R.I.P. VIII has started!
9 September, 2013
Hurray! It’s shiver me timbers time as Carl’s R.I.P. VIII has started. This is one reading challenge I look forward to every year as my thoughts turn to darker tales. I will once again be doing the Peril the First Challenge and this year have lined up the following books of which I hope to read four or more.
Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield – it’s coming out in October but I was lucky enough to win a copy!
The Twyning by Terence Blacker – all about rats
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis – time-traveling into the Black Death
Evil and the Mask by Fuminori Nakamura – can you be groomed to be a cancer?
Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey – a touch of gothic
And I’m still on the search for a book that will really scare the pants off me. Any suggestions? The Woman in Black didn’t work and nor did The Greatcoat. But I’m hopeful. Something spooky rather than gory. So suggestions please!
chasing bawa 
9 September, 2013 at 1:57 pm
You could try Helen Oyeyemi’s The Icarus Girl – not at all gory but distinctly sinister. I found it terrifying.
10 September, 2013 at 8:56 am
Looking forward to your thoughts on Bellman and Black.
10 September, 2013 at 3:31 pm
Have you read any Seishi Yokomizo? ‘The Inugami Clan’ has been translated into English, but I don’t know about the others. His tales are so sinister but hard to resist for their twists of dark Japaneseness, rural folklores and family secrets…
12 September, 2013 at 2:29 pm
I’ve read a couple in Japanese which was really hard. But I was obsessed with watching the tv dramas even though they were seriously scary! I didn’t realise his books books were translated into English so will have to find them!
10 September, 2013 at 8:48 pm
Much of your list I am not familiar with, and I am looking forward to your reviews.
11 September, 2013 at 4:53 pm
Oh, I just read Doomsday Book this summer. I haven’t written about it yet but it’s been over a month and I keep thinking about it! It was such a heartbreaking book and so incredibly vivid. I do hope you get a chance to read it.
As for spooky, maybe Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling (Michael Boccacino) or The Prince of Mist (Carlos Ruiz Zafon)? Both of those were very creepy.
12 September, 2013 at 2:32 pm
Thank you for the two recs:) I just borrowed a copy of Susan Hill’s The Hand from the library and it looks suitably chilling. I know Doomsday Book has such an incredible following and I *will* read it this year!
17 September, 2013 at 11:45 am
How exciting to see your R.I.P. Peril list! I am really interested in two to the books that you have listed! I agree with you that “Woman in Black” did not really give me much of that tell-tale terror tingle either.
I think one of the scariest books that I have ever read was “Salem’s Lot” by King. For me it was just one of those books that tapped into what scares me personally. It is so hard to generalise about a “scary book” don’t you think? I mean the best thrills I have ever had are from writers who can tap into big universal themes with a unqiue perspective that resonates inside us.
I did just finish “Body” by Asa Nonami, and it did just that. While considred a “horror” novel, it was not so much about the slash- but rather the subtle way she led me down a few dark alleys and left me feeling vulnerable.
Enjoy the Challenge and I am looking forward to following your progress in particular!
17 September, 2013 at 2:46 pm
Aah, I haven’t really read any Stephen King just because I’ve seen some of the movies which scared the s**t out of me. But I will keep Salem’s Lot in mind! Thank you for reminding me. I have, however read his son Joe Hill’s Heart-Shaped Box which was incredibly scary.