There is no doubt, the fall is most definately my favorite time of the year. The temperature drops, it rains a bit more (at least here anyway), and the leaves are changing colors. I just love snuggling up with a cup of hot chocolate (or cider!), a bowl of popcorn, and a good book during the fall evenings. Not to mention, as All Hallows Eve approaches, people of all ages begin to jump at their own shadows. 
And then, of course, there’s the candy! 
This of course makes Carl’s RIP III Challenge (R.I.P. = Readers Imbibing Peril) the best of both worlds. It combines books with the wonderfulness that is Halloween, and unlike other book challenges, Carl has gone through a great deal of effort to ensure that those who participate do not feel trapped by the books they selected either.
The challenge begins on September 1st and runs until October 31st, 2008 and has three tiers, so to speak, that you can choose to participate in.
- Peril the First: Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.
- Peril the Second: Read Two books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.
- Peril the Third: Read One book of any length from one of the subgenres listed above.
Acceptable genres include: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, and Supernatural.
Also, instead of choosing books that you will read, you can instead elect to list a potential pool of books that you will choose from so that you don’t feel locked or pressured to read certain books only. Or, should you not get to them, feel as though you failed. A no pressure challenge!
I am going to be participating in the Peril the First challenge, and here is a potential pool of books I will be choosing from:
The Girls He Adored by Jonathan Nasaw(finished: 09/21/2008) Read the Review- Hell House by Richard Matheson
The Dead Girls’ Dance by Rachel Caine(finished: 10/13/2008)- Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine
- My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding by Sherrilyn Kenyon et al.
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson(finished: 10/15/2008)- Greywalker by Kat Richardson
- Bloody Mary and Other Tales for a Dark Night by Stefan Dziemianowicz
The Phantom of the Operaby Gaston Leroux -old favorite! (finished: 10/04/08)
I have no doubt that I’ll end up going outside this list at some point, but this is definately something to start with. 
Thanks for hosting such an awesome challenge, Carl! Love the banner by the way. 
Anyone else want to join me in this challenge? Come on, I dare you.
How does one go about joining this challenge, anyway? I’m curious now. It seems like it’s right up my alley, too. I have a TON of horror novels I need to get around to reading.
Oh, yes, and try House Of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, if you can find it. It was AMAZING! Confusing as hell, though.
Amber,
To join, all you need to do is visit the challenge post linked in the blog, pick the Peril that best suits you (Peril 1, 2, or 3) and make a blog post on your own blog. There you can list the book(s) you are going to read, or like I did, list the potential pool you’ll draw from. Then head back to the challenge page and leave a comment with the link of your challenge post/page included.
That’s it!
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve added it to my wishlist on PaperBackSwap. Here’s hoping it comes up soon.
I’ll look into this one. I guess my review of Harvest by Tess Gerritsen doesn’t count because I haven’t officially signed up for the challenge. Sigh. . .Oh well.
I am so glad you are joining in. Your opening description of this time of year makes me want to run home and grab a hot chocolate! And as cold as my office is at work right now (air cond. on full!) I could use a cup of something hot to thaw me out!
Thanks for signing up. I love your pool of books. Phantom of the Opera is a favorite of mine as well. I read the book years ago, after seeing the musical several times, and just fell in love with it. It is a fantastic old classic.
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Carl V.,
Phantom of the Opera is a timeless classic for me, I’ve read it so many times I’ve got portions memorized. lol I don’t care for the play though, in my opinion they ruined the story and characters by trying to twist it into a sweet romance when it’s anything but.
Sorry to tease you there with the hot drinks, although, I did end up grabbing a cup of hot chocolate when I started reading The Girls He Adored.
blacklin,
Well, even if it doesn’t count, it just gives you an excuse to read more awesome books. ^_^
I saw the musical many times before reading the story so the book ended up being an enhancement on that experience for me. And I see romance in the book as well. Maybe not as sweet…I like the Phantom in the book better, but the romance is still there. I find the musical pretty heartbreaking (and I’m a big fan of musicals). Had I read the book many times before though I am sure I would have huge problems with the musical. One of the reasons I’m glad I read Tolkien’s books after seeing the films. I am now in awe of them both.
On a note similar to yours, Dracula is the book I’ve read countless times and have parts memorized and I have hated every film adaptation of the movie. None have ever came close to an accurate adaptation. So I truly understand your feelings about Phantom the book vs. the musical.