense in it!"

"...but Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way."

"Curiouser and curiouser!"

"Oh dear! I'd nearly forgotten that I've got to grow up again!"

"How puzzling all these changes are! I'm never sure what I'm going to be, from one minute to another!"

"...we're all mad here."

"..but it's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

"Stuff and nonsense!"

"Child of the pure unclouded brow and dreaming eyes of wonder!"

"I really must get a thinner pencil. I can't manage this one a bit; it writes all manner of things that I don't intend."

"If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic. "

"The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things: of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--of cabbages--and kings-- and why the sea is boiling hot--and whether bigs have wings."

"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

"If you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you."

"What does it matter where my body happens to be? ... My mind goes on working all the same"

"Always speak the truth--think before you speak--and write it down afterwards."

"I can read words of one letter! Isn't that grand! However, don't be discouraged. You'll come to it in time."

"It is a very inconvenient habit of kittens ... that, whatever you say to them, they always purr."


• dream • {last word}

The Stacks: December 2017

You know, this seems rather pathetic to have only read two books in December, but considering I had strep throat, then the flu, then a sinus infection, I feel pretty proud of myself for having the energy to even read at all. I did way more reading than parenting while I was sick, that's for sure. Good thing my husband was able to take care of our kid! Anyway, despite only reading these two books, it was SUCH a good reading month, because both of these stories were SO good. Pride and Prejudice, which I read every December, was as great as ever. It always makes me happy. And Red Rising was insanely devourable. I will write a proper review once I catch up on all my reviews from 2017. My goal this year is to be better about keeping up with the reviews. I really enjoy doing them.


Red Rising   Pierce Brown
Review to Come

Pride and Prejudice    Jane Austen
This story never gets old. I love it even more each time I read it. That's why it's my favorite!

Maddie Moo Toddler Book Review: Corduroy's Christmas

Based on the character by: Don Freeman

This is Madeline's current favorite Christmas book. She loves the lift-the-flap of this one far more than any of her other lift-the-flap books, though I can't say for sure why. 

She enjoys reading this one several times in a row, and while it is a cute book, after about eight read-throughs, it starts to get a bit annoying. Mainly because she will insist on you reading it no matter what you are doing. Watching a movie? Cooking dinner? No. You are reading this book.

She does do well reading this one back to us, though, in so much as she can say "where's the... lights?!" and then flip the correct flap for the lights. So she gets the idea behind it.




This is a character from a story I loved when I was younger, so I'm happy that she enjoys this one. Do I wish she would mix it up a bit more? Yes. But it's definitely a cute and easy read. The advantage to it when you have to read it a million times in a row is that there are variations you can easily make to mix up the story a bit for each page. We sometimes eat the cookies Corduroy bakes on one of the pages, or sing along with the carolers on another!

The Stacks: November 2017

Well, I only wrote 30k words of my 50k goal for NaNoWriMo, but I designed a bookmark box and a regular box, and managed to read 5 books this month, only one of them being an audiobook. Not bad. Obviously would have liked to finish NaNo but oh well. It's not like I failed, right? 


Thornhill   Pam Smy
Review to Come

Strange the Dreamer  Laini Taylor
Review to Come

The Language of Thorns   Leigh Bardugo
Review to Come

No Power in the Verse  Whedon and Co.
Review to Come

The Fiery Cross  Diana Gabaldon
Another ridiculously enjoyable audiobook. I love being immersed in this world all the time. The accents are just... *insert all the heart eyes here*

The Handmaid's Tale

by: Margaret Atwood
Offred is a Handmaid in the republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now. {cover copy}
I have really been neglecting my book reviews lately. I have like 30 books that I haven't reviewed. I spent years building this blog up with reviews and was so dedicated and then I drop the ball once work starts taking over my life? Not cool. But I resolve to do better. Hopefully, that means I will have a lot of new reviews coming your way soon! Ideally, I'd like to have all the books I read this year caught up with reviews by the end of this year so I can start fresh next year. We shall see how it goes.

And on to the book!

So, I totally cheated and watched the show first, but I was desperate to know if the show ended the same way the book did or if I would find out more from the book, so after finishing the series in like two nights, this book got an express pass to the top of my TBR pile (which is probably about 400 books deep or something ridiculous like that). I don't do it often, but I find I really love when I read a book after seeing the movie/show. It always feels like this expansion of the world in a way because you're reading it on a different level than you watch it. But in both cases, I was totally engrossed and affected by this story. I think this should be a mandatory read in High Schools even. I can't even begin to explain how frustrated and appalled some of the things in this book made me. It even made me a little terrified of the possibility this could happen to us now in 2017. It got its hooks in deep. When fiction can affect me like that, it's doing its job very very well. This is a must read.

We slept in what had once been the gymnasium. {first line}
"We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn't the same as ignorance, you have to work at it."

"But who can remember pain, once it's over? All that remains of it is a shadow, not in the mind even, in the flesh. Pain marks you, but too deep to see."

"The pen between my fingers is sensuous, alive almost, I can feel its power, the power of the words it contains."

"You can't help what you feel ... but you can help how you behave."

"Hell we can make for ourselves."

"When power is scarce, a little of it is tempting."

"The past is a great darkness, and filled with echoes."


• questions • {last word}