More darkness - it's R.I.P. VI!

It's been feeling pretty autumnal here for some time and the chickens go to bed earlier and earlier each day. I'd be feeling cheated of a summer except for one thing - Carl's R.I.P. Challenge. I've been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks now, and hoarding books until the auspicious day. Although I have to admit I've been keeping my impatience at bay with some pre-peril reading.

My book pool has been growing during the anticipatory period, and now shows signs of getting out of control (well, there's a surprise). So I'm going for:


which requires me to:
‘Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (my very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming or Edgar Allan Poe…or anyone in between.’
One thing which will be different for me is that I shall mostly be reading on my Kindle this year. This might make it even more of challenge because, although I reckon that I can reader even faster than usual on it, I get tired more quickly, and bedtime reading tends to be an hour or so of Quoodle-reading, followed by 30 minutes' wind-down reading a "proper" book. On the other hand, I may get so absorbed that I don't notice, and I do find when I'm travelling, and only have the Kindle with me, that I cope quite well. Another difference is that I plan to embark on a series re-read and see how far I get - I'm feeling quite excited about this.

And the last new element is Carl's read along of Jim Butcher's Storm Front (I've already told younger son I'm reclaiming it for the two months) and Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things.  I'm warming up for the latter by re-reading American Gods - the end is in sight, which makes me sad, it's a near-perfect book for me.

My book pool is:

In book form:
  • A.S. Byatt, Ragnarok - I'm really looking forward to this! Should complement American Gods nicely.
  • Martin Edwards, The Hanging Wood - a new Hannah Scarlett book, lovely, who could resist?

On Quoodle:
  • Phil Rickman, The Merrily Watkins series. Starting with the first...I'll probably only manage a couple, but I've got three lined up.
  • Jon Rosenberg, The Digital Wolf. I liked his first book, and have been saving this one.
  • Frances Hardinge, Gullstruck Island. Love her writing.
  • Connie Willis, Blackout. Ditto.
  • Phil Rickman, The Bones of Avalon.
  • Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind. Still on the TBR list.
  • Alan Bradley, A Red Herring Without Mustard.
  • Patricia Elliott, Murkmere.

I think that's enough to be going on with, especially as Carl's very nice about rules and allows us to add things as we go along. However many I get through, the difficulty is always finding time to blog about the books, so I don't really do very well on challenges - but I'll be happy having my reading focused for me, enjoy a binge on dark matter, and write about them whenever I can. And I always enjoy finding new things to add to the TBR list. I think this year I'll start a separate list of recommendations from other R.I.P. readers - ready for 2012?!








Comments

  1. Ah, what fun books in your pile. It wouldn't be R.I.P. without an out of control list of potential reads now, would it? LOL! Thank you so much for your kind words and thank you even more for being a part of this community.

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  2. Sounds like an excellent list to me. Ragnarok is a book I've been hearing a lot about so I'll be interested on your take. And I really need to catch up on my Hannah Scarlett books. I do love that series.

    Look forward to your reviews and I'll probably be doing some of my reading on my Kindle too.

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  3. Even though I have read any of the books on your list, they seem like a great bunch of books! Happy reading!

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  4. I've heard good things about the Martin Edwards book and I love the "Flavia" mysteries!

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  5. That looks like a great bunch of books. Enjoy!

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  6. Yeah, last year I forgot to post reviews of the books I read until much later.


    Here is mine

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  7. I'm really tempted to get Ragnorak and The Bones of Avalon!

    Looking forward to reading your reviews. At the moment I'm finding it difficult to keep up with writing reviews as I just want to submerge myself in the books.

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  8. Carl, I do like it that others here as as addicted as I am to books!

    Cath, it's good to get recommendations for Kindle reads!

    Stephanie, thanks for visiting.

    Kelly, Flavia is delicious :-) I'm reading the Hanging Wood and enjoying it.

    Thanks, Kailana, you too.

    Brooke, it's always my downfall...

    Margaret, the Bones of Avalon looks very promising.

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  9. Sounds like you are off to a good start! I find myself adding things to my reading list as the reviews come in.

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  10. I really enjoyed Blackout, but it ends in a cliffhanger, so you might want to have All Clear at the ready!

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  11. What a great pool of books! I someone managed to miss knowing about Ragnarok. I love Byatt. Now I am going to have to find myself a copy and I think I will save it for next year's challenge. It's never too early to start thinking of next year, right? :)

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  12. I have a Nook, but I find I still pick up a paper book more often than the Nook, so I'm not sure I will ever convert. Still, I like reading on it far more than I thought I would. I have never heard of that Byatt book, so now I need to go look it up. I love reading other people's lists and then adding more books to my own! Not that I'll read them now, but it's always nice to have books on my wishlist. I'm interested in reading Connie Willis, too!

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  13. I've actually never heard the term R.I.P. literature before now!

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  14. Some great books await your reading, for example the Merilly Watkins series.

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  15. I have more books than I could read on hand all ready, but I am so tempted by Ragnarok and you have reminded me that I've been meaning to try Martin Edwards. Oh for more reading hours!

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  16. That's quite a list, Geraniumcat. Phil Rickman's Merrily series will definitely get you in the mood for RIP! I love that series so much. I still have to find The Hanging Wood, which I am looking forward to seeing the fallout from where Martin left it (her rescue of Mark from the killer). I loved Blackout and am waiting for the sequel in paperback so I can lift it! lol And the Name of the Wind was very very good. Excellent choices, have fun reading them!!

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  17. Apart from the Connie Willis and Martin Edwards, these books are all new to me! I can't believe I hadn't heard of the Byatt, and I'll be very interested indeed in what you think of that one. I'm really into this challenge this year!

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