book news, Challenges

Grave Times, Fifth Edition

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I’ll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween.
~Author Unknown

    Grave Times, Fifth Edition
    All Saints Day/Day of the Dead
    November 1st, 2010

Two months ago it felt like we had all the time in the world, yet I must announce, dear readers, that the Fifth Annual R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge is now at an end.

R.I.P. V saw nearly 240 participants joined together to partake of things mysterious and horrific, things gothic and strange, things that send a chill up one’s spine and things that go bump in the night. As I have the previous four years, I had a delightful time both hosting and participating in this event.

At press time the R.I.P V Book Review Site shows 594 entries of reviews for books, short stories and films that you imbibed in over the last two months.

Congratulations to everyone who participated, whether you met your challenge goals or not. I have no doubt that many of you were overambitious, as was I. More on that on Page Three.


Many gracious and heart-felt thanks to artist and friend Jennifer Gordon for sponsoring this year’s challenge. In addition to allowing her work to be featured in banners and title headings, Jennifer created a fantastic free image to go with all R.I.P. participant purchases during the challenge and has put together a special 20% odd sale (in addition to buy one get one prints) that is good for all R.I.P. participants (and anyone else who stumbles across this post) now through November 17th, 2010. Just click on the above image to be wisked off to Jennifer’s Etsy site. And in case you missed it, click here to access Jennifer Gordon’s latest interview.

And speaking of Jennifer Gordon, there is a prize here to announce. In the recent interview I promised a mini-print of your choice to one randomly chosen commenter. The winner of that prize is:

Christina (of Christina Reads)

Congrats Christina! Shoot me an email with your address and your choice of which print you want for your mini-print mounted on canvas. 🙂

Also, if you happened to have purchased anything from Jennifer’s shop during this past week, please remember to send me an email at poegeek (at) gmail (dot) com for a chance to win a free mini-print of your own.

So how did you do with your challenge goals? Assumptions? Pipe dreams? 🙂 I am really pleased with the R.I.P.ing material I was able to imbibe throughout the challenge. My completed books were:

1. The Graveyard Book ~Neil Gaiman (audio)

2. Tales of Terror from the Tunnel’s Mouth ~Chris Priestley

3. The Vanishing of Katharina Linden ~Helen Grant

4. The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag ~Alan Bradley

5. In the Woods ~Tana French

6. A Study in Scarlet ~Arthur Conan Doyle

7. The Mystery of Irma Vep: a penny dreadful ~Charles Ludlam

8. Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? ~Agatha Christie

In addition, I have partaken of a great deal of (and will finish):

1. The Turn of the Screw ~Henry James
2. The Simple Art of Murder ~Raymond Chandler
3. The Underdog and Other Stories (3 Hercule Poirot Mysteries) ~Agatha Christie

This was the first year of Peril on the Screen. During the last two months I (we) watched:

1. Veronica Mars, Season Three
2. Twilight Zone, (various episodes from seasons 2 and 3)
3. Night Gallery (various episodes)
4. Inspector Lewis (PBS Masterpiece Mysteries)
5. Wallander (PBS Masterpiece Mysteries)
6. Sherlock (PBS Masterpience Mysteries)
7. Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
8. The Nightmare Before Christmas
9. Arsenic and Old Lace
10. Blood and Chocolate
11. The Ghost Breakers
12. The Fall of the House of Usher
13. Sleepy Hollow
14. Bewitched

This was a fun addition to the challenge and it will certainly be making its way to R.I.P. VI come September 1st, 2011.

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!
~Scottish Saying

Chilling reads are a great delight. Eerie films and mysterious television shows are as well. But the greatest joy of the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge is the interaction that we have with each other throughout these two months. I have every bit as much fun hosting as I do getting lost in frightening reads and that is all down to each and every one of you. Whether you gorge yourself on R.I.P. reading over the two months or just dip your toe into the shallow end of the perilous pool, you are what this challenge is all about and you make it fun, worthwhile, and fulfilling.

I want to thank you all so very much for taking time out of your busy lives to be a part of this challenge. I know this is just one of a plethora of challenge possibilities out there and I do not take it for granted that you will join. You mean so much to me, and no doubt to each other, and I must say that you are the very best bloggers, readers, and commenters in this here blogosphere.

Thank you for all you do and all you are.

I hope to see you back here next September when we’ll do it all over again.

Happy November everyone!

34 thoughts on “Grave Times, Fifth Edition”

  1. I was too late to join this year’s RIP challenge! Oh well, next year. I’m having reading all the reviews though.

  2. Had a blast as always! Will be posting my final reviews of the 3 movies i watched Halloween night and that will officially wrap up my participation this year. Looking forward to next year’s R.I.P. already. Thanks Carl for everything you do!

  3. Hope you had a nice Halloween. I was under the weather but Barbara did the door answering and said there were some pretty cute costumes on the kids.

  4. Ah such fun. I finished my last book, The Passage, Saturday night, though I didn’t have the review written ‘ere today. Still, quite a great challenge. Thanks for hosting!

  5. Thanks for hosting! I actually read more than I planned, but reviewed less. It was great fun nonetheless. Hope you have a great holiday season ahead!

  6. I finished 3 of the 4 books I pledged to read and only watched part of one movie. But, I conquered The Historian and am so glad that I did!! I enjoyed my first RIP Challenge and will definitely be back again next year!! 🙂 Thanks for hosting this, Carl!!

  7. Oh Carl, I’m so sad to see it end! This RIP was the best YET! I finally finished DRACULA (and posted my review today!)!!!! Thank you, as always, for hosting this and now I can’t wait for Once Upon a Time! 🙂

  8. Thanks again for hosting this!! I had a great time and really threw myself into the challenge this year, reading 21 books!!! I had a really good mix and loved 18 of the 21 I read. 😀 Can’t wait for next year!!

  9. Amanda: You are welcome, it was my pleasure. 21 books!!! Wow!!! I’m impressed.

    Heather: Me too. I will check out your Dracula review. Yes, Once Upon a Time will be here before we know it.

    Patti Smith: Conquering the Historian is a challenge in and of itself, well done! I am happy that you had fun and will be thrilled to see you back again next year.

    Shelley: I know how that is. I was impressed with myself that I managed to review all but one book.

    Logankstewart: Thank you for participating, it has been really fun this year.

    Richard: We did, sorry you weren’t feeling well. We didn’t have very many kids at all, but the ones who did come had great costumes. Not a stinker in the bunch. Watched some football, some baseball, and the second episode of Sherlock, so all in all it was a great day and night.

    sgist: Wonderful! thanks so much for taking part this year and will be thrilled to have you again next year.

    Trish: I’m sorry to hear that, but put in on your calendar for next year, we would love to have you.

  11. Thanks for another great challenge Carl. I can’t believe how quickly the time is going!

    How are you finding Wallander? We’ve only watched the one so far, but it seems intriguing.

  12. I made some new friends, found some great blogs… had a great time, thanks for hosting!
    was a fun challenge, Carl, and you are a great host!

    ~L

  13. As always, had a wonderful time with the challenge. I never did do a proper wrap-up post but I did complete my Peril 2 and loved the books I read. Thank you Carl for always putting this together and getting us excited about creepy, spooky reads 🙂

  14. I hope you don’t mind that I discussed all my RIP reads in one post, rather than individually — and that as a result I put just one up on the Mr. Linky rather than individual reads during RIP. I had fun — finished four books (and two additional ones were DNFs. Looking forward to next year!

  15. Valerie: Don’t mind at all. As I often say, I’m no stickler for having to post about this or anything. I just want folks to read and have fun. Glad that you enjoyed yourself and will be back.

    Iliana: You are very welcome and I thank you for participating and for having a wonderful time. 🙂

    L: Made some new friends? Fantastic! that is the best reward for hosting a reading challenge. thanks for joining in. I’ve been enjoying your blog very much.

    Fence: I’m really disappointed Wallander is over (for us anyway, although we do have season one to go back and watch). We enjoyed it immensely. It is brooding and melancholy. The land it was shot at is just beautiful in that stark, moody way. And it helped me remember what a fine actor Kenneth Branaugh is.

    Stephanie: I’m back and forth about reviewing it. The book, pardon my French, really pissed me off, and not just the ending either. I should write about it as a form of catharsis.

  16. I’d cry but I am still reading rip type books! I signed just to do the journey (1 book) but read and reviewed 8 !! woohoo!! considering my slump for this whole year that is great for me! I’ve posted my wrap up post and feel good about it.. liked all the books and didnt put one down unfinished!
    THanks again Carl..I love both rip and once upon a time!!!

  18. It was a wonderful RIP season this year, Carl! I wrote 19 posts about 24 books and 2 films. I’m already thinking about what I want to do next year. Thankfully it’s only 10 months away!

  19. Wow, I’m so excited! 🙂 Thank you so much for hosting the challenge and giveaway — I had a blast, even though I didn’t quite read as much as I wanted to. Anyway, I will send you an e-mail momentarily!

  20. Oh I hate the Grave Times 🙁 But I love it at the same time :p I hate it because it means RIP is over 🙁 I swear Carl, you need to start hosting a Christmas challenge too that starts right after RIP so we don’t have this depression that sinks in on November 1st, lol. I can’t thank you enough for another year of making my Halloween season even better than it already would’ve been. You really are the best Carl.

  21. This was a fun challenge! It is one of the few that I actually managed do somewhat of what I intended.

    Read L’s comment, and I agree…I too made some new friends which includes L. She has a great blog. Same with logankstewart.
    Blog visiting has been great fun!

    Enjoy the rest of autumn. Before you know it, winter will be upon us. 😀

  22. Oh my…how sad those two little words, “The End,” can be.

    As always, I had a wonderful, wonderful time!!!! And though we tended to be pretty poor in the actually getting books reviewed department, all of us but Gray (who read 3), managed to read at least our four RIP books.

    Thank you so very much for everything, Carl!!!!

  23. Even though the RIP V is officially over, my reading of this genre will continue through November and beyond. I just began Sarah Waters’ The Little Stranger last night, and I’m so hooked on it I brought it to school today. As if I’ll have time to read between conferences, but it’s so good! I wouldn’t have known about it had it not been for this wonderful challenge, which always adds so much to my October.

  24. Kenneth Branagh? I’ve just had to google and it turns out there was an English version made, which, I’ve now realised is what you were watching. The BBC have been showing the original one subtitled for a while now. I haven’t watched many yet, but if you get the chance, and don’t mind subtitled shows then you should check it out.

  25. Fence: Ah, didn’t realize there was an original one. I don’t mind subtitled shows at all. If there is a chance to see the originals that would be really cool.

    Bellezza: November continues to feel ‘gothic’ for me as well and I hope to finish the RIP books I am still in the middle of sometime this month. I’ve read many great things about that book, look forward to your thoughts once you are done.

    Debi: Your family rocks, thank you all for participating!!!

    Ibeeg: Every year during this challenge I too meet so many great new people and discover more kindred spirits all around. It is wonderful! Thanks for being a part of it all this year.

    Chris: Can’t hog all the challenge times! 🙂 But thanks. It is always bittersweet to come to the end of this one. Sci Fi Experience will be here in a few months, and though it isn’t a “challenge”, I still sort of treat it the same way, so I’ll be back to hosting duties soon.

    Christina: Congrats! And thanks for joining in.

    Kristen M: Wow!!! That is fantastic!!!

    Emily: I am so glad to hear it, thanks for participating this year.

    Deslily: That is so great! I knew you’d end up getting to more than just one book. 🙂

  26. Thanks for hosting the spooky fun again this year. Didn’t reach my goal, but enjoyed what i did read, as well as others’ accounts of their “supernatural” experiences (which is what it’s really all about, isn’t it). Hope you had a grand Halloween.

  27. It’s over? It just started. I may have read one book, but I’m not sure. Good grief, you have to stop these two-week challenges and give us more time. No point in trying to tell me it started in September or something, I’m not gonna buy it, my sources say November 1 was the start date. Well, Maybe October 24.

  28. OK Carl, now you HAVE to review In the Woods so you can tell us all what made you so mad! I know a lot of people were turned off by the ending (it didn’t bother me so much) but I am really curious to find out what issue you had with the story. Inquiring minds want to know!! 🙂

  29. Thanks for another great challenge, Carl, I’m looking forward to the next one already! I also have to thank you for introducing me to Helen Grant – I read The Glass Demon, which was tremendous, and The Vanishing of Katharina Linden is high on my TBR list.

    We’ve just finished watching the Swedish Wallander, which I liked even better than the Branagh version (despite my belief that KB is some kind of deity). I’m bereft without it.

  30. Thanks for coming up with such a fun event Carl! I had a blast, and am already signing up in thought for next year’s challenge. I just got a wrap-up post written, but have no fear about my tardy and haphazard participation (I definitely didn’t get round to as many other blogs as I would have wished…) next year will be R.I.P. Full Throttle for me. 🙂

  31. Sarah: You are very welcome, it is my pleasure to host it. Next year will be here before we know it and we’ll be doing it again.

    GeraniumCat: I want to try to catch the Swedish Wallander, after I catch season one of the KB versions. I look forward to trying The Glass Demon at some point. I hope you enjoy Vanishing.

    Stephanie: It wasn’t really the ending, which I thought sucked and was poorly handled that pissed me off. I may just suck it up and review it sometime soon. Might be cathartic.

    Richard: September and October always seems to exist in some rapidly accelerating time zone for some reason. It felt like just a couple of weeks had passed.

    ds: Thank you for joining in again this year, I do appreciate it.

  32. We closed escrow. The movers are about done. The van gets loaded tomorrow. We drive away, on our way to Oregon, tomorrow. Wow.

  33. I wanted to say thank you too. I enjoyed it a lot. I didn’t read one of the novels I wanted but read others instead. I met mayn great bloggrs and have some of them bookmarked now. Thanks again.

  34. Caroline: I’m often the same way when it comes to challenges. Glad you had fun and even more happy that you connected with some new friends.

    Richard: Hooray! Very exciting. Hope your trip up there is a good one.

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