Ripping and Pinning

RIPPING

Sounds like I've taking up quilting again, or something. And in fact, I want to. But that is not what this post is about. This is about signing up for things! More challenges! There's so much to do!

First of all, I'm sure you all know that Carl's RIP challenge is well under way. RIP VIII in fact. Wow, that's a long running challenge! But, since my September was totally book booked, I've decided to start my RIP in October and have just the one month to try and read one or two RIP-ish sort of books. (And if you have no idea what I'm talking about with all this RIPping, please head on over to Carl's Stainless Steel Droppings and read up on the details!)

So the books I'm hoping to read this month for this challenge are:

1. Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield
2. The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

And I'll probably do a bit of watching too, which means add this to the mix:

I would love to join in on the read along again, but I'm not going to fit in a re-read of the most awesome book, The Historian this month! Sadly! But if you, my readers, have an inkling to read that book, I encourage you to join the fun. Find out those details here at The Estella Society. You will love this book!

PINNING

Also going on this month is Trish's Pinning Challenge.... Pin It and Do It! I go in spurts with the pinning thing, and I feel like I'm currently on a spurt and have in fact pinned and done-d many things just in the last week.

Creamy Basil Tomato Soup

Fudgey Chocolate Chunk Brownies

Tomatillo Salsa

And coming up, I'm sure I'll be pinning and doing a lot more. My daughter wants so much to try some fun Halloween decorations, plus I need to harvest our "crop" and will find ways to do so in Pinterest, plus, maybe we'll start with some Christmas-ing too. Gasp. (P.S. You can find me on Pinterest here. Beware my boards.)

So... onto ripping and pinning. Let's get busy!

October Reading Recap and RIP VII Wrap Up

Hey everyone! It's been a pretty good reading month! I'm still no where close to being on track for 100 books this year, but hey, there's still time, right? I need some fast, fun, easy books!

October Reads:

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut: A strange story about a guy who survived some perilous events during WWII and how his mind has chosen to cope with it in a very peculiar way.

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle: Robin Hood becomes an outlaw, gathers together his merry men, and has awesome adventures.

Sulan by Camille Picott: Sulan, living in a futuristic society, joins a virtual club to learn how to fight like her mother.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: A young boy Jacob, goes to an island off Wales to investigate the strange stories his grandpa has told him all his life.

Feedback by Robison Wells: Benson escapes the school only to find a village where more kids are being held against their will.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi:  Aria, from an advanced future society, meets Perry, from a "savage" future society, and now things will never be the same.

The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver: Lincoln wants to kill himself, but first he must solve the strange case of the bone collector!

Dante's Girl by Courtney Cole: Reece bumps into Dante during a flight layover and then suddenly finds herself flying to his country where he is the son of the Prime Minister! No way!

The Twelve by Justin Cronin: Those we met in the first book (The Passage) continue to fight the virals, but now there's a new threat that's even worse.

Favorites of the month would be Under the Never Sky, Robin Hod and perhaps Sulan also. I liked Dante's Girl for its silliness, and The Twelve for its insane-ness. And Feedback was fun too, but didn't wow me. (Reviews to come soon for those without links.)

Also these past two months some of us have been working on reading things for Carl's RIP. Here's what I managed to read for that event:

RIP VII Wrap

In September I read:

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters: an atmospheric slow burn ghost story

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: psysics and magic combine

In October I read:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: time travel mixed with a bit of Xmen type kids and WWII.

The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver: graphic murder scenes and smart CSI work

The Twelve by Justin Cronin: this supernatural post apocalyptic world is intensely brutal

I had planned to read UnWholly by Neal Shusterman, but decided to wait on that one and read it after I re-read Unwind for book club in December. Still, I'm anxious for it! But it will be soon. But anyway, I accomplished my four book goal and my group read goal, but I never did watch a spooky movie.... unless you count a few Buffys. I love RIP reading!

Plans for November:

• read Mrs. Mike for book club
• read Insurgent finally (started it and I have say, it's not grabbing me)
• re-read A Tale of Two Cities.. or at least work on it.
• finish The Worst Hard Times
• read Not Exactly a Love Story for review
• read Son by Lois Lowry
• read some fast fun easy books so I can make my 100 goal! Yeah, we'll see how that goes!

How'd the month turn out for you?

Book Review: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Book: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Rating:★★★★★
For: RIP Challenge Read Along
From: the library

It seems like I'd heard of this book a few years ago, remembering vaguely a bunch of bloggers enjoying it way back then. So I thought "why not" when The Estella Society decided to do it for a read along to kick off RIP this year.

It takes place in England just after WWII. There's this old house, and this sort of run down family living there. They used to be rich and famous, but now, things are falling apart.

There's also this doctor who remembers the house and family back in the good old days and has always been fascinated with them. So it's with great surprise and pleasure that he suddenly finds himself a frequent visitor to the family and in fact, becomes a pretty intimate friend.

But things aren't all good there. There's something sinister going on, and one by one, little by little, everything spirals out of control and the doctor finds himself right in middle of it all.

So, I pretty much loved this one. For me, it's like those movies where, you know... nothing really happens, but you THINK it's going to around every corner! There's the virtual sinister music and the idea in your head that something is there which is all you really need to have in order to get good and creeped out!

Actually, this book wasn't really THAT creepy for me, but just nice and building at a slow and steady pace to the final weird thing that made me go, what? I loved the writing and the crazy characters. And of course, the creepy old house is for sure included  in that character list.

Thanks for getting me to read this one guys!

Bottom line: I really enjoyed it! I may have to try another of her books soon.

For other reviews, click on over to The Estella Society for links to everyone's final thought posts.

RIP VII Begins!

It's started! Carl's (from Stainless Steel Droppings)  seventh annual RIP reading "challenge." That's where during the months of September and October we all read "spooky" sorts of books. Books, as Carl says, that fall into categories like:

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

For all the details and to sign up, click on over!!

As for me, I'd like to read at least four books during these two months that fit this category. The problem is, I'm not sure which books yet! I think at least:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
UnWholly by Neal Shusterman

and The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, which is a group read hosted over at The Estella Society.

What else should I read? Is there something you want to read that I should be reading with you?

(as I figure out my list, I will add them here.)

And as always, I'd love to watch a good old spooky movie! Suggestions?

Anyway, I hope you join in the fun!

RIP Wrap!

So here's how it shook down for me regarding my RIP reads this year.

What I said I'd do:

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Supernaturally by Kiersten White
Under the Dome by Stephen King
Kiss Me Kill Me by Lauren Henderson
An Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice

And then I also said I'd watch something, hopefully a Vincent Price movie
And I also said I'd do a group read.


What I actually did:

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz... loved.
Kiss Me Kill Me by Lauren Henderson... did not like much.
Under the Dome by Stephen King...quite enjoyed.
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice... quite enjoyed.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson... loved.

I didn't watch a Vincent Price movie, but I watched lots of Dr. Who and Supernatural, both of which are very spooky and creepy and perfectly wonderful.

And I DID accomplish a group read of Under the Dome AND a buddy read of Interview. Both very fun! Thanks guys!

So.... not bad for actually finishing a challenge, eh? RIP... you gotta love it. Thanks Carl!

Next year, I'm adding Neil Gaiman to the list. If I can handle King, I can handle Gaiman!

Review: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Book: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Genre: Horror/Paranormal
Rating: B+
For: RIP VI
From: I've had this one so long and it's so old that I have no idea where it came from. A thrift shop I presume.

It seems like I've been wanting to see what this book was all about forever, and finally it happened this Halloween season! But I must say, it wasn't quite what I expected, though I couldn't even really tell you what I expected!

So there's this boy (that's all we know of him as) who sits down to interview the vampire, whose name is Louis. He is from New Orleans around the 1700's. He begins his story with his depression over his brother's death which in turn leads him to be in the wrong place at the wrong time which causes Lestat to find him and turn him. From there, he tells us what it was (is, actually, since he is still here in the present) like to be a vampire and all the conflicting emotions that entailed.

And boy is he one mixed up angsty vampire!

Unlike some vamps, he struggles with the whole killing humans to survive thing. He hates himself, he worries, he frets, he stresses. He especially doesn't get his relationship with Lestat. It's all very confusing. During one of his moods, he attacks a five year old girl. Lestat turns her and she makes up the trio, their little family.

Most of the rest of the story is the strange relationship he has with this girl. Very weird stuff here. Of course, she doesn't physically grow, but mentally she does, so this really makes things complicated.  Then stuff happens and they end up in Europe searching for more creatures like themselves. What they find makes things even worse and relationships even more complicated.

All in all, I quite enjoyed this one, even thought it was actually a little slow in parts. It didn't gross me out overly much, except perhaps this weird play thing they went to. That was really quite awful. And I found the writing to be beautiful and poetic, so that was one of the things I didn't expect I suppose. I also enjoyed all the vampire lore, compared with all we "know" about vampires today after their huge popularity! (This book was published in 1976.)

The end, the very end once the interview itself was over, was a bit unexpected and leaves you curious about the next book, which, guess what? I have sitting here! However, it will be awhile before I pick it up. Maybe next RIP?

Bottom line: I enjoyed it.

Other Reviews:

Good Books and Good Wine
Books Without Any Pictures
The Bookshelf Chronicles
Piling on the Books

Of course, most of you know there's quite the famous movie made from this book. I thought I'd throw in the trailer for curiosity's sake. I'll probably never watch it the movie because it DOES look a little too ick for me!

Review: Under the Dome by Stephen King

Book: Under the Dome by Stephen King
Genre: Horror
Rating: A-
For: RIP VI Challenge
From: Bought it from Amazon

Since this was such a huge undertaking, Jenny and I decided to read it together, and then invite anyone to join us for an official RIP group read. You've seen our efforts over the last month with weekly update posts here:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

But the purpose of this post is do a "normal" review! Despite the size of the book, the story is actually quite simple. An invisible dome falls down around this small town one Saturday morning, suddenly, without warning. Several people die instantly or shortly after. The crisis has quickly begun.

The town is run by a city council of sorts. One guy on that council has a secret to hide and he is afraid that because of this new situation, he will be found out. Besides that, he is totally power hungry, evil and downright creepy. He has many of the town's key players in the palm of his hand and he sets out to protect his secret and to maintain control of the town.

Meanwhile, he has a psychotic son who begins a murder spree at the very same time the dome falls. When the two get together, you can only imagine what they get up to.

Of course, there's a few sort of normal people who manage to find each other and together try to discover what's causing the dome and how to solve the mess being caused by the above mentioned crazies. Will they succeed? Will they figure out what the dome really is? Will the crazies win?

This is what keeps a person glued to the page.

That and the amazing cast of characters that are so fascinating and so brilliantly written. This was my favorite part of this huge massive book, the characters themselves and how easy it was to get to know them, to care about them, to root and cheer for them, or to be disgusted by them. What a ride it was, really.

Bottom line: I was totally enthralled by this one!

Other Reviews:

Alternate Readality
Life... With Books
Book Chatter
Lost in Books

I really enjoyed this interview with Stephen King about Under the Dome, so I thought I'd throw it in here for those interested:

Under the Dome Read Along: Final Questions

I've finished this book! Wow, what a ride it was. Crazy stuff here. Really crazy stuff. It was fun to do this little read along, and thanks to those who read along with me! Here are the final questions which are COMPLETELY FULL OF SPOILERS. Really really bad spoilers too, so skip it if you plan to read this some day. But please, if you have already read it, go forward in this post and let me know what you think!

1. Were you pleased with the end that Stephen King gave Jim Rennie? Is it what you expected? Was it fitting? If not, how would you have changed it?


I thought it was pretty good, first that he died "alone" and second that he died with hallucinations of all those he killed coming after him. Appropriately creepy! Still, I kind of would have liked to see him blown to smithereens when the explosion occurred. But then of course, he wouldn't have suffered as much, right? So never mind.

2. Explain to us what you thought about the aliens and their "magnifying glass." Did you take it at face value, or is there some underlying deep meaning to it? In other words, is there actually a moral to this story? And if so, how would you explain it?

That whole bit was a little confusing to me and I think for the most part we should take it at face value however, I do think Stephen King was trying to say something about the nature of kids and their cruel streak. And how deep down, even the mean ones, want to fix things they have done. And that some of us participate in these mean cruel "jokes" but don't want to, and how THAT lives with us for our whole lives.

3. Pretty much everyone dies! Which death was the saddest for you? The hardest for you to read about? The most gruesome? The one that had you cheering? The one that made you the maddest? 

Saddest: Benny perhaps. And Aiden. I was really hoping all the kids would make it. Oh and both the dogs too of course.

Hardest: Brenda, I think, remains one of the hardest ones to read about. Oh, and Sam in the end. 

Gruesome: Wow, which to choose. Carter's death by Mr. Rennie's knife was especially disgusting. I think the hospital murder/suicide with Sammy was ick. And then the shootout at the police station was pretty ick too.

Cheering: probably when Junior finally, FINALLY, fell... with Barbie still alive! YES!  And I must admit, I cheered a little for the crazy druggies too, even though their actions caused the calamity.

Maddest: Carolyn, was that her name? The one taking care of the kids? That was very maddening.

4. If this were made into a movie (as Stephen King books often are) who would you cast in some of the leading roles?

This is always a hard question for me, but I thought it would be fun to try and to see others answers! 

Barbie: Ryan Phillippe (and I have no idea who this guy even is! But he fits the image I had.)

Julia: I think Julia Roberts herself would work just fine for this one!

Big Jim: Wade Williams (who played Brad Bellick on Prison Break)

Junior: Harry Melling (he played Dudley in Harry Potter)

Rusty: Jake Gyllenhaal

Linda: Stana Katic from Castle, only I pictured blonde hair

Joe: Gabriel Basso (from Super 8), but is he young enough here?

Now, I have no idea if these pictures match the descriptions given in the book (were there even any?) but just the image I sort of have in my head. What do you think? Did I get any of them right according to the image in your head?

5. Do you think this book is an accurate portrayal of true human nature? Do you think everyone is as corrupt as this? How do you think your community would do in such a crisis? How would you personally handle it? What side would you have ended up on?

I truly think this book made human nature out to be much worse than it really is. But then again, I'm probably quite naive. I really hope though, that random people aren't as corrupt as so many in this town were. I would say some, but not so very many! I would hope that my community would have much better leadership than this one did. I agree that that is a key part of a situation like this. I  personally, would probably have quite the panic attack at being shut in, but my guess is I would have stayed off the radar, which means I would have ended up as one of the nameless faceless crowd, nose pressed to the dome talking to loved ones, when the world ended!

Full and "normal" review, without spoilers hopefully,  to come later. 

Under the Dome Read Along: Week Three Questions

Whew! Coming down to the wire with this RIP VI group read book... "only" three hundred or so pages left to go! Things are deteriorating in a big big way under the dome, thanks to a very crazy man. Keeping fingers crossed that the heroes will come to the rescue!

Here are some questions we are discussing this week, courtesy of Jenny at Alternate Readality:

We finally got to see what's probably behind the Dome. Did that freak you out? Are you convinced it's extraterrestrial?

No, I would say it didn't really freak me out, but things just get curiouser and curiouser don't they? The vision that Rusty has when he touches it, the leathermen he called them, does really seem to point to the alien theory though, doesn't it. I'm not convinced of anything at any point though. I know not to trust a thing we are reading!


Jackie thinks no one outside the Dome understands. She thinks it's "different" for the people inside the Dome. Do you agree with that, or do you tend to feel like Cox and think someone should just put a bullet in Rennie's head? 

Hmmm... I don't remember this quote so I'm not sure what it's specifically referring to. I do believe that Cox and those outside have no clue about the craziness going on inside. That's for sure. And I do think that someone should just off Big Jim! Hopefully his heart will give out, but I don't think we are going to get that lucky!

Speaking of Rennie, do you think he really believes that everything he's doing is for the good of the town, or is it all about power? 

I don't think for a minute that he wants to do something good for the town. Totally about power. I mean, he is very delusional and all, but still, I think his main motivation is all about the power. Gah, he creeps me out!

I'm finding it very interesting that the bad guys all seem to have some strong religious beliefs. Have you noticed that and wondered about it? Do you think it's symbolic of something or just coincidence?

Interesting. I hadn't really thought about it. I wonder now if King is trying to make a point? Religious people are crazy? Sheesh, I hope that's not what he's thinking truly.

Do you think Barbie being dragged to jail was the push the town needed to start forming their "side"? Do you think a war of sorts is brewing and will that be what causes the fire on Halloween? 

Yes, it does seem that this is what they needed. I think it will come to blows, but not sure this is what will cause the fire. Maybe something with the alien looking generator will be part of that too?   Ugh!! I don't know!!!

I can't wait to finish this and see how it all wraps up! Stay tuned for next week!

Under the Dome Read Along: Week Two Questions

Another week of reading this massive Under the Dome book! It was very hard to stick to the assigned reading this week. But I was afraid to get too far ahead for fear of giving something away in my questions, so   I forced myself to stop. So, yes, it's a page-turner for sure. It's like a train wreck! You can't look away!

Things are quickly deteriorating under the dome. Power hungry people are so not good in these situations! Everyone is still baffled at what has caused this thing to appear. There are no answers so far.

Here are the questions for the week, along with my answers:

1. We've talked a little bit about characters already, but I'd like to know who is your favorite so far? And why?

Of course my favorite is Barbie. He seems so level-headed and cool under pressure and just plain decent. This book is filled with a bunch of scum people, but he is nice and fairly normal as far as I can tell, and his sections are very refreshing to me. I really like him, and man, I'm going to freak if something happens to him! Well, I mean, of course something will happen to him, but you know what I mean.... I'm wondering how old he is. I thought he was older at first, and then it said "young" at some point, and then when I understood who he had that altercation with, the teenage boys, I thought, hmmmm.... how young? I'm thinking maybe early 20's. And so it's weird to me that it seems like there's a relationship forming with Julia. Yeah, that's a little different. I guess we'll see.

2. What do you think is up with these kid seizures? Do you have any clue how they are tied to the dome?


Is there some sort of current buzzing through this domed off area that only affects the kids? Perhaps. But the fact that along with it, there are predictions of the future? Yeah, that I totally don't get. So I have nothing to offer here! I want to know what YOU think!!

3. What has been your most favorite creepy/scary scene so far?

I was holding my breath while Barbie and Julia were creeping around the radio station with that music blasting, and the feeling of someone watching them! Shiver-y! There wasn't a whole lot to that scene really, but it did feel very spooky and goosebumpy.

As far as creepy/disgusting/icky/awful goes... that's the whole pantry mess. Oh my gosh, I can hardly read that stuff!

4. I'm assuming everyone knew what to expect from a Stephen King book, writing/style-wise. But still, I'm curious to know how you are all handling the vulgarity in parts. Does it bother you? Does it add to the story and give you a feel for certain characters? Or does it distract?


So, I'm okay with it if it defines a character... to a point. It bugs me in excess, and it it's thrown in to be a shock factor. I feel like he comes right up to the very line of this! Know what I mean? I'm glad that F bomb is really only during the view point of certain characters, and not throughout the whole thing (for the most part.) Otherwise, it would really get to be too much for me. The rape scene was especially hard to read.

5. This last section ended with what I thought was an unexpected murder. Do you think anyone could get murdered at this point? Or is there a line that you do not cross regarding certain characters? In other words, do you think certain characters are safe from getting the ax? Are you curious about who will get it next, and who will survive? 

Wow, I'm thinking that pretty much anyone is fair game here after that last one! Sheesh! But I'm going to be very very upset of Barbie is on that list. I've even flipped through ahead just to see if I see his name still showing up! And I'm not usually one to flip ahead.  I won't be happy if those littler kids (the Joe group) end up on the list either. But seriously, I think part of the craziness of these horror books it the fact that your favorite is not at all safe.

This book is a group read for the RIP VI reading challenge brought to you by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings. Let me in comments if you are answer these questions on your blog... even if you've read this before on your own, I'd love to know what you think!

Under the Dome Read Along: Week One Questions

We are now a week into reading this huge book together, and I'm nearly done with week two's assignment! That's right, it's not easy to put down and stop reading. I had a feeling it would be this way! This group read is part of our RIP VI Challenge (details about the challenge found here on Carl's blog.)

Up to this point in our reading, we are a couple of days into a strange event that's occurred in this small town called Chester Mills. One Saturday afternoon, suddenly there's a barrier all around the town. At this point, the reality of the situation has not hit home, I don't think. The government has stepped in to intervene and call the shots, but it looks like there's not much that can be done. Meanwhile, we are getting a little clue about who the players are inside that may make or break this crazy situation.

Jenny from Alternate Readality has come up with questions for this first section, which brings us to about page 210 or so out of 1020 pages total. Here are my answers and thoughts, complete with mild spoilers:


Wow, we are being introduced to a lot of characters, some that aren't even making it. Are you having a hard time keeping everyone straight? 

MANY that aren't making it! Wow, will there be anybody left once this is over? I guess that remains to be seen, huh. I am having no problem at all keeping everyone straight, in fact, it's been very easy and I'm not sure why. Probably the awesome writing going on here that gives all these people such different personalities. The only thing that I forget sometimes is who is related to whom, but even now, a few more pages in, that is becoming all straight too. But my question is, can you believe how many messed up people there are? I mean, how many are just "normal"? Not many. Is the real world like this? Are most people totally wacko?

It's early in, but any predictions on what the Dome is or where it came from? Were you surprised at the idea of someone inside the town being responsible?

I seriously have no idea on this one, but you know I'm terrible at predicting. Is it some sort of alien thing? I don't think it's a government thing. And no, I wasn't that surprised that it could be an inside job. Unless I think about an alien being inside. That's a little creepy. But, hey, something WEIRD is going on. Something to do with the Great Pumpkin!!!

Is the Science of the Dome and the science being used to test it interesting to you, or are you more character driven and could care less about what can and cannot get through the dome or how deep under ground it goes etc?

Even though I tend to be mostly interested in character driven stories, I'm still finding the science stuff and the investigation and all that very intriguing. I didn't even think about this thing going under ground until they mentioned it. Funny, huh... because otherwise they could just dig out, duh.

Who do you think will prove to be the bigger threat inside the Dome: Jim Rennie or his son Junior? Or someone else entirely? 

Jim Rennie is the one that is scaring me the most at this point. I mean, Junior is disgusting, and I hope he gets what's coming to him, but his dad? He is making me nervous and anything that anyone else thinks of to help keep sanity in place, this guy will mess up and make sure things go completely bonkers. He makes me crazy. I haven't thought of anyone else that might be such a threat. Maybe that one, guy, but wait, I think he shows up in next week's reading! :)  

Do you think, so far, King has realistically described what would happen if this happened in reality?

I think yes, very much. (Except for all the messed up people mentioned above, 'cause I'm not sure people in a small community are THAT messed up. Know what I mean?) But yeah, I do think that some would want to take control, and others would be better for taking control, but not want to. One thing I think that seems strange is that the people shut out on the other side don't seem to be trying to hard to make contact... or are they just not playing that part up much? 

Those of you participating, please share your link in comments here or over at Jenny's. We look forward to hearing what you think so far!

Under the Dome Read Along Begins!

A few of us have decided it would be fun to read Stephen King's Under the Dome together as part of our RIP VI reading challenge. Tomorrow is the starting day! Are you ready? Get set, GO!


Here's a schedule that Jenny and I have come up with (which includes page numbers according to my trade paperback book, which I think it's pretty close to the hardback):


Oct. 1: Reading begins
Oct. 7: Read and discuss first ten sections (up to "This is not as bad as it gets" page 213)
Oct. 14: Read and discuss next six sections (up to "In the Jug" page 497)
Oct. 21: Read and discuss next four sections (up to "Busted" page 757)
Oct. 28: Read and discuss last five sections (the end!)
Anytime between Oct. 29-31: Final comprehensive review post.

Each Friday we'll have a discussion post on that week's reading, complete with questions Jenny and I will (hopefully) come up with. We'll email the group these questions a few days before so you all can put up a discussion post too. After that, post your final review post with all your total thoughts on the book.

Here are the bloggers we've got joining us so far:

The True Book Addict

Fragments of Fiction

Book Gazing

The Paper Reader

Dolce Bellezza

Bloggin' 'bout Books (maybe)

Let us know if you aren't on this list, but would like to be! (Also let us know if you've changed your mind and don't want to join us after all!)

Here's a quick 30 second book trailer, maybe this will entice you to join us? :)

Okay... are you guys ready for this? I'm a little nervous given the size of this thing and that it's by, you know, Stephen King, and all. Just his name can creep me out! But I think it's going to be a fun wild ride, so let's get going!

R.I.P. VI and Its Many Perils!

Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings hosts two very popular challenges every year. Once Upon a Time in the spring, and now RIP in the fall. Readers, you know it's impossible to resist either one of them. It's pretty much a book blogger requirement! :) And so this is me joining (finally... I'm a little late) RIP for the fifth time (I think I missed the first year of this, that's because I was clueless to this above mentioned book blogging requirement!)

I love ALL the perils, but I'm choosing three:

Peril the First which suggests I read four books from the genre list, and includes:

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


Here's what I hope to get to:


Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz (currently reading and boy is it creepy!)
Supernaturally by Kiersten White
Under the Dome by Stephen King
Kiss Me Kill Me by Lauren Hendersen


and a carry over from last year:
An Interview with a Vampire by Ann Rice 
(some year I'll get to this one.  Anyone want to read it with me and thus actually make me get to it?)


.... and any others that I stumble upon and decide to suddenly read that fit the bill!

Peril on the Screen, which I'm sort of already doing with my current Dr. Who addiction. That one counts right? But I'd love to watch some old gothic classic, and I need suggestions. Please, tell me what I'd love!


And finally,

Peril of the Group Read, because Jenny and I plan to read Under the Dome together, which is the beginning of a group at least, right? And we'd love for anyone interested to join us. If we get some takers, we'll plan and organize it a bit even! So let us know! I hope to start this by October at least. Maybe sooner depending on... life and such. 


So everyone, be sure to head on over and join up. And do let me know if you want to read one or more of these books with me!

The Sunday Salon: October Recap and RIP Report

Wow, Yesterday was an absolute author stalker's dream! What a time I had at the first annual Teen Book Festival at the library! I got 12 books signed by 7 different authors, including Scott Westerfeld! I will tell you all about it.... in another post.

But first, a monthly recap! It's been a great month and finally, I feel like I accomplished some reading! (Thanks in part to the readathon a few weeks ago.) Here's my list of books read/finished during October:

The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby: The lives of three kids come together as they each work to solve their various problems.

The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan: Rand, Mat and Perrin are each off on their separate adventures as they all come to learn more about their special powers.

Calamity Jack by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, Nathan Hale: Jack and Rapunzel must save Jack's city from the giants.

The Mist by Stephen King: After a terrible storm, a scary mist rolls in hiding something sinister!

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner: Thomas and his friends have to figure out how to get through The Scorch before two weeks are up.

Jane by April Lindner: Jane goes to work as a nanny for a rock legend and falls in love with him.

The Naming by Alison Croggon: Maerad finds out she has special powers and goes off on a journey to outrun the evil ones.

Unbroken Connection by Angela Morrison: Michael and Leesie try to stay apart, but are totally unsuccessful.


Bloomability by Sharon Creech: Dinnie spends a year going to school in Switzerland and learns much more about life than she bargained for.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens: Two young cousins hope to inherit a fortune if the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce is ever solved. Meanwhile, their orphan friend learns who her mother really is.

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer: A wolf pack has hopes of merging to become one when their alphas mate and then hopefully working together to protect the sacred sites.


My favorites? The Shadow Rising, The Scorch Trials, Unbroken Connection, with The Clockwork Three not far behind. (As you can see, I've got a few reviews to catch up on this week!)

Today also ends the RIP V Challenge. I read more for that then I thought I would and a couple different books then I originally listed. Here's what I ended up finishing over the past two months that falls into this category:


The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
The Mist by Stephen King
The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer


BUT, I still didn't get to An Interview with a Vampire! Some day, I really will read that one! 


How did your reading month go?

Signing Up for Stuff

Here I am, signing up for stuff again. Actually, it's been awhile, so it's okay, right?


Really Old Classics Challenge: In which we read stuff from before 1600. This one tempted me last year, but this year, I have to participate because my daughter is taking a Greek and Roman Lit class at college and I want to read something with her. I'll probably read The Iliad or The Aeneid. And if that goes well, maybe I'll read something else off her list!



R.I.P V: In which we read spooky stories for the fall/Halloween season. Want the definition of spooky? Check out Carl's post with details included. Once again, this challenge is pretty much not optional! I mean, if you're a book blogger, you just do this one! But then again, why would you not want to? I'm going to read at least two books for this challenge, which puts me in Peril The Second. Also, I hope to do Peril on the Screen and watch a fun movie for this genre.

My list of potentials:
The Replacement by Brenna Yovnoff
The Mist by Stephen King
Interview with a Vampire by Ann Rice
The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

And I don't really know what else. I'm to be perusing all your lists and when I see something that sounds fabulous, I'll be adding to my own list!



Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: In which we read all day long on October 9th. I think that works for me! Does it work for you? If so, better get on over and sign up. It will be a blast. You don't want to miss it!

That's all at the moment. That's all I can really handle too, so hopefully no one will come by tempting me with more.

What will YOU be signing up for?

RIP IV Challenge Complete!

Well, I guess I can say I finished the famous RIP IV Challenge, even though I read different books from what I listed originally.

I only planned to read two books for the challenge, but if all these count, I did even better than that. Here's my completed list:

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Angel's Game by Carols Ruiz Zafon

All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn

The Seer of Shadows by Avi (soon to be reviewed)

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Fun challenge!

Hello RIP IV, Goodbye Dewey's Books

One challenge completed and one new one to conquer!

This past week I read two books for the Dewey's Books Challenge (the challenge where we honored the late great book blogger Dewey by reading a book she loved and/or reviewed) and by so doing, completed the challenge! Wow. I know. It's impressive.

So here's what I read complete with links to my reviews:

1. Gossamer by Lois Lowry
2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
4. The Wresting Game by Ellen Raskin
5. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Vol. 1 by M. T. Anderson



And so without skipping a beat, I'm signing up for the famed Carl's RIP IV Challenge, wherein we read scary (ish) books during the Halloween season. This is one of the challenges book bloggers seriously seem crazy about, so one must not be left out! (Just check out that list of participants! Sheesh, I think I'm late to the game.)

My plan is to read at least 2 books (Peril the Second) from this list:

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafron

Drood by Dan Simmons

The House on the Strand by Daphne duMaurier

Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice (it scares me just writing that one!)

The Mist by Stephen King

House by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker (I know nothing about this one, but ended up with it at my house and it looks plenty creepy.)

Well, that should give me enough to pick from I'm thinking!

Edited to Add:

Putting The Forest of Hands and Teeth on my RIP list now. Don't know why I didn't think of it before. I just started it yesterday, and I see it on so many other lists and I'm thinking... "duh". So yeah, I'm adding it! :)

R.I.P. Wrap!

This was the first year I "participated" in this challenge. I only committed to reading one book (Peril the III) because I knew it was going to be a hectic month. And yes, it was. But, I actually ended up reading a second book that counted in the challenge. So, that's not too bad. Next year, I plan on participating a bit more and reading a bunch in this wonderful genre.

The two books I read for this challenge:

Jamaica Inn by Daphne duMaurier

Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

Both wonderful, creepy stories!

Review: Jamaica Inn by Daphne duMaurier

Book: Jamaica Inn by Daphne duMaurier

Genre: Classic, Gothic

Rating: A-

For: R.I.P. III, Lit Flicks and TBR 2008

I thought this book was great! Though not as great as Rebecca. It was quite creepy and often surprisingly violent. There's some pretty rough guys in this story!

To summarize: It's about a girl, Mary, who comes to live with her aunt after her mother dies. Her aunt lives in a creepy lonely place called Jamaica Inn, located out in the middle of the desolate moors. She learns that there's quite the bad reputation surrounded this place and she decides to figure out what it is. Before she knows it, she's mixed up in the whole bad business herself! There's just a touch of romance, though I'm not sure I approved! The romantic hero is himself a pretty rough guy too!

So, as part of the Lit Flicks Challenge, I was supposed to watch the movie too. Years ago I watched a version of this with Jane Seymour in it. When I went to rent it this time, the Jane Seymour was only on tape and way too long. So instead I choose the old Alfred Hitchcock version which was on DVD and starred Maureen O'hara.

I'm quite the Alfred Hitchcock fan so I thought I'd like it fine. However, I tried to watch it last night and just couldn't get through it! It was AWFUL! In the first place, it was nothing like the book at all. I mean, not even close. Same characters was all, but everything else was not a thing like it! It made me crazy. Then, it was just too old. Too silly, too B movie-ish. Too boring. I wanted to fall asleep, and since there were other things I needed to do, I decided to give up instead. It was disappointing. I guess I need to find time to try the Jane Seymour one.

Other Reviews:

Things Mean A Lot

Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic

Bell Literary Reflections

The Insatiable Reader