Hello, fellow book junkies!
This week, with books in tow, I road-tripped through the American Southwest. As a hiker, I’ve always been most drawn to lush forests, but I can honestly say I now have an appreciation for the grand, mystical, majestic beauty of the desert.
At Zion National Park in southern Utah I got to walk under my first waterfall, something I have always wanted to do. In this picture, a poor hiker is scooting around me, probably thinking, “Get out of the way, weird lady,” but I had to stop and take it all in. Standing beneath Emerald Pools Waterfall, I was so thrilled I cried. Can you see the waterfall hitting the back of my hand?
In Northern Arizona, iron-rich red rocks and distant horizons in every–I mean every– direction made me feel as if I was on Mars. The largest boulders in this picture are four times bigger than my car.
Photo by Mr. Eve Messenger
Traveling through Navajo country, I developed an addiction to fry bread, which is used for sandwiches and tacos (and probably other things), but my absolute favorite was fry bread hot and fresh out of the oven, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
And here’s the book I read in my hotel room each night. I had no idea The Winner’s Curse would be such a page-turner, but it really was, and Kestrel and Arin’s forbidden love story hooked me so hard. Marie Rutkoski’s book has everything. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Happy reading and safe travels.
XOXO,
Eve Messenger
Eve Messenger 
You look enraptured! 😉
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“Enraptured” is 100% the right word to describe how I was feeling. 😀
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OMG I’m so happy you enjoyed The Winner’s Curse Eve! I was worried my hype for so long would give you too high of expectations haha.
And I’m glad you had a good time! :3 I, too, am usually a forest not a desert person haha, I just feel like there’s more to see..
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Haha, I completely understand. I also worry when recommending books because I don’t want people to be disappointed. Not to fear, yet another of your wonderful reading recommendations turned out to be absolutely spot-on. I enjoyed The Winner’s Curse even more than I thought I would!
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Onto the Winner’s Crime? 😉
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Amazing scenery! By the way, do you associate books with the place you were reading them in your memory (if it’s a memorable place)? i.e. will The Winner’s Curse forever be associated with the American Southwest for you? I find this sometimes happens to me with books, particularly audiobooks, so when I read your post it made me curious if other people have this experience too.
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Yes, I do that too! Sometimes with books but ESPECIALLY with music.
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Ah yes true I do that with music too! The first Savage Garden album will forever be associated with a childhood holiday to New Zealand for me.
Maybe it’s an audio memory thing and that’s why it’s strongest with audiobooks and music. Or it’s simply because audio leaves us free to look at the view while listening 🙂
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Savage Garden and a New Zealand vacation is a brilliant match-up.
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How beautiful! It reminds me of the Weeping Wall in Glacier National Park.
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Oo, I heard about “weeping rocks” for the first time during my recent trip. The park guide explained that where the water “weeps” through the cliffs is where trails of bushes and trees grow, which made perfect sense. I’d love to visit Glacier National Park someday.
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Ah I really enjoyed this book too- I thought no one else on the blogosphere did too!
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Oh, wow, it seems every book blogger I run across adores The Winner’s Curse. That and Lady Midnight. 🙂
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ha I’ve met a lot that loved Lady Midnight, but strangely no fans of Winner’s Curse- maybe that’s cos it was the subject of a weekly meme a while ago and a lot of people slated it
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I own The Winner’s Curse and it’s been staring me down from my bookshelf for months now. I mostly only hear good things about it. Everyone says she’s not a typical YA heroine because she relies more on her intelligence than strength. I need to go ahead and read this!
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