LMNO Peas: Book Review

LMNO Peas by Keith Baker

Description: This picture book follows these Alphabet Peas that do all sorts of things. It is an alphabet book depicting the peas in occupations for each letter of the alphabet.

Review: This book is so cute! I love seeing the little peas doing all sorts of occupations and activities. My one year old boy loves this book too. When he sees it, he brings it to me and attempts to sing the ABCs. But since he can't actually make all the sounds to say the letters, it is more like the ABCs comprised completely of vowel sounds. My three year old loves this book to. She loves to repeat every page after I read it.

Rating: Recommend! I'm not going to give star ratings to children's books because the way I figure it, I either recommend a children's book or I don't. So this is one I recommend to read to young children... 5 and under.

Becky's Top Ten for 2013

As the year is coming to a close, I can only think of the many books that I am super excited to read about next year.  Almost all of these are books in series that I have already started and I am excited to see the next installment in the series.

Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

This is the third book in the Bloodlines series, which is a spin-off series of Vampire Academy. What will happen next with Sydney the alchemist?

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

This is the third book in the Infernal Devices series, which is a spin-off series of the Mortal Instrument series. Will Tessa choose Will or Jem? Hopefully, this book will tell.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

This is the third book in the Delirium series. You know, the series where love is a disease? Sarah doesn't care for these books, but I like them. I'm excited to see what happens next.

Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

This is the third book in the Heist Society series. One of the few non-fantasy books that I read. These books follow Kat, the art thief.

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

This is the 14th, and final book in the Wheel of Time series. I have been following this series since I was 15 years old and it is finally ending. I am excited and sad that this series, one of the first that made me love fantasy, is coming to a close.

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

This is the second book in the Shatter Me series. The first book was so exciting. The writing was unlike anything that I have read before. I'm excited to see what this new author has to offer.

Everbound by Brodi Ashton

This is the second book in the Everneath series. I like the idea of this book and I hope the second book is not disappointing.

Sever by Lauren Destefano

This is the third book in the Chemical Garden series. I really liked the first book, the second book was just okay, so I'm hoping that the third book makes a comeback.

The Elite by Kiera Cass

This is the second book in The Selection series. I loved the first book, devoured it. I sincerely hope the second book is equally awesome.

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

This is the first book in the Age of X series. I don't know much about the series, but I love Richelle Mead, so I'm willing to read what she writes and hopefully it won't disappoint.

The Hobbit: Book Review

With the upcoming Hobbit movie coming out, I decided to reread The Hobbit in preparation for the film. I hadn't read the book since high school and remembered very little of it as it had been over 10 years since my last read.

Description: The Hobbit follows Bilbo Baggins in his youth (60 years). Bilbo is living comfortably in his hobbit hole in Hobbiton when he is approached by Gandalf the wizard and 12 dwarves to be the burglar addition in a great adventure. The dwarves seek to regain a treasure stolen from their fathers by the great dragon Smaug. Bilbo embraces his Tookish side and goes on the adventure with the dwarves and discovers a side to himself the he never knew that he had.

Review: I had forgotten how much I love Tolkien's writing. His writing has a playfulness, a beauty, and a depth that you just don't see in most authors. His descriptions of Middle Earth are lush and his development of characters is always enjoyable. I don't know how he takes a cast of 14 and makes each of them lovable, but he is just masterful at it.

The Hobbit is not that long a book, but Bilbo seems to go on 12 different adventures in the book and it spans a whole year. How does Tolkien do it? How does he fit so much into so few pages? Now that I have reread the book, I know how they are going to split it into three movies. There is so much in this little book, there is no way they could fit it into one movie.

Normally, I don't like a book unless there is some sort of love story in the book, but Tolkien is the exception. He writes about comradery and friendship in a way that I don't miss the romance of the books. I'm not even sure if the book had a female in it at all, and I just didn't miss it.

I loved this book, it reminded me of why I love fantasy books and I can't wait for the movie. I'm going to an advanced screening of the movie the day before it comes out and I will review it in comparison to the book when it comes out.

Rating: 5 stars (can I give Tolkien anything less?)