Caving to RIP IX

I haven't done a challenge in a long time...like years. But I decided that my favorite holiday was a good time to jump back into them. I love picking out books for Halloween (in fact I have a special shelf just for them) and I delayed signing up for this challenge because of my total inability to finish a single Halloween book last year. But today I am making the leap. Maybe it is the excitement of a cool cloudy day, maybe it is the pumpkin candle I am burning or the delicious soup I'm having for dinner but I'm all in for this Halloween awesomeness. 

So here's the deal:

Readers Imbibing Peril runs from September 1 - October 31 and you basically just pick books that you think fit into the creepy, mysterious, delightfully horrible theme, have some fun reading them and then link your posts to the review site which is put on by Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings. 

The good thing is that Carl has given us options. The bad thing is that some of those can overlap so I am partaking in multiple parts of the challenge...and a readalong. 

Peril the First means I will be reading four books for the challenge. I have put together the following list to chose from. 

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Dark Souls by Paula Morris

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero

Peril on the Screen....because I would be doing this anyway. At the very least I will be watching my annual favorites: Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

I have wanted to read The Haunting of Hill House for a long time and have already started it in anticipation. 

Lastly, can we just take a moment and appreciate the beautiful banners created for this challenge. The artist is Abigail Larson and after visiting her shop I want to spend lots of money on things like this and this. Oh hey and this. 

Well, I'm already behind on this month so I better get reading. 

Music: Mako - Our Story

Okay you guys, I have to share some awesome music with you. Full disclaimer...yes I'm probably biased because it is my cousin I am talking about but that doesn't make it any less awesome. I have been listening to his music for years now. He actually wrote two, yes TWO, songs for my wedding and he is pretty much a musical genius.

I am so excited that he finally has a music video for one of my favorite songs and I am sharing it with you. He and his talented DJ friend Logan are Mako and they have a chance at being on MTV so if you like the video then be awesome and go vote on MTV's The Freshman for Mako 'Our Story' (hint: it's the second option down).

At the very least, watch the video because seriously, they are amazing. I'm super proud of him. My cousin, Alex, is the one playing the piano and singing. He graduated from Juilliard and lives in SoCal and I get to see him every November (when he isn't too busy) at our family reunion at his parent's house. Yes, I am a lucky girl. Surrounded by so much talent doesn't at all give me a complex...

It's a good thing I love that guy.

The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith

The Cuckoo's Calling
by Robert Galbraith

Oh J.K. you write such good mystery. Is Snape good or evil? Was Lula Landry's death murder or suicide? And if it was murder, who killed her? I can't wait to find out what happened to Owen Quine.

So if you don't yet know, Robert Galbraith is the nom de plume (a year of college French and that's what I got) of J.K. Rowling. And if you are just now finding this out, then welcome back from the cave you have been living in. Take moment to step away from the computer, get some sun, stretch your legs, then pick up The Cuckoo's Calling and come back and we'll chat. It's about a British veteran PI named Strike who investigates the death of a model while trying to keep his temporary, yet remarkably clever, secretary in the dark about the fact that he is living in his office after his breakup with a woman way out of his league.

Did I mention it is written by J.K. Rowling?

Mine too Jo!

So of course I was going to read it but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading things like:

"Jus' celebratin' my fiancee zengagement," he said, raising his eleventh pint in an unsteady toast. "She shou' never've left'm. Never," he said, loudly and clearly, "have. Left. The Hon'ble. Jago Ross. Who is'n outstanding cunt." -pg 301

It's so adult, so not Harry Potter.

So anyway...I loved the book and I was concerned that my expectations were going to be too high so I think that says a lot. It's funny, every time Strike went to the police and gave them a tip about the murder I was thinking "what are you doing!You never bring the cops back into it." Apparently I have been ruined by TV and movies.

As the mystery unfolded, I was struck by how much I didn't hate the little hints Strike dropped that never went anywhere. It was just enough to let me think I was piecing it together but not enough to make me try so hard that I really thought I knew whodunnit (which was good because I was all over the map). It reminded me of a teacher dropping hints for the students to figure out the answer for themselves but then becoming distracted by something else before actually answering. Then I finally got to the part where it was all being laid out and...I had to go to work... Gah! This is why I shouldn't read during breakfast. But work only lasts so long and I was able to finish it tonight...and I already have the sequel...

**Source: Purchased from a local bookstore with my own sweet loot.