Monday, August 24, 2009

R.I.P. Already? Hooray!!


Just what I needed to perk up a lackluster, long day. Carl's R.I.P. IV challenge is starting! For some reason I thought I was going to have to wait until October. But no! Two whole months of nothing but spooky, scary, Gothic, mystery, suspenseful fun! I am sooooooo excited. And am wishing I had kept better track of all the books I was "holding for RIP"... oh well. Time to make a list. But first, which peril? I'll choose...

Well, I'll choose my own peril: All Scary All The Time.

So what's on my reading list? Let's see. I'll choose 10 and see how far I get.

1. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
2. Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
3. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories by Roald Dahl
4. Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl
5. We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson
6. Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle
7. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (a re-read, but I've been looking forward to it all year)
8. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
9. Hell House by Richard Matheson
10. An Agatha Christie, maybe And Then There Were None?

And then a few others because I got started looking at other people's pools from last year...

11. definitely a John Bellairs
12. Tales of Terror From The Black Ship by Chris Priestly
13. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
14. Baltimore,; Or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
15. The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
16. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
17. The Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar
18. The Night Country by Stewart O'Nan
19. a local 'ghost' book (there are lots of "Ghosts of Alameda" or "Ghosts of San Francisco" books around here)
20. The Sandman by Neil Gaiman (if I can find a good collection of the first in the series)

I might have to actually BUY a couple of these (horrors!) but now I'm going to go to the library site to see how many of these I can get from the library. However, that is an excellent excuse to go to Dark Carnival and Borderlands. Oh darn, I have to go to the bookstore. What a drag.

(grinning madly)

I'm also going to try to find a few more book blogs to read. I currently have a list of about 10, which I can barely keep up with. However, I'd like to find a few more like-minded souls. What are your favorite book blogs?

18 comments:

Eva said...

A Christie that really creeped me out was By the Pricking of My Thumgs. :) We Have Always lived in the Castle is awesome!!! Tamsin is wonderful as well, though not as high on the creepiness factor. :)

I have waaaaay too many favourite book blogs, lol.

Carl V. Anderson said...

Wow, what a great list of books. I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle last year and really enjoyed it. Baltimore is fantastic. Rich and dripping with atmosphere. Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories is excellent. Rebecca...a gothic classic. The Thirteenth Tale left such an impression on me that I pulled it out the other day just to set it on my bedside table to be close to me during the coming spooky months.

Oddly enough I actually picked up a copy of And Then There Were None at the bookstore the other day. I have seen a movie and play based on this and really enjoyed both. I will probably read this for my first ever Agatha Christie at some point as I like the story so well.

As for book blogs, I certainly consider my blog list as a great source of book blogs. I would also highly recommend going to Danielle's site (A Work in Progress on my blog links). When I first discovered the book blogging community I used to visit every site on her considerable blog list, finding sites that I thought showed similar reading interests. The enormous list of blogs on John Ottinger's site, Grasping the Wind, is also an excellent resource for speculative fiction book blogs.

D'Arcy said...

I read The Woman in White years ago, probably about 10 years. I don't remember it at all. That's weird for me. Maybe I only thought about reading it, but decided not to. I'll have to find it and see if it seems familiar.

I had to read We Have Always Lived In The Castle for high school English - grade nine, I believe. It was my least favourite book all semester. I just couldn't stand it. Maybe I need to reread it as an adult.

D'Arcy said...

Okay, I just read a summary of TWIW. I don't think I've read it. That explains why I don't remember a thing about it :)

DesLily said...

ohhh the thirteen tale is on my list (to reread!) i love it and I red Rebecca last year too! excellent books!!

Grad said...

The Woman In White is one of my all time favorite reads (as is most of Wilkie Collins). You might also want to put on the list another Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House - frightening and...short. Can't lose.

Ana S. said...

All Scary All The Time definitely sounds good to me. I love your pool. In fact, if I had all those books available I'd happily steal it :P I can already tell that this challenge is going to make my book buying ban extra hard to stick to...

Becky said...

I completely forgot about The Woman in White. I've been *meaning* to read Wilkie Collins all year. Maybe I'll have to go back and edit that one in :)

I look forward to reading your reviews!

Daphne said...

Eva: ooh, thanks. I am very new to Christie so I need to know which are the creepy ones!

Carl: I am REALLY looking forward to reading The Thirteenth Tale especially since I found out my library has it!!

D'Arcy: aw, you're so smart! :) I loved Shirley Jackson's Hill House so I'm hoping I like this one too... i remember being totally shocked by The Lottery, so hopefully it's good.

Deslily: thanks! I can't wait to read both of them!

Grad: it will be my first Wilkie Collins book, so I'm excited. Everyone seems to like this one. I already read Hill House, which is too bad because it was soooo good!!

Ana: I love All Scary All The Time! I will also be adding in some YA as needed. I am trying not to buy books too, so we'll see how far the library gets me. I may treat myself to a trip to those excellent bookstores once it gets closer to Halloween...

Becky: Thanks! It's fun to read everyone's reviews of common books...

Kate said...

No. Way. Already? Huzzah! I may have to wait for proper fall weather to really get into it, but I'm off to sign up tonight. I'm definitely going to read The Ghost Writer - got the recommendation from your review!

Daphne said...

Kate: I know, right? How is it so soon? You will love The Ghost Writer!! I wish I'd saved it...

Amanda said...

I *loved* Woman in White! I just checked out We Have Always Live in the Castle after seeing it on someone else's challenge list, and it looks fantastic!

J.S. Peyton said...

You've probably heard this a lot but "The Woman in White" is a great novel. I read this for RIP II and I absolutely devoured it. "The Thirteenth Tale" is also great. It's almost impossible not to like that book.

Love your picks! Happy reading. =D

Pamela Sweet said...

Hi, Daphne! You've got some great choices in your book lists. I've read all but the last two Sandman trades, which I'm sure will be as great or better than the first eight. I hope you enjoy them!

Daphne said...

Amanda: I can't wait to read both of them!

J.S.: I am really looking forward to it. My whole list is so tempting and I have soooo many other books I want to read too.

Pamela: I am getting the first set at the library on Tuesday, I can't wait. Big Gaiman fan! Thanks for stopping by!

Jenny said...

And Then There Were None was my first Agatha Christie and is absolutely awesome and well worth the read :) really keeps you guessing

Theresa said...

I've never heard of this, but I'm totally going to check it out. Ooh... if you are still looking for creepy/scary books, try "Will Storr Vs. The Supernatural." It's all of his real life experiences. my favorite review of the book says: "Too funny to read in public, to scary to read alone." SOOOO TRUE!

Theresa said...

OOh! And The Thirteenth Tale is an awesome read! I may put it on my list as a re-read.