Book Reviews

‘The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.’ Alan Bennett

“Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self.” ― Franz Kafka

Saturday 5 April 2014

New Meme: Six Degrees of Separation - with books!

This is a new meme hosted by authors Emma Chapman and Annabel Smith

It's based on the idea of six degrees of separation, but with books!  

It is claimed that every person on this planet is linked to any other in six or fewer steps.  But what about books?  Can we link them together too?

We'll choose one book on the first Saturday of every month and then link it in a chain to five others to see what we come up with.     

The books can be linked in obvious ways, or more personal ways, and a book only needs to be connected to the ones next to them in the chain. 

Find out more here and here.

Well, here's my attempt; I found it hard at first, it'll be interesting to see what others thought of too!

Six Degrees of Separation

Our first book is Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

which brought to mind...
1 - The Kindest Thing by Cath Staincliffe, in which there's a very strong central female character who grapples with a huge decision with potentially awful consequences, and which makes you think about loyalty and betrayal, it was emotional and thought-provoking, causing the main character to question her decisions, 

which made me think of...
2 - Nearest Thing To Crazy by Elizabeth Forbes, a brilliant, pacy read where the reader is caused to question what is real and true and what is a deception, as the main female character herself wonders if she is losing her grip on her sanity and has to question her own mind, 

which brought to mind...

3 - The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald, another super page turner in which the reader wonders who to trust and what is the truth,

which reminded me of the excellent crime novel...
4 - Defending Jacob by William Landay, a brilliant story, in which I also wondered who to trust, and with a family defending their son,

which made me think of...
5 - The Son-in-Law by Charity Norman, a very moving read dealing with a family who are trying to cope in an extremely difficult, very emotional situation and do the best by the children, with whom their father has to rebuild his relationship,

which brought to mind...
6 - Emotional Geology by Linda Gillard, because of the strong yet damaged 
relationship between mother and daughter portrayed here in this compelling, 
passionate, moving novel.


That's my six degrees in books from Burial Rites!

8 comments:

  1. Outstanding post Lindsay. I love the idea of this meme. I tend to connect books and ideas in this way. In fact I love doing so!

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    1. Thanks for the lovely comment Brian. Do have a go yourself if you'd like to, I think it's going to take place once a month.

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  2. Thanks so much for taking part Lindsay. Your chain is very different to the others I've seen, and I haven't read a single book on it. I like the sound of Nearest Thing to Crazy - I have a real interest in books about mental illness and particularly love the trope in which the reader is unsure whether the narrator/main character is actually losing their mind, or if their surprising story could be true. That's a strong element in Emma Chapman's novel How to Be a Good Wife - so you might like that, if you haven't read it yet.

    And yes, our next post will be on Saturday May 3rd, and the book will be Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar.

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    1. Thanks for commenting Annabel, I highly recommened NTtC. Yes I loved Emma's novel.

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  3. Such fun, thanks for the link. Its amazing how very different the books you have chosen differ from the the books I have picked.

    http://pettywitter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/6-degrees-of-separation.html

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    1. Thanks Tracy, off to look at yours now!

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  4. I love this idea. It would be interesting to see how people connect book and it'll be just the most innovative way to discover new books! I'd definitely participate the next time, thanks! :)

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  5. Your chain made me think of quite a few other books, notably Dawn Barker's Fractured and Herman Koch's The Dinner.

    Defending Jacob keeps popping up on my radar - think I should read it.

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