Short Story Peril: Tricks by Laura Lippman (And a Wrap Up Post for R.I.P. V Challenge)

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Tricks by Laura Lippman (The Dark End of the Street: New Stories of Sex and Crime)

Tricks by Laura Lippman will be my last read for Carl's R.I.P. V Challenge, considering this challenge will end on October 31st and I don't think I will be able to finish reading the rest of the short stories of this anthology over the weekend. Nonetheless, I want to say I had fun participating in this challenge (as always! Plus, Carl is a wonderful host) and this has given me the opportunity to read more short stories since I rarely read them these days.

As the title indicates, Tricks by Laura Lippman is a story of a con man who not only cheat vulnerable women into marrying him but also stealing money from them during the process. We never get to know his name right from the beginning since there is no point in it considering he moves on and changes his name after getting what he wants from the victims.

Tricks tells the story of his perspective and his moves on his latest victim. I wish I could say something more aside from these but I am afraid that would spoil the fun for you. Laura Lippman writes great mysteries so expect a twist and a good ending to this story.

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I decided to do a wrap up post here for the R.I.P. V Challenge since October 31st marks the last day of the challenge and I don't think I will be able to read and review a few more short stories over the weekend. I am committed to read The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories for the Short Story Peril but instead I got sidetracked by other books and by the time I wanted to get into that anthology again, the interest is no longer there. Thus I picked up The Dark End of the Street with a new expectation since they are two different genres altogether.

Due to time constraint, I am not able to finish reading the whole anthology but I would get to the rest of the stories at some point. Below is a list of short stories I read for the R.I.P. V Challenge (in chronological order):

• Tricks by Laura Lippman (The Dark End of the Street)
• Me & Mr. Rafferty by Lee Child (The Dark End of the Street)
• What Was It? by Fitz-James O'Brien (The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories)
• The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell (The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories)

Among these four titles, I have to say my favourites are Me & Mr. Rafferty and The Old Nurse's Story. I was wowed by the former and the latter simply creeps me out.

Before I end this post, I would like to thank Carl for hosting this fun challenge! Carl's R.I.P. Challenge is one of my favourites reading challenges and I always look forward to it this time of the year.

Did you participate and what books did you read for this challenge?

Japanese Literature Challenge 3 Wrap Up

This is the first time I participated in the Japanese Literature Challenge hosted by Dolce Bellezza and I had so much fun reading the books for this challenge!

Though we are required to read only one Japanese literature, I cannot resist reading another so these are what I read for the challenge:

~ The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa
~ Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto

I enjoyed reading these books and I have to say they have two things in common: (1) they are a collection of short stories, and (2) the writing style is beautiful.

I have to say Asleep is my favourite among the two books. It is a book about three young women who are somehow bewitched into a spiritual sleep. Part sad, and part bittersweet, I was once again mesmerised by Banana Yoshimoto's lyrical prose. The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa is equally good too, in terms of style but I find these collections are darker as compared to Asleep. I have heard good reviews on Ogawa's other work, The Housekeeper and the Professor, so I am adding that book onto my wishlist.

Last but not least, I want to thank Dolce Bellezza for hosting this challenge! I look forward to the next Japanese Literature Challenge coming in July!

R.I.P. IV Challenge Wrap Up

I am happy to say I have completed Carl's R.I.P. IV Challenge - Peril the Second, which we are required to read two books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that we choose.

I can not resist reading another book so here are my list:

• The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
• Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

I enjoyed reading them all but I have to say The Haunting of Hill House remains my favourite!

A BIG thanks to Carl for hosting this challenge! I already can't wait for the next round to begin!

Young Adult Book Challenge Wrap Up

I am happy to say I have completed another reading challenge - YA Book Challenge which is hosted by J. Kaye's Books Blog!

Here is a list of 12 books I read for the challenge:

Airhead by Meg Cabot
Stolen by Lucy Christopher *
Wings by Aprilynne Pike
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher *
Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr *
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins *
Evermore by Alyson Noel *
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne *
Gossamer by Lois Lowry
The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder
Private by Kate Brian

I enjoyed reading all these books, but those that marked with an asterisk are my favourites!

Romance Reading Challenge Wrap Up

I am happy to say I have completed the Romance Reading Challenge hosted by Naida from The Bookworm. There are a few more challenges I need to work on but nevertheless, I am glad to see one down so it don't look like I have been slacking on the challenges, haha.

Anyway, here are the books I read for this challenge:

• Death Angel by Linda Howard
  
• The Love Letter by Cathleen Schine
• No Escape by Shannon K. Butcher
• South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
• Fallen Skies by Philippa Gregory

Reading Challenges Wrap-Up

Reading challenges are fun, and they are so addictive. However, this year I did not do as well as compared to last year, simply because I have lost interest of the books that I had listed long ago, or my reading mood got in the way. I think the latter is the main issue for the incompletion of these challenges. Anyway, this will not stop me from participating in more challenges next year. After all, reading is about pleasure, isn't it?

What's In A Name? Challenge

1) Blue Justice by Illona Hans
2) Cat O'Nine Tales: And Other Stories by Jeffrey Archer
3) Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie
4) Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
5) Into The Storm by Suzanne Brockmann
6) The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman

tl;dr Challenge

1) Books of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
2) American Gods by Neil Gaiman
3) The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

2008 TBR Challenge

1) One True Thing by Anna Quindlen
2) Stars by Nora Roberts
3) P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
4) Sacred Cows by Karen E. Olson
5) Forbidden by Suzanne Brockmann
6) Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard
7) Next To Die by Marliss Melton
8) My Lover's Lover by Maggie O'Farrell
9) The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi
10) Halfway To The Grave by Jeaniene Frost
11) Almost Noon by Alice Sebold
12) First Drop by Zoe Sharp
Alternates:
1) The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
2) Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead
3) A Student of Living Things by Susan Richards Shreve
4) In The Woods by Tana French


The Short Story Reading Challenge

1) Holidays Are Hell by Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu & Vicki Pettersson
2) Hell On Heels by Julie Kenner, Kathleen O'Reilly & Dee Davis
3) Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

I had enjoyed reading these books, but my favourites will be The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, Sacred Cows by Karen E. Olson, The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly and In the Woods by Tana French.

The Pub (2008) Challenge Wrap Up

Finally I have completed on one reading challenge! Gosh, I felt like such a slow reader as compared to my fellow book blog friends, most of whom I am sure participated in more reading challenges than I did. Nevertheless, I am glad I am done with the 8 books as requested.

Here is the list of books I read:

• Thigh High by Christina Dodd
• The Mercenary by Cherry Adair
• Dingo by Charles de Lint (I have to strike this out since no children’s/YA titles are allowed)
• The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
• Fire and Ice by Anne Stuart
• The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
• The Ring by Jorge Molist
• Body Language by Suzanne Brockmann
• Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

I have to say my best reads are: Fire and Ice, The Blood of Flowers and Garden Spells. Because this is about books published in 2008, it is still not too late if you wish to join now.

Finally, thanks to Michelle for hosting this challenge!