The List, the Infamous List

So here it is: The List. At the moment, I have well over 100 books in my to-be-read pile, (not counting the 7 I ordered from Powells and Amazon this morning *facepalm*) and picking a pool of 8 for the RIP IV Challenge was more difficult than I anticipated.

I've already read one book for the challenge: Christopher Moore's Bloodsucking Fiends, which was appropriate in it's irreverent nod to the vampire genre. I laughed often, (two words: Turkey Bowling,) which is exactly why I love Moore, and anyways, I think laughter is perfectly appropriate to the season; that's why I dress my dogs in costumes for the Trick or Treaters.

Not pictured is Alan Bradley's, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. It is making its way here from Amazon at the moment, thanks to a review by Carl V.

In photo order, bottom to top:

3. P.N. Elrod's, The Vampire Files, which is actually the first 3 books in her series, but I'm calling it one. That way I can have personal permission to move on to the next book in the list after I finish Bloodlist.

4. Electric Velocipede, Vol 17/18. Short stories. I highly recommend this collection, there are always spooky stories, sci-fi and fantasy. Maybe I'll savor this one for the short story weekends.

5. China Mieville, King Rat. I picked this because I've never read Mieville, (how do you say that anyways?) wanted to read The City and The City, but it is still only in Hardcover, so this looked good.

6. China Mieville, Un Lun Dun. While I was looking over the Mieville selections, I found this markdown. I think it's a children's selection, but it looked riveting, so I added it at the last minute. For $4.95, who could resist?

7. Sarah Waters, Fingersmith. Another author first for me. This book has been on my to-read list for a very long time. When I first added it to the list, my thought was that I hadn't read any good gothic mysteries in a very long time. Thanks to Amazon I got a HUGE spoiler, (bah!) but that has never really put me off a good read, so I'm hoping for some entertainment.

8. Chuck Palahniuk, Survivor. This is the season for new authors. My reading has been kind of stagnant lately, with reading sequels, professional tomes and research papers. A friend of mine is a HUGE fan of Mr. P., so I figured it was about time I took a look. It seemed fitting that I start with his book about a cult.

9. Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes. Hey, it's Bradbury, what else needs to be said?

10. Christopher Golden, The Ferryman. Yes, that ferryman. This novel was a cut from last year's list, so here it is with an official position.

Looking back over last year's list, I read all but one of the books in my pool. Score! a couple of the RIP III books were re-reads, and I also ended up reading Dracula, and Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. (They, along with Frankenstein, make up my personal "Holy Trinity" of Halloween reading.)

This year, every book on my list is new to me, but you might notice that all of the books are a touch "loved." Have I mentioned that Powells Books is across the street from my office? (My budget just whimpered.) This is the reason I have such a ridiculous number of still-to-be-read books. I mean, can YOU resist picking up a treasure when they mark it down to $5.95? I am incapable, that's my defense. It's like walking by Saint Cupcake and not drooling a little. Okay, Chuck was more, but it's about a freakin' cult, people!

Happy reading!