Monday, August 20, 2007

It's FINALLY here: RIP2!!!

Anyone who knows me will understand that Autumn is my very favorite time of the year!! I love the brisk feel of the weather, the changing of the leaves, but most importantly I love Halloween and the goblins and ghouls associated with it! Enter Carl's RIP II Challenge!! RIP stands for Readers Imbibing Peril, and is the Autumn Reading Challenge. Since I wasn't around the blogging world for challenge number one, I'm more than excited to join in on Challenge #2!

According to Carl, "R.I.P. II is a September 1st through October 31st celebration of all tales gothic, eerie, creepy, and dark. Tales that one reads in the dark of night, experiencing delicious shivers of terror and suspense at each creak of the floorboards or each gust of wind."

He has even outlined certain "perils" to sign up for:
Peril the First:
Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

Peril the Second (Otherwise known as the Obese Book Peril):
As you may know, some books are scary not just because of their subject matter but because of their size. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is 737 pages of small type, for example, and Gordon Dahlquist’s Glass Books of the Dream Eaters is 637 pages long with type so miniscule it makes Strange’s look like large print!
For this peril simply read two weighty tomes during the challenge period.

Peril the Third:
If you think you have it in you, this third choice of perils is the Scary Sandwich Peril…choose two large books like those described in Peril the Second and read a smaller qualifying tale in between.

Peril the Fourth (Otherwise known as Just a Bit of Peril):
Some of you wonderful readers, or would-be readers, may have a tendency to shy away from this genre, thinking it is just not your cup of poisoned tea. However, it wouldn’t be a challenge if I wasn’t challenging you.

This peril is for those of you who want to take a chance. Simply choose one book that you feel meets the criteria for Readers Imbibing Peril II and, well, imbibe it!

Additional Perils:
For those of you who have never done so, or want those who want to do so again, choose one or more of the following books to read after you have completed your other peril of choice:
1.Dracula by Bram Stoker
2. A collection of tales by Edgar Allan Poe
3. The Mystery of the Sea by Bram Stoker
4. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

I realize my list is long! And since I suck at completing challenges, I don't think I will be able to finish all the books that I want to read. So what I'm going to do is enter Peril 1, with a couple of additions. Then list the last few books I would like to read, if I have the time, or later on in the year:

Peril 1:

Alternative and Additional books:

There you go. 20 books that I'm DYING to read!! Click on the links if you'd like to know more about each book. Join in with this challenge!! It's going to be fun!

29 comments:

Andi said...

I'm SO excited about this challenge! I missed out last year, but this year I'm fully on board and ready to go! Looks like you've chosen some great books. I hope you enjoy Twilight as much as I did!

Anonymous said...

The Book of Lost Things is an excellent choice for this challenge, I'm pleased to see that a few people already have it on their lists. Look forward to your thoughts!

chrisa511 said...

what an awesome list Stephanie!! I've either read quite a few on your list or have quite a few on mine for the challenge this year, so we'll have fun together with this challenge ;) This is my favorite time of the year too, and this will make it even better. I'm psyched!

Kailana said...

I want to read The Glass Books of the Dreams Eaters but I don't like the cover that is available in Canada... Normally it wouldn't bother me, but I really don't like it.

Stephanie said...

Andi - I missed last year too!! This is such a fun thing. Scary books are probably my favorite. All in preparation for a fun Halloween!! I've heard SO MANY great things about Twilight! I can't wait to read it!

Quix - I think I've read your review and Chris' about The Book of Lost Things. One of the reasons I added it to the list!

Chris - Thanks! Yes, we have some books in common. I can't wait to begin reading them! I'm really excited for this challenge!

Kail - That's funny! I don't normally NOT read a book because of it's cover, but I will sometimes pick up a book that I might not have because I liked the cover! I'm sure you have a list of 50! I can't wait to see them!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to see World War Z made it on your list. And I've got Dracula on the shelf waiting to be read...

Stephanie said...

Matt - Thanks to you, that is!! I added it to my list after your recommendation!! It looks like so much fun! For that matter, so is Twilight!

I've been meaning to read Dracula for YEARS !! Guess it's time to get moving on it!

Ana S. said...

I am also reading The Book of Lost Things. It sounds like you have some great reading ahead of you!

Stephanie said...

Nymeth - I'm glad we share at least a book!! I've heard great things about too. I'm looking forward to reading your reactions as well!

Vasilly said...

I can't wait to read your reviews on Fragile Things. I was thinking about adding that to my list.

Anonymous said...

I'm so excited about this challenge too. I can't wait to come up with my list. I saw that you have Storm Front on yours - I read that for the Sci-Fi challenge and really enjoyed it. Good luck on your challenge!

Amy said...

Great list! There are a few on your list that I would love to read too but I don't think I will get to them.

raidergirl3 said...

Man, there are too many good books! I want to read Booked to Die, too. And I loved a Charlaine Harris earlier this year. Maybe this is the time to try a vampire book? but I've already got a huge list.

Chris said...

I wasn't going to join. I've been bad with challenges lately but I love Halloween too much. I just know I'd be reading a scary book or 2 anyway. I kept to a small list. It's on my blog.

Great list!

Stephanie said...

n.vasillis - This seems to be my year of Gaiman! So far, I've read American Gods, Stardust and Anansi Boys. I've never been too big on short stories, but I figured I might as well give this one a go!!

Iliana - I watched The Dresden Files on the Sci-Fi channel and loved it!! Figured I might as well try the books. I was trying to come up with some books that were of varying subgenres!!

Amy - Thanks! It will be a fun challenge!

Raidergirl - I'm afraid to visit all of the other participants. I know I'll find many more books to read!!

Stephanie said...

Chris - You have fun with this one! Carl is a great host! I'm running over (figuratively!) to your blog right now to see your list!

Anonymous said...

oooh! such cool choices!!!

its got me going dizzy. i was already struggling to choose and now you've made it even harder...

dracula, fragile things, wwz, twilight, de lint, poe, bradbury...!!!

i'm really looking forward to your reviews.

Stephanie said...

JP - I can't wait to see what you choose! (then again, I'm afraid to look! I keep finding MORE books to add to my list!)

Sharon said...

Great list, Stephanie! Look forward to reading your reviews.

Anonymous said...

I like your list. I have signed up too but I don't think I will come up with a list beforehand, I will just see what I have time for as I will be moving in September and going on holiday in October fingers crossed...

Court said...

Great list! Twilight is one of my FAVOURITE books, I really hope you enjoy it!!

Robin said...

That's a great list! I haven't read many of the books you listed, so I'll be very interested in your reviews.

Literary Feline said...

You have some great choices there, Stephanie! Even if you read one book, you'll have met one of the Perils, right? You can do it! Good luck to you!

Kucki68 said...

I read a couple of yours already:

Moon Called, Storm Front, Fragile Things and Dead until Dark and enjoyed them. Hope you do too.

Bookfool said...

I don't think I've read a single one of the books on your lists! Cool! You're going to get me in all sorts of trouble with your reviews. ;)

Les said...

Great list! I might have to add Lisey's Story to mine. :)

Amy said...

Great List Stephanie. My husband is just finishing book 2 of the Mercy Thompson series and tells me that I must read it. :)

He also loved Dracula. Happy reading!

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Oh my goodness! Sounds intriguing. I have an overactive imagination, so I usually stay away from anything scary or even suspenseful. I would lie awake at night after putting down my RL Stine books as a YA until finally I decided to just not read them anymore. :) I couldn't even watch Ghostrider with Hubby the other night because I could tell it was going to give me nightmares. Ahhh. But I LOVE HALLOWEEN! All my decorations are still at the old house, but I can't wait to get them mid-sept to start putting everything up. LOVE IT!!

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

URG! My arm has been twisted and I will be imbibing my peril (although its a little bitty peril compared to everyone else's). Thanks for introducing me!