Wednesday 31 August 2011

R.I.P. VI

It's the 1st. September tomorrow which of course means that R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril is with us once again... more commonly known as RIP... and this year it's the sixth year of this challenge, so it's RIP VI!



What a stunning piece of artwork. I honestly think this is my favourite so far of all the images used for RIP. It's Flight by Melissa Nucera and I love it to bits. So atmospheric.

As always Carl is hosting and this is the site to visit if you're interested in joining in and here're are a few pointers:


The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.


The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not.

There are two simple goals for the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI Challenge:

1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others.

R.I.P. VI officially runs from September 1st through October 31st. But lets go ahead and break the rules. Lets start today!!!


Okay, well, as always there are several levels of participation and I'm going to do...



Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (my very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming or Edgar Allan Poe…or anyone in between.

And here are a few of the books I've put aside as a pool to choose from:




They include:

Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs
Silver Borne - Patricia Briggs
Drood - Dan Simmons
The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (a reread)
Eclipse - Stephanie Meyer
The Small Hand - Susan Hill
Nightlife - Rob Thurman
Wagner the Werewolf - George W.M. Reynolds
The Lair of the White Worm - Bram Stoker
The Picture of Dorian Grey - Oscar Wilde
The Gates - John Connolly
Blood Detective - Dan Waddell
The Wine of Angels - Phil Rickman
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
Wicked Appetite - Janet Evanovich
The Mephisto Club - Tess Gerritsen

There are also numerous short story collections which probably means I'll take part in a couple of the short story weekends:



A few authors I'd like to read for those are, M.R. James, E.F. Benson, Elizabeth Gaskell, Edith Wharton, Rhoda Broughton and so on... the list is endless and I have a few sitting waiting on my Kindle too.

And I have a little bit of a confession... although the challenge doesn't officially start until tomorrow I er... started my first book yesterday. It's Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs. Loving it.

Thanks to Carl, as always, for hosting this challenge once again and giving us all so much enjoyment.
~~~oOo~~~

23 comments:

DesLily said...

LOL i started my first one 3 days ago reading extremely slow but my first book is like 600 pgs and I am only at 200... :o)

I can't believe that i hold off reading books and wait for rip to read them lol lol

Kate said...

I started reading last night too :)

Great list! I *loved* Drood and I'd recommend Simmons' The Terror as well. The Little Stranger also makes a great RIP read.

Happy reading!

Brooke from The Bluestocking Guide said...

The Lair of the White Worm is an excellent choice!!!!

Here is my R.I.P. VI list

Margaret @ BooksPlease said...

I've joined up too.

I hope you enjoy Drood more than I did!!! The Little Stranger is good, Great Expectations is - great. I've also read The Small Hand - not frightening, and The Picture of Dorien Grey - much better!

Happy reading!

Kailana said...

I am so happy to see Patricia Briggs on your list! I love her books. :)

Carl V. Anderson said...

Cheater!!!

LOL, just kidding. I started yesterday as well.

What a great list of books. I keep reading about The Little Stranger and I should probably consider reading it. It sounds perfect.

Thank you so much for joining in. I really appreciate it and hope that you have a wonderful creepy time with it.

Anonymous said...

Great list! I'll be interested to see how you like The Little Stranger. It is the only Waters book I didn't like.

Jodie Robson said...

I love that you have a dedicated shelf for R.I.P. reads! Um, I didn;t enjoy Drood either...couldn't finish it, but I know lots of people loved it!

Stephanie said...

It looks like you've got a great list to choose from! Happy reading!

Anonymous said...

I'm so excited that The Picture of Dorian Grey is on your list, as now I see that yes, it can be part of this R.I.P. Challenge. I'm about halfway through this book right now, so yay for getting ahead!

I'm also excited about the group readings section, since I've been wanting to try Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series and I've also got Fragile Things on my shelf, out of which I've only read a few stories.

--Sharry

Kelly said...

I'll be honest and say I've not read anything on your list other than "Great Expectations". Hmm... "The Picture of Doran Grey" might be buried somewhere on my shelf.

I'm ready to get started tonight!

Cath said...

Pat: Another 600 pager??? Where do you find 'em? LOL. Yeah, I save books up for RIP too... I even bought one in Cardiff in Jan. especially for RIP!

Kate: Opinions seemed to be mixed about Drood so I'm hoping to get to it to judge for myself soon.

Brooke: Yeah, I wanted to read *something* by Bram Stoker, (I've read only 2 of his books so far) for this challenge.

Margaret: Looks like I have a couple of months of good reading. I'm really intrigued about Drood now as opinions are very mixed it seems.

Kailana: Yaaaay for Patricia Briggs! The one I'm reading, Bone Crossed, is excellent and I'm hoping to read the other one on my list too.

Carl: LOL! It sort of looks the people who *didn't* start yesterday are the odd ones out... heheh.

The Little Stranger has had some good reviews so it's one I really want to get to.

reviewsbylola: I've just read one Waters book, Fingersmith, so it'll be interesting to see what I think of The Little Stranger. You're the first person I've come across who didn't like it.

GeraniumCat: I know... I'm such a nerd. I don't normally do it this way, I usually pile them up but there were too many. LOL.

Another one not keen on Drood. Wonder which way I'll go...

Stephanie: Thank you!

Sharry: To tell the truth I'm not sure whether I've read The Picture of Dorian Grey before, or not. I think I might have, but that's ok.

I've read Storm Front and you have a treat in store.

Kelly: I'd forgotten about Dorian Grey until I saw it on someone else's list too. Then I had to dig it out from my own tbr shelves...

Chrisbookarama said...

I love seeing everyone's lists. I have Drood on mine too. I loved Dorian Gray. It's so different from his plays.

Amanda said...

Lair of the White Worm!! I've GOT to read that sometime!

Nulaanne said...

I love Briggs, and so far read most of her stuff. The Little Stranger was good too. I think you picked out some good ones. My list is up as well

DesLily said...

the little stranger was good but it could have been creepier...

very strange about Drood. I loved it as you know. It set me off on Wilke Collins which I am not sorry about! I didn't know that I'd like the books since it was about collins and dickens..good points being they were real authors and much history on how the underground opium dens were.. and mentions many of their writings so if you like that you should like the book...
I did not expect to like it ..and loved it. I hope you do too.

Trish said...

Good luck with your challenge! Sounds like you are off to a good start. I have a short story collection by Poe that I've been dipping into all year with the intent of finishing it up as one of my RIP reads. *shh* don't tell anybody I got started early too ;)

Danielle said...

I started one of my books on the first day, though I had a mental list going for a while now! :) Although I've not planned on reading short stories, I might just see if I can squeeze one in a week anyway--a little bonus, so I'll be interested to see which you choose to read!

chrisa511 said...

Wow! The only one I've read is the Wilde!! Looking forward to your reviews :) And I so agree with the art this year..it's stunning!!

Susan said...

I didn't put Drood on my list, as you know, but I'm tempted......I do want to read it, very much. I loved The Terror by him, a few years ago. I do have The Little Stranger on mine, and am hoping to get to it this year. I have my fingers crossed it will be creepy enough for me, though it seems to be a book people either 'get' or don't. I"m curious to see which side you and I fall on!

Like Kailana: yaaaay for Patricia Briggs! As you know, I've read all the books in the Mercy Thompson series except the latest (still in hardcover) and I absolutely love them.

Enjoy the challenge, Cath! I'm curious if you will like The Small Hand or not. I've heard mixed things, and can't find it over here yet to read for myself. I think Woman in Black is one of the best scariest ghost stories ever, along with The Haunting of HIll House. I always hope to find more to add to that list! lol

Cath said...

Chrisbookarama: I like seeing everyone else's lists too. I'm behind with my blog visiting at the moment after a trying weekend but hope to catch up over the next couple of days.

Amanda: I'm a bit ambivilent about Stoker. I adored Dracula but a couple of others by him I've been a bit so-so about. But I keep trying.

Nulaanne: I love Briggs too. I'm on book 4 of her MT series, it's excellent as always, and hope to read her other series eventually.

Pat: Yeah, Drood seems to get mixed reviews. I'm going to try it, although I'm not sure whether I'll get to it for RIP. Things being difficult at the moment I may stick to shorter reads that I know I can finish.

Trish: LOL... ok I won't tell. Poe is an author I need to revisit. I used to read his stories years ago but not lately.

Danielle: If you look around I think you'll find some of the absolute best writing in ghost fiction is in short story form and written by women. Authors that you probably already read. I'll try to do a short story weekend featuring some of my favourites.

Chris: I can't remember whether I've already read the Wilde yet or not. I think it quite likely. I'm really in love with the art. :-)

Susan: Hmm, I didn't realise that about The Little Stranger until 'reviewsbylola' commented. So it's going to be very interesting to see how I feel about it. I loved Fingersmith so assumed I would like all of Waters' books. That's a bit silly really. lol

Yep... yay for Patricia Briggs. One of my favourite authors. I'm just reading (nearly finished) Bone Crossed and it's excellent. You start reading a MT and just settle right in like a comfy armchair.

I usually like Susan Hill's books. Although none of her ghost yarns have been quite as good as The Woman in Black, I've found them all very readable. There are not many ghost novels like that to be honest, my feeling is that the very best ghost writing is in short story form and written by authors in Victorian and Edwardian times. Often women were the best writers although I am rather addicted to M.R. James. Happy reading... I'll take a proper look at your post in a minute.

Unknown said...

Dear Cath,
I am looking for the book - The Silver Borne by Patrica Briggs in the cover shown in your picture posted as appropriate books for you challenge. I would appreciated it if you could tell be the ISBN of the book so that I will have an easier time locating the book. Thank you.
Cassandra

Cath said...

Cassandra, the isbn for the book is: 9781841497990

Hope that helps you locate it.