by Sharlene

RIP X is here!

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Image used with permission, property of Abigail Larson.

It’s the tenth year of RIP! I’ve taken part in RIP since RIP VI (and still have yet to read Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White, which was on my first RIP list). This year, RIP is hosted by Andi and Heather. But the challenge is still the same:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.

That is what embodies the stories, written and visual, that we celebrate with the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril event.

As time has wound on, we’ve discovered that simple rules are best:

1. Have fun reading (and watching).
2. Share that fun with others.

R.I.P. X officially runs from September 1st through October 31st.

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As usual, I will be going with Peril the First.

Peril the First: Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (the very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be King or Conan Doyle, Penny or Poe, Chandler or Collins, Lovecraft or Leroux…or anyone in between.

As October is also Diversiverse, I wanted to try to read some RIP-related books by authors of diverse backgrounds.

After a bit of googling, I discovered some lists online:
Black women in horror writing
A Goodreads list of black women horror writers
A list on Tor.com of SF by women and people of colour
A Goodreads list of Japanese Horror fiction
Catherine Sampson’s top 10 Asian crime fiction
Asian crime fiction writers (Wikipedia)

Here’s what I hope to read!

 

 

The Strange Library – Haruki Murakami (translated)
The Goddess Chronicle – Natsuo Kirino (translated)
A Loyal Character Dancer – Qiu Xiaolong (translated)
Dawn – Octavia Butler
Six suspects – Vikas Swarup
The Good House – Tananarive Due
The Hunter: A Detective Takako Otomichi Mystery – Asa Nonami (translated)
A Stranger in Olondria – Sofia Samatar

(The following titles were those I already listed on my Diversiverse sign-up post)

The Fifth Season – NK Jemisin
Sorcerer to the Crown – Zen Cho
Spirits Abroad – Zen Cho
Skin Folk – Nalo Hopkinson
The Grace of Kings – Ken Liu
How about you? Have you signed up? What books do you plan on reading?  

11 Comments

  1. Hooray! Hooray! I started putting together my stack last night. I’m trying to decide if I will commit to two or four books. I think I will be reading Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls either way.

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  2. I’ve been thinking about it, but i haven’t jotted anything down yet for plans. I did, however, jump into a reread of the first Courtney Crumrin graphic novel this morning, so perhaps I will begin planning now. (Grin.) You have got an exceptionally fine list of options this year, I’d say.

    (As for Butler, I am edging towards the other series for Diversiverse but, oh, I do love the one you’ve got at hand. Tough choice: reread or fresh read. Sigh.)

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  3. Yay for diverse RIP options! I’m adding some of these to my TBR; I still need to put my RIP list together. I’ve read 5 of your list; the Due is definitely very RIP-y. Dark too; it had a bit too much horror for me. If you haven’t read Butler’s Fledging, that’d be my first pick for this challenge. And if you want to add another mystery, there’s Ovidia Yu; she writes puzzle-type mysteries but set in modern Singapore and with social justice elements to them. Oyeyemi’s stuff is all RIP-worthy. And Yaba Badoe’s True Murder is one of my favourite creepy boarding school books ever. Guillermo del Toro co-wrote The Strain, which is a interesting sci-fi take on vampires (as an epidemic); it’s written very much in ‘thriller’ style though, so depending on your tolerance for that type of writing, it could be good or bad. I listened to the audio version & was suitably entertained; it was basically like watching a movie. hehe Two more literary thrillers by POC authors are Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber and Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie. Oh which reminds me that Thomas King has a fun mystery series, written under a pseudonym that’s escaping me at the moment…the first is The Red Power Murders. Mardi Oakley Medawar has a lighthearted historical mystery series, but my favourite is her contemporary mystery Murder on the Red Cliff Rez.

    Sorry! I got carried away; I know how stupidly tricky it can be to find POC genre authors so I like to share my gems. hehe

    I’m going to begin Sorcerer to the Crown very very soon! I’m so excited that my library has the ebook already available for check out. And am impatiently waiting to get to the top of the queue for the latest Jemisin. Her second series is dark enough for RIP, just in case you need more suggestions. ;D

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    1. Hi Eva! I LOVE long comments full of bookish recommendations!! 🙂

      I am about 50 pages into Due’s Good House and it is getting creepy….!

      Octavia Butler’s Fledgling – Oh loved that! I am trying to slowly make my way through Butler’s books. So far I’ve read Kindred, Fledgling and the Parable series. And also Bloodchild and other stories.

      Ovidia Yu – I have read both of her Aunty Lee books and I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m harder on Singaporean writers? I didn’t really like them very much. (If you’re interested in POC detective fiction set in Southeast Asia, try Shamini Flint’s Inspector Singh series. He’s a policeman from Singapore but seems to travel the region solving crimes!). Unfortunately while I love the Dr Siri Paiboun series (coroner/murder-mystery solver of Laos) it is written by a white British guy. It is quite a good read too though!

      The Strain – I read that when it came out but never quite made it past the first book I think. Or if I did, I don’t remember the second one!!

      Jemisin – She is one author I am relatively up to date with! And it is thanks to your post on her Hundred Thousand Kingdoms that I first heard of her.

      Have added True Murder, Origin, Indian Killer, Murder on the Red Cliff Rez as well as the Red Power Murders to my list! Now as to whether I can find them in my library….

      Maybe it is time to put together a proper post about these POC RIP options!

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      1. Oh thanks; I’ll try the Flint books! I don’t think the Yu books are perfect, but I really enjoy them as ‘comfort reads,’ which is a particularly difficult category for me to find amongst POC authors. I also enjoy YS Lee’s series, but of course it’s not set in Asia. I haven’t tried the Laos ones because of the white British author thing, but since you recommend them, I’ll give them a go now!

        Isn’t Jemisin great? *happy sigh* I wish she would write more quickly. hehe

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  6. Such a great list, I’m also planning on reading Fifth Season and The Good House if I manage more than four books. I’ve only read Due’s short story, so I’m excited to try something longer. Also, Diversiverse sounds pretty awesome, I’ll have to pop over and take a look. Happy RIP reading 🙂

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