R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril (RIP) X

Art work for RIP/X provided by Abigail Larson

Well, I can't honestly say autumn is in the air. Even though tomorrow is the first day of September, today is sunny, hot and humid. Definitely still summertime here in central Texas. Not even a hint of cool, crisp fall-ish weather.

But ... September 1st is almost here. And that means (ta-da!) it's time for another edition of R(eaders) I(mbibing) P(eril) (RIP for short), the reading challenge/event begun and hosted annually by Carl V. Anderson over at Stainless Steel Droppings. This year Carl is taking a little break from hosting (a well-deserved break, after nine years of being a wonderful host) and passing the duties over to Andi and Heather, of the Estella Society.

RIP is one of my favorite reading events every year. Typically I begin stalking Carl's blog around the middle of August, making regular daily visits to see if the announcement page has gone up yet. It's my idea of the perfect reading challenge event -- hardly any rules, and it encourages me to read books from all my favorite genres (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, and Supernatural). You can read all about the challenge and sign up by visiting the Estella Society's announcement page.

This year, I'm once again going for Peril the First -- read four books of any length that fit any of the RIP categories -- and Peril on the Screen as well.  I'm also toying with the idea of joining in on Peril of the Group Read: The chosen book will be Lauren Owen's The Quick, a book I've been wanting to read. But I'll have to wait and see about that one -- it's a long book, and I'm a very slow reader.

Haven't really made any firm decisions about what I'll read or watch yet, but I have a few possibilities in mind for the reading peril:

• Blue Labyrinth. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
• The Book of Lost Things. John Connolly 
• The Colony. F.G. Cottam
• The Girl on the Train. Paula Hawkins
• The Haunted Hotel. Wilkie Collins 
• The Midnight Side. Natasha Mostert
• The Night Sister. Jennifer McMahon
• A Shadow on the Wall. Jonathan Aycliffe
• Shadow Ritual. Eric Giacometti and Jacques Ravenne
• A Song of Shadows. John Connolly
• Tales of Men and Ghosts. Edith Wharton
• The Vanishment. Jonathan Aycliffe

I seem to  have a little shadow-thing going on here, don't I? Well, I guess that's appropriate.

I could definitely go on with the list, but I'll stop now. Over the two months, I'll be tracking my progress and keeping all my lists over on my challenge blog (HERE).  So, here we go again....