Six Degrees of Separation: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

6 Degrees of Separation is an original meme hosted by authors Annabel Smith and Emma Chapman. All are welcome to join in; just follow the guidelines below. And if you don’t have a blog, simply post your chain in the comments.  - See more on Annabel Smith and Emma Chapman's sites 

This month the starting point is...

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I was delighted to hear the author speak about the novel in Cambridge when she was in the UK for the launch, though I haven't read it yet! Another author I met in Cambridge and saw at the same wonderful venue at the last Literature Festival there was Pat Barker who discussed her novels, including the Regeneration Trilogy, so I'll take Regeneration as my next link:

Regeneration by Pat Barker: this deals with the First World War and features war poets Siegfried Sasson and Wilfred Owen, which reminds me of this novel...

The Great Lover by Jill Dawson: which takes Rupert Brooke, another WWI poet, as a subject, is partly set in Grantchester near Cambridge, and incidentally I also saw Jill Dawson at the Literature Festival, where she appeared with Rachel Joyce...

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce: in which Harold journeys across much of England, which reminded me of...

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson: a very funny and warmhearted travel book which sees the author travel around the UK, and whose title brought me to...

Small Island by Andrea Levy: an excellent novel I read several years ago now, telling of an immigrant's experience, which reminded me of...

The Road Home by Rose Tremain: another novel I really loved, and which also tells of an immigrant's experience in the UK. 

That's my six degrees post for July, from The Goldfinch to The Road Home!

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!