It's Monday! What are You Reading?

This was a crazy week since we went on vacation to Yellowstone and Montana. Last week I don't think I did a post, so I have quite a  few books to choose from as I look over what I have been reading.

Best Middle Grade Action/Adventure: The Lost Hero and Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. With that, I have finally finished reading all of the 2011 Nerdy Nominees. Wahoo! I had put off reading Son of Neptune because it was a sequel and both of them and they were quite lengthy. I am glad that it made the Nerdy list though or I may never have gotten around to it.  They were fantastic, on the edge of your seat kind of books. 

Best Y/A Action/Adventure: I had been saving Insurgent for my vacation. It was hard to wait, but it was great to have time to re-read Divergent and then follow it up immediately with the sequel. These were also well worth the wait. Now I need Roth to get the next one out in light speed.

Most Bizarre: Death in Yellowstone was incredibly gruesome at times, but incredibly fascinating. The many crazy ways of dying boggle the mind. Also, people's capacity for making poor choices seems to be endless. I have to say that after reading the book, I was creeped out when out running along the road. I was just waiting for a grizzy, bison, elk, moose, or some other random creature to pop out at me. This isn't so unusual as it might seem since I passed bison and deer when driving into town.

Best Overall Reading Experience: On our way to Montana, we stopped in Beartooth Pass to hike a bit in the alpine tundra and when we arrived in Montana, one of the first things we did was go on a hike around Trout Lake in Yellowstone. Later that same day, I found Rachel Carson's fantastic book The Sense of Wonder on the bookshelf in our cabin. I will write a full review soon, but it was just awesome to sit on the back porch gazing at the Absaroka Mountains and reflecting on our hikes as I read Carson's encouragement to share the wonder of nature with the children in our lives. 

For the coming week: I never did get to Ginger Pye for the Newbery Challenge, so I will have to hit that this week. Otherwise, I am looking forward to Darth Vader and Son and for the rest, I am leaving it wide open.