Two new challenges

I've not been very successful with challenges in the past but that's not going to stop me from signing up for these two.
The first is the RIP IV (Readers Imbibing Peril). I've seen this challenge around in past years and thought, "Hmm. That's not really for me." As I looked into it this year I discovered that it is actually perfect for me. I thought it was just about reading scary books but the following genres are all included: mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, and supernatural. I'm not into dark fantasy or horror but I can definitely enjoy all the rest. The challenge began Sept. 1 and ends Oct. 31. I've chosen to read 4 books from the following reading pool:
1. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (re-read)
2. Turn of the Screw by Henry James
3. Dracula by Bram Stoker
4. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
5. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
6. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
7. Another book by Agatha Christie
8. Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
I don't know if I'll be able to read 4 of these but I'm going to give it a shot.


The other challenge I'm joining is the Countdown Challenge 2010. Here are the rules:
1. The goal of this challenge is to read the number of books first published in a given year that corresponds to the last digit of each year in the 2000s — 10 books from 2010, 9 books from 2009, 8 books from 2008, etc. The total number of books required, therefore, is 55.
2. This challenge lasts from 9/9/09 through 10/10/10.
3. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed and your lists may change at any time.

My biggest obstacle with these challenges is keeping myself organized enough to finish them but I'm excited about them both.