Last year was my first year with Readers Imbibing Peril. And since I wasn't there from the start, what could be better than starting with #13! Fourteen doesn't have quite the same scary charm, but it was such fun last year, here I am again.
My peril this year, though, is likely to be less gothic and creeptastic, and more like my usual rather cozy-ish mysteries. Once again I'll sign up for Peril the First (four books.) I piled up a stack of books, because who doesn't like to do that?--but I'm just as likely to change my mind again. But here's some candidates:
[Clockwise from upper left]:
Ronald Knox/The Footsteps At The Lock
Various/The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
Michael Innes/The Long Farewell
John Dickson Carr/Death-Watch
Carr has the possibility of being a little bit gothic, but mostly I suspect they won't be, and that's just fine. I'm also contemplating George Eliot's novella The Lifted Veil.
Which sound good to you?
Carr is one of those authors where I know that name and can associate it with the genre, but I’ve never read any of titles.
ReplyDeleteI think the Rivals of Sherlock Holmes is the title that interests me most. I would be curious to see how each writer presents – are they going to be an imitation of Doyle or something totally different but from the same time period?
Carr is kind of a recent discovery for me. I read one or two a long time ago & was unimpressed, but then Bev's challenge at My Reader's Block got me to try a few new mysteries, and I realized Carr was much better than I knew. I especially liked The Case of the Constant Suicides. (In which Dr. Campbell marries Dr. Campbell, among other things.)
DeleteI'm really hoping the Rivals also gives me new detectives to get interested in.
This is a fun reading challenge, isn't it? Can't wait to hear about the books you read for it! :)
ReplyDeleteI read a lot of mysteries, but not much horror or grisly stuff. But as long as I don't have to read things with the screaming zombie of this year's logo, I'm all in!
DeleteI am also intrigued by Rivals of Sherlock Holmes...curious does it include Poe's French detective Dupin?...whom I think was at least partially inspiration for Sherlock.
ReplyDeleteThey're all set in London in this collection, so no Dupin. My much battered high school Poe paperback includes the Dupin stories, so that was OK. It's got two by Baroness Orczy I've probably read, but of the rest Guy Boothby and R. Austin Freeman I've heard of, and the others are all new to me. (Pemberton, Meade & Eustace, Hodgson, Le Queux.)
DeleteOne of the surprises of becoming a school librarian was learning of the popularity of scary books; it’s widespread. I’m glad you are helping to host this fun event. Enjoy all your books.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI think my problem with books that scare me is that I'm just a little too susceptible...
I’m going to be reading The Lifted Veil, too! Enjoy your R.I.P. reading! I do love this challenge!
ReplyDeleteFun! I'll look for your thoughts on it. Enjoy!
DeleteApologies, I haven't visited you blog for weeks due to a 'reading/blogging' slump this summer. I see you have been reading many intersting books. Your selection for RIP XIV...all are new books for me! Hope to keep in contact more regularly in the future :)
ReplyDeleteYou've got hip surgery, still coming up I think, right? I'm surprised you have the time or concentration for anything. The Other Reader had a knee replacement, just about a year ago, and after the surgery everything was even crazier for a while, with all the physio.
DeleteAnyway, I'm glad you got a few minutes to look in!
I know, I'm trying to create a small buffer of reviews....before surgery. I think October will be a slow month for me...hobbling around.
DeleteGood luck! You probably don't need it, because I think these things are pretty standard these days. The outcome here was certainly superb.
DeleteI just want to be able to climb the stairs in my house as soon as possible.
DeleteJust to be on the safe side...ordered a tempory bed (service of our fantastic health care in The Netherlands...this whole event is 100% covered by insurance here!)for my downstairs front room. I hope I don't need it for long.
Excited to finally having hip done...but there is so much to organize beforehand!
I have to imagine stairs will be tricky for a bit with a hip surgery. It's good to be prepared.
DeleteCanada is good on this sort of stuff, too. You can get good care in the US, if you have the insurance, but even then it's complicated. My parents had three different sources of money to pay for health care, and even then it didn't pay for everything.