RIP Challenge V

I have been checking Carl's website for the past couple of weeks to see if has posted anything about this, my most favorite challenge of the year.  I was absolutely thrilled to see the information and Mr. Linky sign-up earlier this week, and I simply cannot tell you what a terrific distraction this will be in my life.

The RIP (Readers Imbibing in Peril) Challenge is celebrating its 5th year - but this will only be my second time to join.  The challenge runs from September 1 (I am already behind....) to October 31 and offers a broad spectrum of reading choices in which to participate:

• Mystery
• Suspense
• Thriller
• Dark Fantasy
• Gothic
• Horror
• Supernatural

There are also several different levels in which you can opt to participate.  While I would absolutely love to commit to the Peril the First option (read 4 books of any length in any of the appropriate categories), I am afraid that I may not achieve that goal and I need to have some success in life right now.  So, I will commit to Peril the Third (reading only one book over the next two months), but I will stretch for more.

I have actually been scouting the bookstores for possible RIP bargains throughout the year, and I do have several books on my shelves from which to choose:

• Shutter Island by Dennis LeHane - I actually saw the movie - twice - and LOVED it.  I have had this notion of reading the book and watching the movie over the course of a weekend and then reviewing for CBs Read a Book/See a Movie challenge.  Perhaps this fall will provide that perfect opportunity.
• In the Woods by Tana French - this was on my last year and I didn't get around to it.  I actually have her second book as well and fantasize about reading all three books back-to-back.
• Murder on the Cliffs by Joanna Challis - I actually won this book from an author give-away and I thought it would be the perfect RIP novel.  I read Rebecca last year, which has become one of my favorites, and I am very much looking forward to this book which enlists Daphne duMaurier as the main character.
• The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill.  I really enjoyed this author's book (and West End play) of the Woman in Black, and when I saw this lovely little novella in the bookstore I knew I had to read it for this challenge.
• The Ghost Writer by John Harwood - I actually borrowed this book from the library during last year's challenge, but only managed to read the first two chapters.  I decided to purchase my own copy (so that I am not pressured to finish the book in a certain time frame) and hope to read it over the next two months.
• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe - I actually obtained a copy of this ARC at BEA 2009 and desperately wanted to read it immediately.  Unfortunately, life had other plans and I have yet to read it.  I hope to find the time this fall --- and I actually have one autographed copy of an ARC to give-away sometime during this challenge time period.
• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - I can't tell you how many years this book as been languishing on my shelves.  I actually read Swan Thieves before this one.  I really, really, really want to read this prior to October 31, 2010.
• Dracula, My Love by Syrie James.  I actually won this book from Stephanie and I am thrilled!!  I loved the author's debut novel, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, and I expect great entertainment from this book as well.
• Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger - This book has been on my list since the release date.  I found it today at Half Price Books for $2.00!  If I don't happen to read it this year, for sure it will be on the list for next year.
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury - I will be re-reading Fahrenheit 451 with my 9th graders this fall and I absolutely adore that book.  While I am not really into science fiction (Bradbury's concentration), I do think this book sounds right up my alley.
• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - I actually read this book and her other classic, The Haunting of Hill House, for the RIP IV challenge  and I loved them so much I want to try to re-read one of them each year.
• Victorian Ghost Stories:  An Oxford Anthology - I found this book about three years ago in the clearance section of the bookstore and I have never regretted the purchase.  I would love to commit to reading one short story a week during the challenge, but at the bare minimum I will read at least one.

I told you I had quite a list.  I am sure that there are other books on my shelves that qualify, but these are the ones that I have specifically earmarked for this challenge.

Now...to find those extra hours in the day to get all this reading done (and hopefully writing the reviews!)