It’s the first Saturday of the month (and a new year) 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 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, a book I’ve heard a lot about but haven’t yet read. Unfolding over several decades, it’s the story of two young people with a shared love of video games.
Zevin’s previous novel, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is the tale of a grumpy bookshop owner whose business is failing. The protagonist of Back Trouble by Clare Chambers is in a similar predicament. His publishing business has failed and his debts are mounting up. Laid up with a bad back, he starts to write the story of his life.
In The Slowworm’s Song by Andrew Miller, recovering alcoholic Stephen Rose is also writing the story of his life. In this case, the prompt is receipt of a letter that revives unwelcome memories of a traumatic event during his time as a soldier in Northern Ireland.
The film Letter From an Unknown Woman, in which a man receives a letter from a woman he has met three times before but failed to recall, is cited by author Neil Jordan as one of the inspirations for his novel The Well of Saint Nobody.
Neil Jordan is a film director known for films such as The End of the Affair, based on the 1951 novel by Graham Greene. Greene’s other novels include The Quiet American, published in 1955.
Staying with lack of noise, The Quiet People by Paul Cleave involves husband and wife crime writers who fall under suspicion when their seven-year-old son goes missing.
Beach Read by Emily Henry also features two authors. In this case, they are both struggling with writer’s block and so agree to swap genres. This last link takes me full circle as it’s the book we started with in January 2023!
My chain has taken me from a Sunday Times bestseller to a New York Times bestseller. Where did your chain take you this month?
What Cathy Read Next... 