I can’t believe this is the sixteenth year of RIP (Readers Imbibing Peril). I have been taking part since RIP V all the way back in 2010 and have never missed a year! Things have changed a lot since then and it seems that RIP is now something that takes place mainly on Instagram and Twitter. However, it’s always been a very relaxed event and whether or not you use social media there’s no reason why you can’t put a pile of books together and join in. As long as they are mysteries, ghost stories, thrillers, Gothic novels, or anything else suitably dark and atmospheric they will count!
RIP begins next Wednesday and runs throughout September and October. You can find out more on Twitter or on Instagram. For those who want to get more involved, there are bingo cards, photo challenges and a group read of Shirley Jackson’s The Sundial.
Part of the fun of RIP is looking through our TBR piles to see what we could read. Here are a few of the books I’m thinking about reading this year – a mixture of NetGalley review copies, books I didn’t get to last year, and books by some favourite authors.
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
The Grey King by Susan Cooper
Black Drop by Leonora Nattrass
A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz
The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart
A Gathering of Ghosts by Karen Maitland
One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters
The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley
Mrs England by Stacey Halls
Tombland by CJ Sansom
I will also be continuing with the 2021 Read Christie challenge and have Crooked House lined up for September and Death on the Nile for October – and I have a classic horror anthology I downloaded for Kindle a while ago which includes stories by MR James, Washington Irving, E Nesbit and others.
Of course, I could end up reading none of the above books and find myself drawn to a completely different selection!
Will you be joining in with RIP this year? What are you planning to read?
She Reads Novels 
Crooked House is a terrific Christie – and is perfect for the fall season. It has a decidedly gothic feel to it, at least to me.
Yes, that’s one of the Christies I’ve been particularly looking forward to reading. I’m glad you think it’s a good choice for RIP!
Mrs England’s certainly worth a go – it’s not an all-time classic, but it’s not bad.
I liked Stacey Halls’ other two books so looking forward to reading that one.
I don’t know if I have very many pertinent book on my schedule going forward, but I usually do, so I guess I’ll join you for the web-only version of the challenge, since I don’t do Instagram or Twitter.
I hope you manage to join in.
I too have Camilla in my reading plans for RIP as well as a CJ Sansom – Sovereign! Enjoy your RIP!
Sovereign is one of my favourites from the Shardlake series. I hope you enjoy it!
I look forward to R.I.P. every year because I do love reading mysteries, ghost stories, and other suspenseful books. I’m not on Twitter or Instagram though, so this year I’ll mostly be participating in spirit.
R.I.P. is one of my favourite reading events of the year. I’m not very active on Twitter and don’t use Instagram, but I still enjoy reading the books!
I will doubtless be joining in with one or two titles but only informally, and only in blog reviews. I’m trying to cut down down on the number of events I commit to but often find I participate in an incidental way, because I happen to fancy whatever genre or author that’s being celebrated. I’ll still use the hashtag on Twitter when I happen to post any review! 🙂
Chris, are you doing your Witch Week this year?
Yes, thanks for asking, Witch Week for 2021 will be on the usual days (31st October to 6th November) and the theme will be Treason and Plot! A reminder post will go up at the beginning of September.
Excellent, I have two books lined up!
This particular event is not really a big commitment for me, as I read a lot of this type of book anyway. I hope you manage to join in, however informally! I will look forward to your posts for Witch Week as well.
I have always meant to read Carmilla – look forward to hearing what you think!
I think Carmilla will probably be my first book for RIP. It looks a nice short book to start with, as well as a classic!
Well as you already know Helen. I am most certainly taking part this year and you have admired my ‘possibles’ list. Looking at yours, I adored Mary Stewart’s Wildfire at Midnight, so I highly recommend reading that one, and I thought Karen Maitland’s A Gathering of Ghosts was very good, although very dark me; I think I read it for R.I.P one year, too! 😅 Happy, spooky reading! 🎃
Thank you! I feel as if it’s been a long time since I last read a Mary Stewart book, so I would really like to read Wildfire at Midnight soon.
We have a couple of books in common – Mrs England and Black Drop. The only book I’ve read in your list is The Silent Companions, which I found to be the best of Purcell’s gothic novels.
I hope we both enjoy Mrs England and Black Drop! I definitely want to read The Silent Companions soon, as it has been on my RIP list for the last two or three years.