
It’s the first Saturday of the month which means it’s time for 6 Degrees of Separation!
Here’s how it works: a book is chosen as a starting point by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.
Kate says: Books can be linked in obvious ways – for example, books by the same authors, from the same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or, you may choose to link them in more personal or esoteric ways: books you read on the same holiday, books given to you by a particular friend, books that remind you of a particular time in your life, or books you read for an online challenge. Join in by posting your own six degrees chain on your blog and adding the link in the comments section of each month’s post. You can also check out links to posts on Twitter using the hashtag #6Degrees.
This month’s starting book is a short story, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, which I haven’t read. However, I understand it is set in a small American town where an annual lottery takes place in which every family must participate but no one wants to win.
Another unsettling tale set in a small community is The Wicker Man by Robin Hardy, the book based on the 1975 film of the same name, which involves the search for a missing girl on a remote Scottish island.
In The Missing Girl by Jenny Quintana a woman embarks on a search for her sister who disappeared many years before.
It’s a missing boy who is the focus of The End of Summer by Anders de la Motte in which the boy’s sister, assisted by the police officer who failed to solve the case at the time, tries to discover the truth about her brother’s disappearance after a space of many years.
In The Coral Bride by Roxanne Bouchard, a detective is assigned to the search for a missing fisherwoman after her abandoned lobster trawler is found adrift off the coast of Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula.
Hermit by S.R. White concerns a man found at the scene of a crime who vanished without reason fifteen years earlier and whose whereabouts during that time are unknown.
Finally, to bring us full circle, Shirley Jackson also wrote a short story entitled The Missing Girl.
My chain has taken me through a series of disappearances. Where did your chain take you?

I love it when a chain goes full circle – well done!
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Such a satisyingly circular chain! I’ve never had the courage to read The Wicker Man yet alone watch the ’70s movie.
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The Wicker Man is quite a cult classic now but I think I’ve only watched it once, many years ago.
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Love your chain Cathy!
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Good for you for coming full circle on this one! Helen did it as well. I couldn’t have done it since I never read anything by Jackson until I read this story!
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Yes, I was quite proud of emulating Helen as she manages to do it every month
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Really! So jealous. But I do try to find something to link them in some way – even if its only, oh, the color of the book cover or the publisher!
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It tests your creativity doesn’t it, that’s why I like this meme.
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100%
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I love your disappearances theme – and well done for linking back to Shirley Jackson!
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A very well-thought-out chain from which I’ve read precisely nothing. Where to start?
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I’ve only read a few of them myself. It would be even more difficult if I restricted myself to only books I’ve read. Perhaps one month I’ll manage that.
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I wouldn’t cope unless I reviewed every single book I read on Goodreads. Only short reviews usually, but they help me to remember what I’ve read.
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Nicely done, to come back to Shirley Jackson! I’m intrigued by Hermit.
Here is my quirky chain: https://wordsandpeace.com/2021/10/02/six-degrees-of-separation-from-lottery-to-tides/
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Nice chain. This one was a struggle for me. It’s nice to see how well others have done it.
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It was a struggle for me as well!
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Great chain! Loved that you made it go full circle!
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I like your thinking here Cathy. Nice chain.
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