Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!

No....it's not the fact that school started. And it's not because the NFL season is just around the corner. Mind you, these are both valid answers. But today, the most wonderful time of year means the start of the RIP IV Challenge brought to you by Carl, from Stainless Steel Droppings!! The Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge is my very favorite challenge across the blogosphere. It's a time to give in to fear. The leaves are going to be changing soon, there will be a little nip in the air. Halloween is just around the corner, and there will nights filled with ghouls and goblins. The eerie and the creepy are set to make their way into our lives for a short period. It is a time that I don't have to feel guilty for imbibing in my true pleasure of horror and the dark elements that surround it. And I, for one, am ridiculously excited about it!! I've been waiting for weeks for this announcement. I've even been stockpiling books to be used for this challenge. And today it is here!

As always, Carl has set up this wonderful challenge to have multiple perils to choose from:



Peril the First:
Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.



Peril the Second:
Read Two books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.


Peril the Third:
Read One book of any length, from any of the subgenres listed earlier in the post.



More than any other time of the year, R.I.P. season brings out my desire to explore the short story genre. We will again do Short Story Sundays, for those of you who read R.I.P. related short stories any time during the week and want to write about them. I know I have Lovecraft, Poe, and Angela Carter waiting in the wings for my short story reading.

As always, this challenge runs from September 1st until October 31st. I know I will be participating in the Peril the first....hopefully multiple times!! I read more books for the RIP III last year than I did any other challenge. Do you need a set reading list? Of course not. But here is the pool of books I will be drawing my reading from this year:

  • The Rising by Brian Keene
  • You are so Undead to Me by Stacy Jay
  • 13 Bullets by David Wellingham
  • Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine
  • Baltimore,: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
  • The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
  • Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest
  • Castaways by Brian Keene
  • The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
  • Infected by Scott Sigler
  • Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The Book of Scary Urban Legends by Jan Brunvand
  • Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
  • Nocturnes by John Connelly (for the Short Story Peril)
  • Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files, Book 3)
  • Embrace the Night by Karen Chance (Cassandra Palmer, Book 3)
  • Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson, Book 3)

And this year, I may have to delve into a re-read of my very favorite scary book: The Stand by Stephen King.

I can't wait to see how many of these books I can actually fit in this year!! Now, dear readers, you should join us on this eerie and creepy journey. Come on: you know you want to!!

21 comments:

chrisa511 said...

I'm so very excited about this Steph!! Great list!! Enjoy!!

Ana S. said...

Oh man, I've been wanting to read Baltimore since the very first RIP! I Shall Not Buy Books, though :P

Amanda said...

I hope, hope, hope we have a fall here. It's still 100+ on a daily basis in San Antonio, which just sucks. I'm definitely participating in this challenge - I need *something* to be fall-like this fall!

DesLily said...

ohhh i liked reading the Historian last year! Not my type book but yet i really did enjoy it!! I hope you do too!

Becky said...

It feels like I've been waiting for weeks too. :) I'm contemplating reading The Stand...for the first time. And I'm a little intimidated. But I really would love to get to this one :)

Nikki in Niagara said...

Yeah!! Great list. Can't wait for your reviews! This is the one we all wait for all year long!

Remember my Stephen King Project, it got stuck at The Stand. I can't squeeze it in this year. I'll be reading the new uncut version, 1500 pgs so it's on hold till next year for me, too many arcs this year,

Heather said...

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is great!! Perfect for RIP too. And I loooove The Historian. Wish I was reading that again for the first time. Heart-Shaped Box scared the life out of me. That is one freaky book.

Good luck and have fun!!

Carl V. Anderson said...

If I wasn't hosting the challenge myself your enthusiastic post would have me rushing to sign up immediately! You're hired as my permanent challenge PR person! :)

I look at your list and I've got to tell you that I am aching to reread Baltimore. I am having such a struggle with either deciding to read stuff I haven't read and rereading old favorites that I just love. If only I could make Autumn stretch out an extra month or so!

Thank you so much for joining in and for your delicious descriptions of this wonderful time of year.

And the NFL...Wooooo!!!!

Kailana said...

Great list, Steph! I really really need to figure mine out. I need to get my mind focused....

I loved The Forest of Hands and Teeth. :) And Briggs. And Rachel Caine. Oh, we should read Cherie Priest together! It's more fitting than Pratchett for this time of the year (though I want to finish the trilogy with you). Are you interested? Let me know!

Michelle said...

Oooo...I definitely want to participate, but I honestly have NO idea what to read. Scary stories, like anything by Stephen King are SO not my thing. Any ideas on must-reads? (I'm surprised you haven't picked up The Historian before this. I loved it so much I read it twice!)

Scott Sigler said...

I hope you enjoy INFECTED!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I'm very excited to participate again this year. you've got some good books planned--enjoy

Iliana said...

Everyone is so excited about this challenge - it's definitely one of my favorites too!

You've got a great list here. I have read Heart-Shaped Box and thought it was wonderful. Scary but so good.

Have fun!

Stephanie said...

Chris - I'm so excited too!! This is truly my favorite time of the year...and my favorite challenge!

Nymeth - What is ONE book, for the love of a challenge?? Of course, I'm sure you have about 100 you could use instead!

Amanda - It's been really nice here lately. 80's during the day, and low 60's at night. PERFECT weather! Hope it cools down for you soon!

Deslily - I can't wait to see your list. I always end up with so many good recommendations from you!

Becky - The Stand is so easy to read, you won't even realize it's 1500 pages!! Go for it!! It is a great experience!

Nicola - I wondered what happened to Uncle Steve!! The Stand is a bit hefty, that's for sure. But oh, SO GOOD!

Stephanie said...

Heather - Yours is one of the reviews I read of The Forest of Hands and Feet. Between you and Kailana, I know I have to read it! The Historian is a book I've had forever, and just haven't taken the time to read it. And Heart-Shaped Box my little brother stole from me...and I just got it back! 2 years later. The Butthead.

Carl - Like you need any PR!! You do just fine all on your own. I'm ridiculously excited about it. I missed the first RIP ( I started blogging after it was already finished), but the next two I signed up for eagerly. I just love this time of year!!

Kailana - We can absolutely do the Cherie Priest together. I've been wanting to read it every since I saw it on Chris' blog. I'm still going to finish up Tiffany. Maybe in Sept, the way things are going now!! Email me!

Michelle - Of COURSE, I have many recommendations for you!! More than I'm sure you will want. You have to join this challenge. I know you'll love it. And you don't have to read anything too scary!

Scott - Thanks for stopping by!! I'm looking forward to your book! I tripped over it by accident on Amazon, and decided I must read it! Not only because it looks really good, but I think the cover just rocks. And I'm a sucker for a great cover. I just hope I'm not reading it out of some kind of order. I tried to find out if it's part of a series, but I can't tell.

Diane - I can't wait to see your list! I love this challenge.

Iliana - Thanks!! I wondered where you've been!! Can't wait to see your list.

Jodie said...

Man I wish I 'Forest of Hands and Teeth' around here to read. Hope you enjoy 'Heart Shaped Box' (excellent in my opinion).

Melody said...

Yeah! Just can't resist this one!
That's a great list you have!

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

You always make the best challenge lists! I've only read The Historian, but it's perfect for the challenge.

gautami tripathy said...

What a list! Wonderful choices in there!

Here is my RIP IV read list

Anonymous said...

hooray for rip! :D

i'm looking forward to seeing what you make of "the dresden files"!

Jenny said...

Embrace the Night is awesome, i'm in love with the whole cassie series
(woo! go pritkin!)