6 Degrees of Separation

Collage of book covers: Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser; Practice by Rosalind Brown; Lessons by Ian McEwan; Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus; Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl; Night Film by Marisha Pessl; The Crime Writer by Jill Dawson

6 Degrees of Separation

This time around, we start with the 2025 Stella Prize winner, Michelle de Kretser’s work of autofiction, Theory & Practice. Here’s part of the description of the novel from Goodreads: What happens when our desires run contrary to our beliefs? What should we do when the failings of revered figures come to light? Who is […]

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Collage of book covers: All Fours by Miranda July; The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan; Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson; Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney; Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney; The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave; The Lost Man by Jane Harper.

6 Degrees of Separation

This month we start with Kate’s pick for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction, All Fours by Miranda July.  first degree The most recent novel I’ve read that features a number in its title is The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan. second degree I’ve recently read a novel by another author named

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Collage of book covers. Rapture by Emily Maguire. Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton by Diane Wood Middlebrook. Billy Summers by Stephen King. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King. Wild by Cheryl Strayed. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore.

6 Degrees of Separation: From Rapture to the Woods

A historical novel longlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize, Rapture by Emily Maguire, begins our chain this month. Set in the ninth century, Rapture tells the story of “a wild and brilliant girl with a deep, visceral love of God,” according to Goodreads. “At eighteen, to avoid a future as a wife or nun, Agnes

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Collage of book covers: Knife by Salman Rushdie; Lucky by Alice Sebold; The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold; Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman; The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager; Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay; My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

6 Degrees of Separation: Crimes and Punishment

I haven’t yet read this month’s starter book, Salman Rushdie’s memoir Knife, although I certainly do intend to. The book describes an attack by a knife-wielding man as Rushdie was about to begin speaking at a literary event.  first degree Lucky by Alice Sebold is another memoir about a personal attack: Sebold’s rape at the

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Collage of book covers. On left, large cover; text: Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. On right, top row of smaller book covers: The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather; Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke; The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. Lower row: Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson; Raven Black by Ann Cleeves; The Birds and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier.

6 Degrees of Separation: This One’s for the Birds

This month’s starting book is the 2023 Booker Prize winner, Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. Here’s the description from Goodreads: On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find the GNSB on her step. Two officers from Ireland’s newly formed secret police are here to interrogate

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Collage of book covers. Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman. Clear and Present Danger by Tom Clancy. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. The Color of Watr by James McBride. The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy.

6 Degrees of Separation: Danger! Water!

This month’s exercise begins with a classic – Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. first degree Since the starting point is a book I’ve never had even the slightest inclination to read, I’ll take the easiest approach for my first degree, repetition of a keyword from the title: The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura

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Collage of book covers. Sandwich by Catherine Newman; The Hidden Machinery by Margot Livesey; Trust by Hernan Diaz; Idaho by Emily Ruskovich; Ohio by Stephen Markley; A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

6 Degrees of Separation

My Continued Apologies  The comment glitch on this blog continues. My hosting provider has been helpful in trying to track down the cause. In the meantime, here’s a work-around that may may work: If you type a comment and hit the “post comment” button, you’ll get the message “submitting comment,” followed by nothing. But, if

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Collage of book covers: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney; The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker; Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg; The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig; Summer of '49 by David Halberstam; The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon; Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

6 Degrees of Word-Association Separation

The starting point for this month’s 6 Degrees of Separation challenge is Sally Rooney’s latest release, Intermezzo. I keep meaning to read Sally Rooney’s works, but, you know, “so many books, so little time.” So I’m going to begin this exercise with word association first degree Intermezzo immediately reminded me of the title The Mezzanine

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Collage of book covers: Long Island by Colm Toibin; Sag Harbor by Colin Whitehead; The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda; The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir; Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson; Night Woman by Nancy Price; The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud

6 Degrees of Separation

This month’s starting point is Colm Tóibín’s Long Island. Here’s the description from Goodreads: From the beloved, critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author comes a spectacularly moving and intense novel of secrecy, misunderstanding, and love, the story of Eilis Lacey, the complex and enigmatic heroine of Brooklyn, Tóibín’s most popular work, twenty years later.

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Collage of book covers. Large cover on left: After Story by Larissa Behrendt. Smaller covers: top row: Black Cake by Charmaine Wilderson; Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok; Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. Bottom row: The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty; The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn Saks; Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan.

6 Degrees of Separation

This month’s starting book is After Story by Larissa Behrendt. I haven’t read it, although it sounds like a book I would appreciate. Here’s the description from Goodreads: When Indigenous lawyer Jasmine decides to take her mother Della on a tour of England’s most revered literary sites, Jasmine hopes it will bring them closer together

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