The wrap up...

The RIP III Challenge ends today, as today is Halloween. My original plan was to read The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury and The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Unfortunately, in my reading time line, I realized ahead of time that I had not left myself enough time to accomplish this. So instead I decided to count The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson as one of my two books instead, and am in the middle of reading The Woman in White as of right now (which, by the way, I am having the hardest time putting down...this book is awesome!).

So in review, I read...
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson 2/5
The Halloween Tree - Ray Bradbury 4/5

I am not normally one to like scary things, but around Halloween time I like to pretend to be into mild spookiness. This worked for me.

The Halloween Tree - Ray Bradbury

the halloween tree
ray bradbury
c. 1972
160 pages

completed 10/16/2008

*may contain spoilers*

I finished this last week and already it's starting to fade from my mind. I don't think that says anything about the book itself, just that it was short and I finished another book and have started one more before writing this review. So...

I enjoyed this little book. Like I said, short, but an interesting way to explain what Halloween really means. It's not just fun costumes and candy, there's legend and loss and celebration behind it.

4/5

Something wicked...

Halloween is (slowly) approaching. And with that comes new challenges! I (sort of) participated in this challenge last year, my very first attempt at a reading challenge. And even then I made up my own rules. This time I'm officially joining the RIP Challenge! Click the link for the rules and all. I am doing "Peril the Second," reading two 'scary' books by October 31.

My books will be...

1. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
2. The Halloween Tree - Ray Bradbury

Exciting!

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury

something wicked this way comes
ray bradbury
c. 1962
312 pages

This is the second book I read for the RIP Challenge. I think I liked this one quite a bit better, though I cannot tell you why. If you really think about it, the story of this book is rediculous. An evil carnival full of freaks who can live forever because of their magic carousel.

I think what I liked about this book was mostly the prose style, for Ray Bradbury has an amazong way with words, and also the backdrop of Indiana in the '60's and the characterization of boys and Will's father. This is one of my favorite time periods, the innocence and simplicity of the '60's. And even and evil carnival couldn't break that magic for me.

3/5

The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole

the castle of otranto
horace walpole
c. 1764
128 pages

I read this book as one of the two to be used for my RIP Challenge. I chose this book as it is said to be the first of the gothic fiction genre. I read this one first because it was considerably shorter. I am proud to say I completed my challenge, though I was definitley not a huge fan of this book. Maybe the genre itself I could get more into, but this one in particular just didn't do it for me.

The story itself is fairly simple. And short. Guy dies and in order to save the family line his evil father decides to put aside his own wife and marry his son's bride. However a lot of supernatural stuff stands in the way: spirits, a giant, a mysterious peasant, etc. So, what I didn't like was that at the end you find out that really this guy is mostly evil because his grandfather stole this castle from somebody. This guy didn't steal anything, his grandfather did.

The ending came about pretty aprubtly. I hate that. If all this stuff has been happening, you shouldn't take a page and a half to explain and end the story.

2/5

It is always possible to stretch oneself...

Due to the fact that Monday is October 1, I have decided to try something new. I am not normally one to revel in Halloween and all its mysteries. Last year, for example, practically the whole corps at my NCCC campus turned up at the RendezVous in full costume for a night of ridiculous drunken fun. I was there, no doubt. In fact, two of my housemates and I were the first ones there. However, the three of us point blank refused to dress up. This year I think dressing up may be fun and just might happen (though what I'll be I haven't yet decided). Another something I have decided is I'm going to try something new with reading. Wow, that sounds super lame. As Kim was nice enough to point out to me last night. I'd had a really good day, too, and she ruined it by calling me lame. Anyway, being as it is Halloween time and I read something of this sort on someone else's book blog, I have decided to have my own personal RIP (readers imbibing peril) Challenge. (You can find the real RIP Challenge here at Stainless Steel Droppings). For myself, all I want is to be able to read two horror books by Halloween. This really does not sound like much, but for me, one who is really not a fan of the horror genre in general, this is quite a challenge for me. Especially since that only gives me a month and I don't read very fast. My two books will be: 1. Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury 2. The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole Despite a few apprehensions and Kim calling me lame, I'm actually quite excited!