And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted – nevermore!(from The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe)
A Happy Halloween to you all! On this All Hallow’s Eve our adventure of the past two months comes to its end. Seven years of sharing gothic goodness and reveling in mystery and fright have come, and seven years have gone, and now we part each to our own revels, destined to return nevermore….until September 2013, that is!
I can of course only speak for myself, but R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VII has been a tremendous amount of fun. I got started with my reading early thanks to some chilly August weather and got through 12 books, one of which I have yet to review. I did not get in as much perilous viewing as I had anticipated what with the super secret project I’ve been working on in my house for the last month (hint: it involves books) and other related activities but I did manage to sneak some mystery and detective television in and a creepy movie or two so I am in no way disappointed. I have reveled in the season and enjoyed every moment of it.
To bring the season to a close my wife, our friend Nick and I attended the Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s production of The Mystery of Irma Vep, a play by Charles Ludlum, last night. I first saw this production in Tulsa, OK many years ago and have wanted to see it again ever since. It is a mash up of genre tropes and camp humor with a story that isn’t particularly special but becomes so in light of the production. The play is performed by two actors, who must be of the same sex, who play all the roles in the show. In so doing there are multiple quick change scenes designed to not only showcase the actors’ talents but also to break down the fourth wall and bring the audience in on the gag. The performers last night were top notch, we had excellent seats, and I left the theatre feeling the pleasant bliss of deja vu.
As I sit here typing this we are mere hours away from the annual visits from neighborhood children looking for a treat, and promising tricks if thwarted. Every year we get fewer and fewer kids and so every year my enthusiastic candy purchasing results in Mary’s college student workers having free snacks. So all-in-all it isn’t a bad thing. I do think it is a bit sad given that my childhood memories are full of kids trick-or-treating. I appreciate the fact that parents look out for the safety of their children but also wish we would get inundated one of these Halloweens. I don’t know what the weather is like where you are (quick side note: prayers and well wishes continue to go out to you who are experiencing the aftermath of severe storms) but here it will be gorgeous this Halloween night. The October Moon has been amazing these last few nights and if the scattered clouds pass it should be glorious again tonight. I do hope you all have a safe and Happy Halloween!
I want to once again thank Donna of Gothicrow for allowing us the use of her images for this year’s R.I.P. event. Your art was so perfect for setting the mood this year. Thanks to Andi and Heather for hosting the first group read of The Little Stranger and thank you to all of you who participated in that group read and the group read of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. Both were timely, fun experiences.
And most importantly I want to thank each and every one of you who enthusiastically participated in the event, whether you read one book or dozens, or watched one show or had many nights full of visual fright. You make this time of year so very special. I met new people once again this year which is the biggest thrill and of course added to my never ending pile of books to read as you all did too. Thanks for making RIP VII such a smashing success. I’m already looking back on this year’s festivities with great fondness. Each and every one of you deserve a big hug and all the kudos I can pass along for your passion for reading, your passion for Autumn, and your willingness to share your passions with each other.
If you are doing a wrap up post, please feel free to post a link below! I hope we all have a wonderful November and December as we close out this year. Don’t be strangers to one another. Visit, continue sharing your passions, and come back next year. (And by way of plugging it, stay tuned for news about my science fiction non-challenge, The Science Fiction Experience 2013. Coming soon!)
Thanks for hosting again! I read so many great books and am already thinking about what to read for next year’s RIP.
You are very welcome. I’ve still got a big pile of this year’s books to read next year, lol!
I got 11 books read this season, and loved nearly every single one of them! 🙂 I love this event so much – thank you for hosting!
You’re welcome Amanda. So glad you had great reading experiences, including your re-read of The Night Circus. Such a brilliant book.
Thank you so much for hosting this lovely “challenge” year after year. I thoroughly enjoy myself every time.
You’re welcome Jessica, thank you for taking part and for enjoying it at the same time.
Thanks for hosting! This was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed venturing into some mildly creepy territory. 🙂
I’m already piling up books for the Sci Fi Experience!
Mildly creepy is a good thing.
Yay, SF!!! My pile is teetering for that one.
Oh Carl, I had a great time. Such a lot of brilliant reviews and I now have loads of recommendations on the back of this event. What I really liked about it, apart from making me think of certain types of books and films which seemed so good for this time of year, was talking to so many other bloggers who were so enthusiastic about the books they’re all reading. We’re certainly not all the same in our choice of books but we are in terms of our passion for reading.
Thanks for hosting this.
Lynn 😀
Isn’t it so terrific engaging in book conversations? I would have stopped doing these things long ago if it was only about what I was reading. It is meeting people and engaging in conversations that make these things so fun to both host and participate in.
Happy Halloween everyone!!!!
Another great RIP event my friend. Thanks for hosting!!!
I enjoyed returning to Jim Butcher’s Dresden files universe and rereading
numerous Neil Gaiman stories. My two favorite RIP authors. My favorite RIP viewing experience was watching The Woman in Black.
I enjoyed returning to both of those authors as well. And now you are one ahead of me in the Dresden stories! Woman in Black was probably the creepiest thing I watched for R.I.P. this year. Yikes!
Thanks for participating my friend, I appreciate it a lot.
Wow! What a whirlwind! I enjoyed every moment of this peril. Thank you, Carl, for a fantastic job as usual. I especially had fun with The Graveyard Book and the writing prompts. Can hardly wait until next year!
I would like to my add my thanks to the list. Thank you Carl for hosting the event. I only participated in the The Graveyard Book read/listen-along but I have thoroughly enjoyed browsing through the posts that you and others have supplied. I will definitely be looking out for the SF Challenge in 2013 and will start sorting out some stories and books for RIP next year with great AN-TI-CI-PATION!
It was another smashing success Carl. I intended to read five books, but read nine. I still have a couple to review. Thanks so much for hosting and I need to start planning for next year 😉
Thank you again for such a wonderful experience!!! My only complaint is that it always seems to go by far too quickly!
I’m happy with how much I got read and viewed, but as always I’m disappointed in how little I actually posted about them. *sigh* Someday I will actually get my act together…though I’m not going to hold my breath on that one.
So glad Irma Vep was such fun. I will have to keep an eye out and hopefully one of my local theaters will do it sometime. Thank you so much Carl for hosting another great RIP event! I look forward to RIP VIII next year! You also have me curious over your SF experience tease!
Thank you for this wonderful event year after year, Carl! I wish it would never end … but then I could never have the excitement of the beginning, right? 🙂 14 books read this year and a couple of movies tied in with them. It was fun!
Thank you once again for another lovely event, Carl. I’m missing it already. And I’m already compiling my list for next year!
Thanks again for hosting this great event!
I really appreciate what a great host your are and am looking forward to The Sci-Fi Experience!
Thanks for hosting, Carl! I did pretty darn good this time. 🙂 I’m seriously considering joining you for the Sci-Fi Experience. I have some titles that have been too long neglected. Hope you had a terrific Halloween!
Thanks so much for another fantastic year of RIP, Carl! And thanks for allowing Heather and I (and the Estella Society) to host the readalong. We had a blast!!! Cheers to 2013!
Oh, and by the way, if you ever need a trick-or-treat “fix” come on over to my mom’s neighborhood northeast of Dallas. It’s a tiny town, but the whole of the town descends on her neighborhood to trick-or-treat. I’d guess we had over 200 kids. Amazing!
Thanks for hosting! I still need to post a couple of my reviews. This was my first year in a house in a neighborhood in a long time and we had plenty of kids even though they all had coats on over their costumes!
Really enjoyed this event. And I am looking forward to the science fiction non-challenge in January. My son is always encouraging to expand my reading to science fiction and fantasy. (That is putting it mildly.)
I’m not sure I can do much better than to echo L’s statement above 🙂 RIP VII was GREAT!