2009/2010 Lynn Viehl's Darkyn Series Reading Challenge

I had to join this challenge because that's a yummy heading picture! No really, I do have almost all of these books already but haven't started them, and would really like to read this series, so what better way than through a challenge!

Once again J. Kaye is our fearless challenge leader, if you'd like to join us, you can sign up HERE. All the details are there!


Here is my list:

1. If Angels Burn (2005) - finished 3/11/10
2. Private Demon (2005) - finished 5/13/10
3. Dark Need (2006) - finished 8/6/10
4. Night Lost (2007) - finished 8/28/10
5. Evermore (2008) - finished 9/23/10
6. Twilight Fall (2008)
* Master of Shadows, a novella
7. Stay the Night (2009)

Can't wait to get started!

Giveaway: Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore has become well known for his irreverent and off the wall sense of humor. Practical Demonkeeping is the first of his novels located in Pine Cove, and was also his debut.

Travis O'hearn has been the accidental master of a demon named Catch for many years. He's looking pretty good for a near hundred year old man! Although being with Catch keeps him young and protected, the demon has a nasty habit of eating people, and Travis has been searching these many years for the way to send Catch back to Hell where he belongs. Pine Cove is his latest and hopefully last stop. Catch has begun slipping out of his control and has many unsanctioned snacks throughout the book. We also get to know the the residents of Pine Cove who are some very colorful characters in their own right, and aren't about to let Catch continue his eating spree. Oh yes, and there's a Djinn. The king of them in fact. Anxious to know more? Is it going to keep you up at night wondering if Travis finds a way to put Catch in his place? Well then your wait might be almost over, because Practical Demonkeeping is my next giveaway!

If you've never experienced Christopher Moore before, or if you have but want to sample his first novel, now is your chance! I'm ready to pass on my gently used and Bookcrossing labeled copy of Practical Demonkeeping! I would love a journal entry from you if you win, and it can be done anonymously if you decide that Bookcrossing is not for you, but regardless the book is yours to do with as you please, whether that's keep it forever or share it with friends! To enter you must tell me your favorite food, we all know what Catch's is! I have so many it's hard to pick one, but I'll go with one of the more exotic things that I like and say Panaeng, which is a Thai dish often made with beef, chicken or shrimp in a peanut flavored curry sauce. I usually get mine medium spicy. I love that stuff!

I will choose a winner on September 5th. Good Luck!

Check out Christopher Moore's Website for more information.

Overland Park Arboretum

The Overland Park Arboretum is another place that geocaching has taken us! I've driven past this place for years, never knowing what I've been missing, the following pictures are just a small sample of what is out there.

There are several different themed gardens including a Monet garden and a Children's garden. That's where we found these flowery butterflies and this flying frog.






There's a sculpture garden were we saw these lovely pieces





There was a lot of visible wildlife the day we were there, a duck along the lake, some turtles sunning themselves out on a little dock, and there's even an area set up specifically for birdwatching.





There was an interesting tree/shrub? in the Monet garden that I'd not seen before that I'd really like to have if I can find one, the leaf shape and the coloring was just really intriguing! If you know what this is, let me know, because I don't think it's what we thought, I think the sign near it belonged to something else.





When I was younger, botanical gardens just were not high on my list of fun things to go see, but now that I've experienced a few and the variety of plants and the beautiful landscaping they try to incorporate, I have to say these attractions go to the top few items of my list whenever I'm visiting somewhere! It's wonderful to be able to experience such a variety of plants and settings without all the backbreaking work it would take to do it yourself! I highly recommend visiting your local botanical gardens if you haven't! This was yet another location that we visited because of geocaching that we may never have gone to otherwise.

Giveaway Winner: Robber Bride by Deborah Simmons

And the winner of this fun little tale is....


Chris


Chris I'll be emailing you soon to get your address. Thanks for entering everyone!

I haven't quite decided what my next giveaway will be, so stay tuned!

Reading Challenge Check In

I joined a number of Challenges at the beginning of the year, they are listed on my lefthand sidebar with a link to my original listing. I'm not doing quite as well as I had hoped, but there is still time! I hope to be caught up on books I owe to people in another couple of months and then I can read whatever I want (provided I don't get myself in the same mess by offering TBR's for trade! Bad Shaunie, very bad!) I have however managed to complete once challenge so far, the First in a Series Challenge, here is my list:



The 2009 First in a Series Challenge: Read 12 books that are the first in any series

1. Bad Blood (#1 Crimson Moon) - L A Banks - finished 1/21/09
2. The Iron Hunt (#1 Hunter Kiss) - Marjorie M Liu - finished 2/11/09
3. Dreamer (#1 Silent Empire) - Steven Harper - finished 2/26/09
4. Touched by Venom (#1 Dragon Temple Saga) - Janine Cross - finished 4/5/09
5. A Murderous Glaze (#1 of Clay and Crime Series) - Melissa Glazer - finished 4/9/09
6. Bitterwood (#1 Bitterwood) - James Maxey - finished 4/23/09
7. The Xibalba Murders (#1 Archaeology Mysteries) - Lyn Hamilton - finished 5/10/09
8. Dark Lover (#1 The Black Dagger Brotherhood) - J. R. Ward - finished 6/7/09
9. Airs Beneath the Moon (#1 Horse Mistress Saga) - Toby Bishop - finished 6/20/09
10. This Pen for Hire (#1 Jaine Austen Mysteries) - Laura Levine finished 7/5/09
11. Dying in Style (#1 Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper Series) - Elaine Viets 7/19/09 (Elaine even stopped by to comment!)
12. Fellowship of Fear (#1 Gideon Oliver Anthropologist series) - Aaron Elkins finished 7/31/09

Challenge completed 7/31/09!

I think I'll probably concentrate next on the 2nd's challenge as I have a lot of #2's in series that I want to read once I'm caught up. I think the teen books I can probably finish, and also the audio books as I have a new player that I can take with me that supports my audio books and can be plugged into my car, so no more CD burning or listening limitations! I am having trouble with the Erotica Challenge however, I'll most likely have to give up on that one. I didn't finish the only one I had started, and although I do like them, and have a bunch to read, it's not something I read often.

Thanks J. Kaye for hosting these!