RIP Challenge is in progress!

The R(eaders) I(mbibing) P(eril) Challenge IV has begun! Follow the button on the sidebar of the blog to see what all the fuss is about.

All the reviews are being collected here in a blog unique to the challenge, and already I have so many books I'll have to add to my TBR list, it's crazy. A couple of things I've noticed so far:

• Shirley Jackson is making a serious comeback in popularity. Is that correct to say? Did she ever go "out" of popularity? Regardless. I've been afraid of The Haunting ever since I was traumatized by it as a child, so I suppose I'll have to pick up one of these at some point. Maybe I'll read "The Lottery" for my first weekend short-story post.
• Vampires. Every sort of vampire you could want: Charlaine Harris', Guillermo del Toro's, the Swedish vampires from Let the Right One In, everything. Notice that Twilight is not included. Excuse me while I raise a glass to book bloggers everywhere.
• Historical fiction-wise, we can't escape the Gothic, and why would we ever want to? The Name of the Rose (okay, not Gothic, but not far off from *actual* Visigoth times!) and some Sarah Waters Victorian creepers are appearing, as well.

I'm loving everything about this challenge so far, and I hope you are, too!

Fall is creeeeeping up on us, and so is the RIP challenge!

It truly is a dark and stormy morning here in the North, so it is fitting that Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings is getting the RIP Reading Challenge ready to begin on the 1st of September. Say what you will about cold weather, but I love Halloween and Fall atmosphere!

The challenge is to read in the Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, or Supernatural genres by October 31st. The great thing about this challenge is that you can choose different "readers' perils": you can read 4 books, 2 books, 1 book, or just stick to short stories. Carl will be hosting Short Story Sunday on his blog.

Seeing as I am a huge scary short story nut (Lovecraft, Poe, King... I'll get into it later this week), I will be going through "Peril the Second" and reading 2 books:

1. The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice
2. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

However, another cool thing about this challenge is that you can always edit your reading list, so if I find I can fit more in, I will definitely do so! I will be reading some short stories as well and posting those on the weekends.

I hope you'll participate with me!

Reading Challenge July 1st- January 2010: Everything Austen!

Stephanie over at The Written Word is hosting the Everything Austen reading challenge from July 1-January 1. I’m really excited about this one, especially since I still haven’t read two of the original novels! The challenge is to complete at least six Jane Austen-related books or movies within the time frame, and it’s very flexible, because you can even choose derivative works, like sequels or modern adaptations.

I hope you will join me in participating—go and sign up, and let me know in the comments here if you do!

Here is my list:

1. Mansfield Park-- Ugh, I can’t believe I’ve still never read this one. I saw the 1999 movie and found that I didn’t really like Fanny Price, so I’ve never felt compelled to read it. However, I am determined to find something to like about it!
2. Persuasion-- I have also seen the Ciaran Hinds version of this movie, liked it very much, and yet never read the book. I know quite a few people who say that this is their favorite, so I am excited.
3. Sanditon-- I plan to go out and find a good version of this, though I’ve seen some places where different authors have edited it or added to it and that seems iffy to me. Now I will finally have completed all the Austen novels!
4. Pride and Prejudice, the 2005 film—This is just one of my favorite movies. I’ll probably watch it this week, anyway.
5. Pride and Prejudice, the 1995 BBC miniseries—I haven’t sat down and watched this whole thing since the first time I saw it years ago. It’s time I watched it again and remembered how much I loved it.
6. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool—I’ve been meaning to read this ever since I first opened an Austen novel. I’ve only ever heard rave reviews about it.

And bonus… as if I didn’t have enough in my TBR pile…

7. Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll—I’m laughing as I type this because one of my best friends read this book and told me she hated it so much she threw it across the room. But I obviously like a romance novel every once in a while, and I think that this is the sequel that has gotten the most press out of all of the many that have cropped up over the last few years, so I might as well borrow her battered copy and give it a go.
8. Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel—This is a short story that I downloaded for free to my Sony eReader that I’ve been meaning to get to. So this is just a little bonus that will probably take an hour or so to read. Anyway, it’s a crossover that won some award (don’t worry; when I review it on here I’ll look up all these links!) where Mary Bennet meets Victor Frankenstein.

I will be reviewing everything here, posting along on the challenge board, and otherwise tagging everything having to do with the challenge with the label "Everything Austen." I also will keep a link to the challenge on the sidebar of this blog.

Happy reading, and I hope you’ll follow along with me!