A time to imbibe peril

Wow.

Just look at that banner.

I think that's the coolest banner I've ever seen for a reading challenge.

It doesn't hurt that Jack Skellington is one of my favorite movie characters of all time, or that I love to read spooky stories at this time of year.

How can I resist joining Carl V's annual R.I.P. (R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril) Challenge?

In exploring the world of reading challenges this year, I discovered I am miserable at sticking to a predetermined list of books. I want to read where my whimsy takes me, and a reading list feels like a chore.

So I loved Carl's suggestion to post a "pool" of potential R.I.P. books to give myself a place to start, but to feel free to deviate from the list. I think I'll use that approach with any reading challenges I join from now on.

I will be embarking on ...

... for which I will read four shivery stories.

A quick look at Mount TBR revealed many perilous tales to choose from:

1. Dracula by Bram Stoker

2. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

3. A Stir of Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

4. Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle

5. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

6. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

7. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

8. The Ghost Writer by John Harwood

Those of us participating in the challenge will post links to our reviews on an R.I.P. blog.

I have already started reading my first book for the challenge, but which book is a secret ... for now. A secret hidden in the darkest, dustiest, forgotten corner of the attic, in an ancient leather chest covered by cobwebs and secured by a rusty padlock ...

As you can see, I'm getting in the spirit!