Well, I made it back with a sore throat and stuffed nose, but I'll live. I've certainly been sicker. So, we went to Austin for the weekend, and a few extraordinary/interesting things happened.

1. My sister medaled in her state track race.

2. We went to the church we used to attend and saw a lot of people I hoped to see - not to mention one friend who's in the Dominican Republic for a year but happened to be back that weekend also.

3. I wanted to shop for possibly the third time ever.

4. I found some super deals at Express.

5. I couldn't resist the lure of another store: BookPeople. I bought Airman and The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson 4).

I know. I could have waited for paperbacks, or to pick them up at the library (read: a very long time). But the hardbacks are so elegant and beautiful and smooth. Besides, I was out of new books.

I LOVE Airman. It starts a bit slowly, and reads almost a little like a classic, but not nearly as thick. There are some definite similarities to The Count of Monte Cristo, but Airman certainly has a unique plot. Once I got into it - which didn't take long - I chewed through it in one day on the drive home. I highly recommend picking it up, especially if you're a fan of TCMC. It's darker than the Artemis Fowl books (also great reads), but excellent. Come on, how many YA books use SAT vocab words like 'inveterate'?

Percy Jackson: Rick Riordan continues to be a genius. The way he modernizes these myths is amazing. Besides, the little hints of romance always help.