Thursday, September 3, 2015

RIP X

Don't you love the button? The artwork is by Abigail Larson

Perfect timing! I'm nearly finished with Wilkie Collins' No Name and it's already time for R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril (RIP) X! Hosted by the Estella Society, participants read mysteries, thrillers, and suspense, gothic, dark fantasy, and supernatural works of literature during September and October.

Looking over my TBR shelves (and in particular my Classics Club list), here are my potential reads:

The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen by Lindsay Ashford
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
Tales of Mystery and the Macabre by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
Drood by Dan Simmons

And these are books I might possibly check out from the library:

A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott
Armadale by Wilkie Collins
Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier
The Secret History by Donna Tartt


I'm signing up for Peril the Second, which is two books. I may also read some short stories, either by M. R. James or E. F. Benson.

Anyone else signing up for RIP X?  What are you reading?

12 comments:

  1. One of these years I'm going to focus on rereads for the RIP season. Armadale will be a must reread! I love that book. Enjoy your season!

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    1. Just finished No Name and I loved it -- I definitely want to read more Wilkie Collins.

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  2. Love the RIP button this year! I've also signed up for Peril the Second and possibly the short story option, too. Wilkie Collins and Daphne du Maurier are among the authors I'm considering.

    The Secret History is excellent!

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    1. I loved The Goldfinch so I'm looking forward to The Secret History. I might try some short stories too, I have lots of ghost story collections.

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  3. Ah, The Secret History! One of my all-time favourites! It's such a good book :)

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    1. I can't believe I never got around to reading it! Must remedy.

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  4. A Long Fatal Love Chase is really quite something -- so clearly Alcott despite being an utterly different genre.

    I have never tried this sort of reading challenge before, but I am considering it. I was already planning on reading Penelope Lively's _The Wild Hunt of the Ghost Hounds_ in October -- children's literature, but perilous nonetheless.

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    1. I read Family Album by Penelope Lively last year and loved it -- I haven't read any of her children's lit but I'll have to look for it. And A Long Fatal Love Chase sounds really fun.

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  5. I finished Armadale two months ago for the Back to the Classics 2015 challenge. It wasn’t as fab as The Woman in White (IMO) but it was definitely a good read. I really enjoyed Drood when I read it a few years ago. I. I definitely found it suspenseful.

    Such a voracious reader as yourself, I can’t believe you have never read The Secret History? It is the favorite of so many readers, I would love to hear your take on it. I think I love Tartt’s The Goldfinch best, probably because of its Dickensian echoes.

    I have never participated in RIP, but it looks like a lot of fun. I tell myself that it is usually too hot here in California in September and even October to read anything spooky. I need cooler temperatures and preferably rain! Which doesn’t usually come (if it comes at all) until December or January. Maybe I will pick up another du Maurier. I loved Rebecca, I liked My Cousin Rachel but I only tolerated Jamaica Inn (too much a typical romance novel).

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    1. I was underwhelmed by Jamaica Inn as well. Rebecca is still by far the best of her novels, though the short stories are pretty good. I haven't read much of du Maurier's historical fiction but I've been watching Poldark and now I'm obsessed with Cornwall all over again, so I'll have to read one of her books.

      I can't believe I've never read The Secret History either! I tried reading The Little Friend but the beginning was too disturbing and I had to stop. My oldest daughter's just gone off to college so I hope The Secret History doesn't scare me to death.

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    2. And it's still in the 90s in Texas, so I know what you mean about not feeling autumnal and gothic. I always have to use my imagination.

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  6. I can't believe I haven't read Wilkie Collins yet. I think I'm going to have to make that a reality for next year's RIP.

    Enjoy your creepy reads!

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