Readers Imbibing Peril (R.I.P.) 14

It's that time of year again - time for Readers Imbibing Peril, or RIP. You all know by know that I'm not a big reader of scary books and I'm not crazy wild about Halloween so it would seem odd that I do enjoy this blog world activity every year. But I always enjoy the push to read books that are out of my normal comfort zone, books, perhaps that have been languishing on my TBR for all too long (like one of last year's reads We Have Always Lived In The Castle) or even books that have been on my shelves for years.

This year my goal is simple - read a book that I have owned in excess of 40 years which I cannot remember ever having read. How is that even possible? I hauled home armloads of books from the library every chance I got growing up, was thrilled to receive books as gifts, and read the backs of cereal boxes when there was nothing else new to read. To be honest, I can't actually remember if I did read it. Maybe I did and it's left my memory. But it seems unlikely that I would have forgotten any book I'd read so completely, especially when I actually owned so few books. So, after all of that, my one goal this year is to make sure I read 50 Great Horror Stories edited by John Canning.

Now, if I get through that, it's possible, just possible, that this will be the year I finally read Dracula. But if you'd like to give me other suggestions for books I might enjoy, I'm more than happy to put that one off for another year!

Here's what you need to know about RIP if you're interested in joining us:

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

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

The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not.

The goals are simple.

1. Have fun reading.

2. Share that fun with others.

As we do each and every year, there are multiple levels of participation (Perils) that allow you to be a part of R.I.P. XIV without adding the burden of another commitment to your already busy lives. There is even a one book only option for those who feel that this sort of reading is not their cup of tea (or who have many other commitments) but want to participate all the same.

Multiple perils await you. You can participate in just one, or participate in them all.

Peril the First:

Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (our very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Shirley Jackson or Tananarive Due…or anyone in between.

Peril the Second:

Read two books of any length that you believe fit within the challenge categories.

Peril the Third:

We all want you to participate. This Peril involves reading one book that fits within the R.I.P. definition.

Peril of the Short Story:

We are fans of short stories and our desire for them is perhaps no greater than in autumn. We see Jackson in our future for sure! You can read short stories any time during the challenge. We sometimes like to read short stories over the weekend and post about them around that time. Feel free to do this however you want, but if you review short stories on your site, please link to those reviews on our RIPXIV Book Review pages.

Peril on the Screen:

This is for those of us who like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large. It might be a television show, like Dark Shadows, or your favorite film. If you are so inclined, please post links to any R.I.P.-related viewing you do on our book review pages as well.

Peril of the Review:

Submit a short review of any book you read and you may see it here on the blog! Again, you may participate in one or all of the various Perils. Our one demand: enjoy yourself!
The R.I.P. XIV Challenge does not require you to read from a pre-selected list of books, but like many of you we love to get ideas from what others are thinking of reading. If you want to include a pool of potential reads when you sign up, either in the comments or on your own sign up post on your social media channel of choice (not required for participation), please do!
This challenge is always a joy because of one thing: you! You sharing your passion for books, reading, films, television, etc. helps bring us together and ensures that we all have a great time. Thank each and every one of you who choose to participate on any level. We are honored that you would choose to do so.

So sign up below and join us, won’t you? It’s going to be a screaming good time.

Starts September 1st. Use the #ripxiv hashtag on all the socials.