Hello my fellow bookworms, for us in the northern hemisphere, this weird pandemic summer is on the way out, and I am excited for all the small pleasures that autumn brings: golden leaves, darker nights, woolly tights, warming soups and the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril reading event!
The event runs from September through October, and encourages us to read the genres of mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic, horror and supernatural – All of which are perfect for the lead up to Halloween!
This year, there are no levels or sign up posts, instead you can tag your posts with #ripxv and go follow the event @perilreaders on Instagram and Twitter. Sadly I have neither of these, however we’re not going to let that rain on our parade! I will be sharing all my suitably mysterious and spooky reads here on my blog as usual.
With a quick glance over my bookshelves and in my Kindle’s to-be-read folder here are some of the books I could choose from:
- O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King – Mystery
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen [Re-Read] – Gothic Parody
- The Mother’s Day Mystery by Peter Bartram – Mystery
- The Demon Seed by Dean Koontz – Supernatural Thriller
- The Island of Doctor Moreau by H G Wells – Classic Horror
- The Thursday Mystery Club by Richard Osman – Mystery
- Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart – Suspense
- S5 Uncovered by James Durose-Rayner – Thriller
- Crooked House by Agatha Christie – Mystery
- Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden by M.C. Beaton – Mystery
It is highly unlikely I would ever read all these books and I am not restricting myself exclusively to just these either, however I do love making a list of ‘possibles’! Happy, spooky reading everyone! 👻
Now over to you: Are you taking part in the event this year? What are you hoping to read? Out of my ‘possibles’ what do you think I should read first?
This is an amazing list! I need to have more (much more) Agatha Raisin in my life.
Aw thank you 😊 Unfortunately not got to any of these books yet, but my current read is I think also suitable mysterious and has a touch of the supernatural to count for this event, too. And you definitely NEED more Agatha in your life – I give you permission! 😉
I love the sound of Crooked House and I really enjoyed Northanger Abbey – happy reading.
Lynn 😀
Thank you, Lynn 👻
Madam, Will You Talk? is one of my favourite Mary Stewart books, so I think you should definitely read that one! The only other books on your list that I’ve read are Northanger Abbey and The Island of Doctor Moreau, which will both be perfect for RIP too. I hope you enjoy whatever you decide to read!
Thank you, Helen! 😁 I think there is a high chance I will read Stewart’s Madam, Will You Talk? as I have been meaning to read that for a while!
Great list! I’d start with Crooked House, then Northanger Abbey, and build my emotional strength up before tackling the much darker but brilliant The Island of Dr Moreau! Have spooky fun! 😱👻💀
Thank you, FF! That does sound like a good reading order, although it looks like my first read will, accidentally, be The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley, as I have continued that over from August. 😁
This use to be one of my favorite challenges, so I’ll have to look up the accounts at Instagram (and Twitter, though I’ve grown to hate Twitter and rarely visit 🙄 ) You have a great looking list from which to choose. I’ve only read two of them (Dean Koontz and Mary Stewart), but both were long ago. So…. I’ll be pleased to see the reviews for whichever ones you end up reading!
I’ve already planned out at least two spooky books to read in October. Maybe some of my September books will fit the bill, too.
Happy perilous reading over the next two months!
Thank you, Kelly! 😁 I think it highly likely I read one if not both of the Koontz and Stewart choices. I hope you enjoy your planned RIP reads and good luck with Twitter! 😅
That is a good looking list! I remember reading Northanger Abbey a long time ago, several decades ago now, and I remember enjoying it but have very little recognition of the details, so I could definitely read it fresh again.
Have you watched the Agatha Raisin series?
It has also been a few a years since I read Northanger Abbey, so it would be a good time for a re-read. Hopefully it won’t be too long till you can enjoy a re-read of it, too.
And yeah, I watched the pilot episode of the Agatha Raisin series, but it wasn’t for me: they had changed too much about my beloved characters. 😒😄
Happy spooky reading! Since you love the quirkiness of Agatha Raisin, why not start there? Maybe it gives you momentum and you read the whole list 😛 I’ll be reading Avalon by Anya Seton, Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, and Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley; I believe all three qualify. Maybe I’ll have time for one more book according to my current reading pace, but I’ll see… 🙂
Thank you, Carmen! 😁 It is very tempting to go for an Agatha Raisin book soon, but I did only read one a month ago, so maybe give some other books a shot first! 😉 From August, I have carried over The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley so that might accidentally end up being my first book for this challenge. Happy spooky reading to you, too! 👻
Putting a list together is a big part of the fun of this challenge!
Hello Marg, thank you for stopping by and commenting. It is always great to hear from a new face and especially a R.I.P fan, and you’re right making a list is definitely a big part of the fun of this challenge. 😊