R.I.P. IV

Hmmm.... a Reading Challenge from Stainless Steel Droppings.

Now, apparently there are reading challenges all over the web. I've never participated in one... but you know what? I really should. That kind of thing is right up my alley. Due to circumstances and inner turmoil, I've read very, very little over the past year, but it's time to start reclaiming that part of myself. This challenge appealed not only because of its subject matter - scary stories from any genre! - but also thanks to that gorgeous image. Seriously, I would hang that on my wall.

Anyway, here's my reading pool, culled from my own shelves of books waiting to be read.

The House With a Clock In Its Walls by John Bellairs. Okay, I've read this multiple times over the past 30 years, but I'm ready to read it again! In my mind, this is the PERFECT scary story. I'll have some more glowing things to say after re-devouring it, because this one is a definite.

For horror, The Damnation Game by Clive Barker. His first novel, I believe, and it sounds terribly interesting.

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain. This is the first in a Library of America volume of Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930s & 40s. Maybe I'll rent the movie after reading it.

Dragonwyck by Anya Seton. This is a Gothic-sounding romance from the 1940s. I have a small stack of Anya Seton novels picked up at thrift stores and flea markets over the years, because they looked and sounded so appealing. Time to start reading them.

The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks. It appears to be a sci-fi thriller, and just looks like something that belongs on this list.

Last, for the short story challenge, I very much want to read my Junior Deluxe Edition of Rip Van Winkle and Other Stories by Washington Irving, which I've had for most of my life but forgotten about until recently. The snarkapoo and I recently enjoyed a lovely illustrated version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Will Moses, so I'm in the mood to go back to the original.

That's it for now! We'll see how it goes. Of course, this is in addition to the group of lovely fat sequels to fantasy novels written by my friends that I'm currently working on. More about those soon.