Artist Jennifer Gordon

Finally!  It feels like I’ve been waiting forever for this year’s R.I.P challenge to begin and now, the time has arrived!

I discovered this challenge last year at Carl’s awesome blog, Stainless Steel Droppings:  Eclectic Musings of a Renaissance Geek, while surfing through some book blogs and immediately signed on.  I didn’t successfully complete the challenge last year, maybe because it was an all around crazy year and I took on more reading challenges than I could possibly complete, but I’m up for the challenge this year! 

I start thinking about Halloween around mid-summer but hold myself off from indulging in all things spooky, scary or creepy until September at least.  So, this is the perfect time to start a reading challenge relating to the dark and unexplainable.    To explain the challenge, I give you Carl:

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

Though the weather outside ain’t frightful, this type of reading makes September and October delightful. I know that as I have gathered together books for this, the fifth annual R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge, I have felt that chill up my spine and an anticipation that was hard to put on hold until now.

There are two simple goals for the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril V Challenge:

1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others.

As I do each and every year, there are multiple levels of participation that allow you to be a part of R.I.P. V without adding the burden of another commitment to your already busy lives. There is even a one book only option for those who feel that this sort of reading is not their cup of tea but want to participate all the same.

R.I.P. V officially runs from September 1st through October 31st. But lets go ahead and break the rules. Lets start today!!!

Multiple perils await you. You can participate in just one, or participate in them all.

This year I have added an addition Peril, and that is for those who also like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large. It might be a television show, like Dark Shadows, or your favorite film. If you are so inclined, please post links to any R.I.P.-related viewing you do on to the book review site as well.

You may participate in one or all of the various Perils. My one rule: enjoy yourself!

The R.I.P. V. Challenge does not require you to read from a pre-selected list of books, but like many of you I love to get ideas from what others are thinking of reading. If you want to include a pool of potential reads when you sign up, either in the comments or on your own sign up post on your blog (not required for participation), please do!

1. Hmmm…thinking on this.

If you’re interested in joining us in this challenge, please check out Carl’s challenge invitational post and please let me know if you decide to participate.  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or viewing! 

Happy sigh…..

Arcadia Falls

By Carol Goodman

Ballantine Books

March 9, 2010

More Info / Order Herez

I received and read an Advance Reader’s Copy of Arcadia Falls for Library Thing.

Recently widowed Meg takes a teaching position at the Arcadia Falls art colony in hopes of gaining financial stability, restoring her relationship with her teenage daughter, Claire, and completing her research on the authors of a lost changeling girl fairytale.   This fairytale and its lessons weave their truths throughout Meg and Claire’s Arcadia Falls experience.

Carol Goodman’s voice lures you into a seductive world of fairy tales and pagan rituals,  mystery and death.  She weaves the past and present story threads together well and you find yourself very present in both stories.  Ms. Goodman has a knack for description and atmosphere and I very much enjoyed the small college town setting and spooky woods.

I found it slightly disappointing that there were several parallels between this story and The Lake of Dead Languages:  the boarding school, a mystery from the past, and the main character’s insecurities.  I also felt Meg’s love interest subplot was unnecessary and didn’t really make sense.  However, the author’s turn of phrase and ability to create a story within a story will always have me coming back for more of her work.  I recommend Arcadia Falls if you enjoy gothic mysteries, fairy tales and myth.

Rating
Story
Refreshing concept and excellent description.
Book Cover
Intriguing and certainly makes sense as you continue to read.

Overall
Similarities to prior books aside, Carol Goodman's way with atmosphere, and her ability to effectively create a story within a story makes Arcadia Falls worth the read.

(Orig. Pub. at Sweet Reads 5/27/10)

The School of Essential Ingredients

by Erica Bauermeister

Berkley Trade

Paperback, 9780425232095, 272pp.

Take one look at this gorgeous cover and I’ll wager you’d love to be sitting on that beautiful bench, enjoying the scenery and life around you, holding yourself back just one more moment before heading inside so you can savor the anticipation of a delicious, sensual experience!

The School of Essential Ingredients, written by Erica Bauermeister, introduces us to Lillian and the students attending her cooking class.  From an early age, Lillian was drawn to the kitchen, and discovered the magic in food and its preparation.  As an adult, she shares that magic with her students and we’re lucky enough to receive some ourselves.

Each chapter in the book is devoted to a different student.  Lillian chooses a new assistant from the class each week and we grow closer to that person as through each lesson they discover more about themselves, their relationship with food and the people in their lives.  As we witness Lillian’s uncanny ability to read her students and nudge them in the right direction, in the kitchen and in life, I found myself wishing I could sign up for the next session.

I hesitate in giving too many details because I don’t want to spoil the fun and magic you’ll find in this nourishing and refreshing novel.  It’s a quick read and you won’t regret the time you’ve spent between its covers.  Erica Bauermeister’s next novel can not come soon enough!

Rating
Story
A sensuous and well-crafted story you'll want to read again.
Book Cover
Beautiful and inviting.

Overall
Truly magic. You'll feel the glow, I promise!

(Originally posted at Sweet Reads on 5/24/10.)