One challenge down and another commences! The weather begins to grow colder, the nights darker, and the air creepier, and reading matter should reflect that. I have had three titles published/re-issued in October pre-ordered for a number of weeks in anticipation of the R.I.P. IV (Reader's Imbibing Peril) Challenge hosted by Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings and include those at the top of my book pool.
I have decided to indulge in Peril the First: Read FOUR books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose. The subgenres cover Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy,
Gothic, Horror, Supernatural, which leaves me so many great books to choose from.
As I have a heavy reading list at the moment I am hoping to combine my R.I.P. reads with those for the Japanese Literature Challenge as well as allowing me to read some for Savidge Read's Sensational September and potentially a couple of Classics that I have been meaning to read for ever.
My pool of potential books:
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Out by Natsuo Kirino
Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Strangers by Taichi Yamada
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill
A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
I think a devilish dozen is ample selection although, knowing me, I will chop and change my choices frequently between now (officially September 1st) and Hallowe'en. I will also be participating in Short Story Sundays wherever possible and have a number on hand.
Are you joining in during R.I.P. IV? What are you most looking forward to? Are any of my potential reads appealing or intriguing to you?
19 comments:
Okay, I think I could possibly be into this one. If I'm not mistaken there's a version that is just short stories and I just so happen to have the very book for that. It's Everyman's Ghost Stories which has been waiting for me since last Christmas. There's stories by Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth Bowen, Saki, Wodehouse, Edith Wharton, Katherine Mansfield and Penelope Lively and more. Okay, that does it - I'm in!
Darlene, that sounds like an AMAZING volume! One that I can't wait to hear all about each week (there is a Short Story option for the challenge).
I love to read scary stories/horror/thriller/mystery type books in October for Halloween! I will definitely be reading along this year. Let's see, off of your list I've read We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Frankenstein, The Blank Wall, Wuthering Heights. And I recommend them all...well except for Wuthering Heights. I've read it twice now hoping to like it and now I fear there's just something wrong with me because I don't!
I'll have to take a look at the bookshelf and see what I've been saving...
Great selection! I hope that you enjoy Out as much as I did. I look forward to hearing what you thing of Shirley Jackson - I think I'll try to get hold of one of her books too.
Heather, glad to know you will be reading along! Also that you recommend some of my choices. I started to read Wuthering Heights when I was quite young (11/12), soon after Jane Eyre, but didn't fare well and then never got around to it again.
Jackie, definitely looking forward to Out and pleased it fits in two challenges. The Shirley Jackson novels excite me.
I also read Wuthering Heights at 11, and while I didn't understand everything at the time, I loved it, the atmosphere and everything. After a couple more rereadings (also during teens) it's become an absolute favourite. I've seen a number of bloggers who don't like it; noticed that those who loved it read it young and those who didn't read it older, when they had more sense and didn't see any sense to the characters, lol. Of course these are only generalizations and hopefully you're an exception! I'm curious if I'll feel the same upon rereading. But am fairly sure I'll still love it.
Yay, I'm glad you are now 'officially' in! What a wonderful list of books. Very smart of you to be combining reads for various challenges, I do that myself whenever I can.
I certainly look forward to the reviews of whatever you choose to read. Thanks so much for being a part of this, I really do appreciate it.
Claire, it's one I feel that I must read and I can't believe it's taken me so long to; I'm looking forward to it.
Carl, I'm very excited about this challenge and want to Bookers to be over so I can begin immersing myself in scary reads!
I love your list! And I'd love to hear your thoughts on Strangers: I read it last year, and I loved it right until the ending, when something happened that made me reevaluate the whole book. And unlike what usually happens, this time I actually remember the ending in detail, so I'd love someone to discuss it with!
As for your question, Tender Morsels is certainly dark enough to qualify!
Ooh, Ana, you have me intrigued about Strangers now! We shall definitely discuss it. I felt the same about Little Boy Lost (although I loved the ending) and need someone to discuss it with.
I shall try to read Tender Morsels during RIP; I should definitely take the chance as I've been wanting to read it for months.
Those are some very interesting choices and I look forward to hearing about them, especially the Japanese authors of which I know nothing.
I've just started We Have Always Lived in the Castle... it's er... *different*.
I read Wuthering Heights at 16. Back then I loved it, now I think I might get a bit impatient with some of the characters.
Thanks, Cath. I'm intrigued by the Japanese novels myself.
I can't wait for October when my copy of We Have Always Lived in the Castle arrives!
Wuthering Heights interests me. I never thought of it as a classic more suited for teenagers before, although now the new marketing ploy -the cover that ties in with Twilight- makes more sense.
I put off choosing books for this challenge till after the Bank Holiday. I'm going to sit down with a lovely glass of wine and my trusty laptop after my little one's gone to bed, and enjoy selecting books.
Horror/fantasy is my favourite genre, but I have to ration it because of my tendency to dream about the books I read (!) In one memorable incident I woke up my neighbours with my screaming in the middle of the night after dreaming of Cujo. In my defence I was nine and probably too young to be reading Stephen King!
Darlene, that book sounds amazing! I would love to have something like that. I'm off to leave the Amazon page of that book open on my husband's PC so he knows what to buy me for Christmas (wink, wink)
Swati, that's crazy about the nightmares! I can have exceptionally vivid dreams; at the end of the weekend I was dreaming about answering blog comments because of the sheer number of ones written for Persephone Reading Week!
I look forward to your list; choosing them over a glass of wine sounds lovely.
I stopped reading Stephen King and any other horror books in college because I had nightmares every night. I still don't watch or read them. I may dabble in a book that's violent or suspenseful, but not in the horror genre definitely now.
Claire, I think the reason I stopped reading Stephen King was similar; I know that something reading-orientated began giving me nightmares but I can't remember what.
You've put together a great selection of books for the challenge. I have A Pale View of Hills in my stacks but never thought of it for R.I.P. Hmm..
I finally read Wuthering Heights for the first time last year. I just wanted to shake Heathcliff and Cathy for most of it but absolutely loved the atmosphere. A perfect autumn read. Happy spooky reading!
Hi Tanabata, I'm delighted with my selection and look forward to reading them; I think I have a diverse range there. As for A Pale View of Hills, I didn't know much about it until I read a list by Sarah Waters of her favourite ghost stories and it featured... being Japanese and a ghost story makes it a perfect choice!
I love atmospheric books and I think I'll love WH for that reason... spooky reading, indeed!
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