The TBR Triple Dog Dare

Triple Dog Dare January 1, 2014 – April 2014

I am a little late to this party but very excited about the TBR Triple Dog Dare Reading Challenge hosted by CB at his blog, Ready When You Are, C.B..  I’ve been reading books from my shelf for the past few months because, when I went through them looking for a particular title, I found some great books.  There are still plenty of books I want to read and don’t yet own, but I’ve got a good start.  I especially want to participate in this meme if this is going to be the last year it's hosted. Hopefully somebody will host this meme next year!  Okay, enough of that!

 

Here's a list of books I hope to read while participating in this meme. Some I will read, and some will be replaced with others and so on and so forth:
 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
Andrew's Brain by E. L. Doctorow

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar
Bingo's Run by James A. Levine

The Fault in our Stars by John Green

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady by Elizabeth Stuckey-French

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCamm

The Gathering by Anne Enright

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by by Allison Hoover Bartlett
Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue
The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
Goat Mountain by David Vann
The Coldest Night by Robert Olmstead

......etc.

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, VIII

It's that time of year again!  I’m a little behind in signing up for the best yearly reading challenge   ~ R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, VIII  ~  run by Carl at his amazing blog, Stainless Steel Droppings.  But I'm almost finished a couple of books that fit the mystery & suspense categories.

 

 As you can tell from the heading, this is the 8^th year Carl has hosted this awesome challenge which revolves around the idea that when the warm days of Summer give way to the cooler, darker days of Fall, it’s time to read books that can make the hair on the back of our necks stand up or a chill run down our spine or just makes us a little leery of the dark. 

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
Or anything sufficiently moody 

 

Carl makes it easy and fun to participate in this challenge by offering a variety of participation levels (Perils) to choose from and two simple rules: 

1. Have fun reading (and watching).

2. Share that fun with others.

 I’ve chosen to participate in:

Peril the First:

 

Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (the very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be King or Conan Doyle, Penny or Poe, Chandler or Collins, Lovecraft or Leroux…or anyone in between.

 

I just finished Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson! (review later this week)

 

Peril of the Short Story:

 

I am a big fan of short stories and my desire for them is perhaps no greater than in Autumn. I see Poe and Lovecraft in my future for sure, and some Angela Carter. You can read short stories any time during the challenge. When I can, I like to read short stories over the weekend and post about them around that time.

I love short stories and I'm reading Shadow Show stories in tribute to Ray Bradbury.  Some great stories.

And I can’t resist this last option:

Peril on the Screen:

 This is for those of us that 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 Midsomer Murders, a great detective show, or your favorite film. If you are so inclined ~ I'm thinking, The Exorcist!

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VII

It’s the time of year for R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril when we spend our time imbibing as much that is ghastly, ghoulish and ghostly as possible! I never seem to get in as much as I hope too, but I enjoy trying to read and watch as much creepy stuff as I can! Considering as I keep forgetting to sign up, I may not be off to the best start but it could be the fault of a scary clown, Pennywise, in IT or the hair-raising true life murder case in The Wilderness of Error!
Anyway, I'm (finally!) signing up for R. I. P. VII hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings.

This fun event runs for the next two months, between September 1st and October 31st. We can read novels (or watch movies) in the following categories:

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

There are several different levels of Peril to choose from. I was tempted by Peril I but not being the quickest reader I decided I might not get to 4 books so I opted for Peril II. I’ll definitely read at least two books from the above categories. I wanted to join the read along for The Little Stranger but I have too much to read already this month! Some of the books I might read other than

IT   and
The Wilderness of Error, are
The Murderer’s Daughters by Randy Sue Myers,
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson,
The Likeness by Tana French, and
The Cutting Season by Attica Locke

Another great option of this event that I love is Peril on the Screen for those of us who, as Carl posted, “like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare”. I’m a fan of British Detective shows such as Midsomer Murders, Rebus, Waking the Dead, Wire in the Blood, Luther and similar movies as well as thrillers such as Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window, Rebecca and Cape Fear.

Once you finish a book, TV show or movie and review it, there's a R.I.P. Review Site to post a link to you review, sharing it with other R.I.P. VII participants.  As Carl made sure to mention, the goal of R.I.P. VII is:

1. Have fun reading!

2. Share that fun with others!

~ Monday Musings: Labor Day, Giveaway Winners & the RIP Peril Challenge!!

Monday "Stuff'!

It's Labor Day Monday. Happy Labor Day!! Considering that Labor Day "celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers" (thank you Wikipedia!) I want to say a big Thank you to everyone who goes to work everyday and makes the USA a great place to live! I also hope and wish that this years Labor Day marks increased employment for many of the people who've been looking for work for too long. It would be wonderful to end this year of 2011 knowing that many people don't have to worry as much about being able to support their families.


GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!
I want to announce the Winners of my August Book Giveaway before many more days of September pass!! I hosted a giveaway for 3 books:

Faith

Winner: Mary

Portrait in Sepia

Winner: Julie @ Knitting and Sundries

The Lost Girls

Winner: Nancye

CONGRATULATIONS!!

It's a Perilous time....
Halloween is just around the corner which means it's the time of year for the wonderful R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI Challenge hosted by the fantastic Carl at his blog, Stainless Steel Droppings. In his post Carl writes:
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.


There are two simple goals for the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI Challenge:
1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others.
As I do each and every year, there are multiple levels of participation (Perils) that allow you to be a part of R.I.P. VI 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. There is also a new Peril this year, the Group Read! Carl has all the info you need in his blog.
R.I.P. VI officially runs from September 1st through October 31st.
Multiple perils await you. You can participate in just one, or participate in them all.


Carl emphasizes: My one demand: enjoy yourself!


The two images I've included here to introduce the challenge and to highlight the level I hope to achieve are from Carl's post along with several others which can be found on Stainless Steel Droppings. You really should make sure to visit Carl's blog, read his post for the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI Challenge and view the artwork which Carl attributes to Melissa Nucero and is fabulous and beautiful.

My goal is the first level: Peril the First:
Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (my very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming or Edgar Allan Poe…or anyone in between.


I'm hoping I can read at least 4 books. I'm not sure which ones yet. I already have several that fit this challenge well:


*the first 2 by Tana French In the Woods and The Likeness
*Nicola Upson's 1st Josephine Tey, An Expert in Murder.
*The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (this is a biiiig book!)
*Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, vol. 1
*The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Sue Meyers
*Kate Atkinson's book Started Early, Took My Dog and
the audio of When Will There Be Good News?


I'd love to read some or all of these:
*The House on the Strand or Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
*any of Elizabeth Gaskell's books.


I'm getting so excited for this challenge!