Weekly Reads: Book Scavenger

I received an e-ARC of Book Scavenger earlier this spring to read and provide feedback. It has been reviewed as a read-alike for Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, so I was more than excited to get my hands on it.

I enjoyed the book, but it wasn't a "can't-put-it-down" read for me. Full disclosure: I read this in the weeks leading up to Kyle and my wedding, so my scattered brain at the time may have had something to do with it. Regardless, I enjoyed it enough to plan a tween library programming featuring it, and will recommend it to many of our middle grade library kiddos.

My rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from goodreads:

A hidden book. A found cipher. A game begins . . . .

Twelve-year-old Emily is on the move again. Her family is relocating to San Francisco, home of her literary idol: Garrison Griswold, creator of the online sensation Book Scavenger, a game where books are hidden all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles. But Emily soon learns that Griswold has been attacked and is in a coma, and no one knows anything about the epic new game he had been poised to launch. Then Emily and her new friend James discover an odd book, which they come to believe is from Griswold and leads to a valuable prize. But there are others on the hunt for this book, and Emily and James must race to solve the puzzles Griswold left behind before Griswold's attackers make them their next target.

Megan's Visit

The last few months I have been counting down to wedding day, but I've ALSO been counting down for Megan's arrival back to the states! I went to college with Megan, and we were connected at the hip senior year. She has spent most of our friendship living abroad in Asia, so I was thrilled for her to come back to be in my wedding.

We shared some sushi and sake shortly after I got off work and she arrived. Oddly enough, she introduced me to sushi for the first time 10 years ago, and I wasn't sold on it. lolz.

 

Wednesday I had a to-do list a mile and a half long, and Megan was a serious calming force as we tackled it all, one item at a time. As a reward for finishing our list, we treated ourselves to mani/pedis.

Shellac polish removal process is most chic.

 

Thursday we made a quick pit stop for some new lipstick. We decided it was appropriate to try to recreate our snobby/bitchy photo from 2007.

I need this. obvs.

We met up with Kyle for lunch at Ode. Ode is my new obsession. So good. From there, we went to pick up our marriage license!

I need this giant octopus print on my wall. And this girl to live on this side of the planet.

For dinner, Megan was thrilled to show me some authentic Cambodian food. Who knew there was Cambodian food in town? A couple of the dishes were amazing, and some others, less than authentic (Megan's words, not mine).

Thursday night, we went out to Kyle's parents house to spend some time with his brother who had gotten to town. I needed a quick tent exploration. Eeps!

Friday morning, after yoga-ing it up. We went out for a bridal brunch. So much delish.

Who looks that pretty after working out? Ugh.

Basic Yoga Mix

During the month of September, I attempted to participate in the Basic Yoga Mix challenge on instagram. I did really good for a good portion of the month, and then things got pretty chaotic. It's fun to compare pictures of poses from previous challenges to see improvement or increases in strength and flexibility!

Wedding Week Training Recap

I worked Monday and Tuesday of wedding week, and then Megan got in! We opted for sushi and catching up instead of working out. 

Wednesday we had a to-do list a mile long, and then made our way to back to back yoga classes. Starting with power vinyasa.

Followed by restorative.

 

And then Thursday was spent at the barre.

Friday I got some strange looks from friends and instructors that knew I was getting married on Friday. Apparently they all thought I had somewhere else to be, but I thought the mat was the perfect place to start the day!

Weekly Reads: Finding Audrey

I've been a fan of Sophie Kinsella since I picked up my first shopaholic book in college. So when I saw she was writing her YA debut,
Finding Audrey, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I was really wrapped up in the story, and was really intrigued by her portrayal of her mental illness. At the end, I felt like it was lacking... something, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's because I've been reading a lot of YA mental illness books that are so very dark and haunting. Who knows. Definitely worth a read!

My rating: 3.5 stars.

Summary from goodreads:

An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

Weekly Reads: I Crawl Through

A.S. King can do no wrong in my opinion. She is an author that churns out unique/amazing/weird/awesomeness with every book she writes. I Crawl Through It is her newest and I received an electronic advanced reader copy of this book back in May and started reading it immediately.

It.
Was.
Weird.

But in a most delightful way. Per usual.

Read it, and everything else she has written. You won't regret it.

My rating: 5 stars.

Summary from goodreads:

A boldly surreal novel from one of the best YA writers working today.

Four talented teenagers are traumatized-coping with grief, surviving date rape, facing the anxiety of standardized tests and the neglect of self-absorbed adults--and they'll do anything to escape the pressure. They'll even build an invisible helicopter, to fly far away to a place where everyone will understand them... until they learn the only way to escape reality is to face it head-on. 

Sioux Falls Half Marathon Recovery Week

I kicked off my Sioux Falls Half Marathon recovery about ten hours after the race by going to restorative yoga with Susan.

Wednesday night I taught a vin/yin yoga class at the running store. And I participated because man I needed some yin to help my muscles along. I opted out of the group run beforehand, so instead I just tortured my legs with the store's awesome stick/roller thingy.

Thursday I went to my first ashtanga class since last spring when I had 3 classes a week. Man did I miss it! And man did I forget the order of the poses. This was a HARD class to be taking while I was still recovering from the half. Uff.

 

Friday I joined up with Megan to take a vinyasa class in the morning. It was in the cool studio but I still looked like I had jumped in the lake when 60 minutes had passed.

And Friday night we had a group run at the store. Saucony dropped off a bunch of their shoes to test out on our run, they left us a bunch of swag, and they bought us some beer to motivate us to come run on a Friday night. #smart

 

Saturday morning I had grand intentions of going to ashtanga yoga before work, but Kyle had a rehearsal dinner the night before and didn't get home until late, which meant that I fell asleep super late. This was probably a good thing given how late we were up Saturday night. Uff!

Sunday Megan and I went to more ashtanga! I actually got through the whole series during this session. Whoop! Now to begin to memorize. Eeps!