
Picture found at: https://www.melindatognini.com.au
#6Degrees
Six degrees of separation:
daughter and mother
Time for another quirky variation on this meme.
The book we are starting from and the book I landed on both are about connection between a daughter and her mother! Obviously not calculated on my part.
I also tried hard not to feature books I have already featured with this meme.
Using my own rules for this fun meme hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest (see there the origin of the meme and how it works – posted the first Saturday of every month).
Here are my own quirky rules:
1. Use your list of books on Goodreads
2. Take the first word of the title (or in the subtitle) offered and find another title with that word in it – see the titles below the images to fully understand, as often the word could be in the second part of the title
3. Then use the first word of THAT title to find your text title
4. Or the second if the title starts with the same word, or you are stuck
Click on the covers
links will send you to my review or to the relevant page
This is the book we are supposed to start from.
I haven’t read it and probably will not. I like the plot, but I would probably not like its humor. Some readers I really trust haven’t really enjoyed it either.
“Is there life after the internet?
As this urgent, genre-defying book opens, a woman who has recently been elevated to prominence for her social media posts travels around the world to meet her adoring fans. She is overwhelmed by navigating the new language and etiquette of what she terms “the portal,” where she grapples with an unshakable conviction that a vast chorus of voices is now dictating her thoughts. When existential threats—from climate change and economic precariousness to the rise of an unnamed dictator and an epidemic of loneliness—begin to loom, she posts her way deeper into the portal’s void. An avalanche of images, details, and references accumulate to form a landscape that is post-sense, post-irony, post-everything. “Are we in hell?” the people of the portal ask themselves. “Are we all just going to keep doing this until we die?”
Suddenly, two texts from her mother pierce the fray: “Something has gone wrong,” and “How soon can you get here?” As real life and its stakes collide with the increasingly absurd antics of the portal, the woman confronts a world that seems to contain both an abundance of proof that there is goodness, empathy, and justice in the universe, and a deluge of evidence to the contrary.
Fragmentary and omniscient, incisive and sincere, No One Is Talking About This is at once a love letter to the endless scroll and a profound, modern meditation on love, language, and human connection from a singular voice in American literature. ”
1. No Man is an Island, by Thomas Merton
To be honest, I read so many books by Merton, a few decades ago, that I don’t remember exactly the content of this one. But anyway, you can never go wrong with this author!
The topics of silence, solitude, and connected are so important, even more today.
2. A Man Lay Dead, by Ngaio Marsh
I so wanted to try this classic author, but the very first volume in the Roderick Alleyn series left me a bit disappointed. I actually read it only three months ago, but didn’t write a review right away, and I already have only vague memory of it.
Should I persevere? There are 33 books in the series.
Have you read volume 2, Enter a Murderer?
3. As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
Now, I really enjoyed this other classic! The different point of views, some from unexpected voices (!) really worked for me for this short atmospheric novel.
4. The Collector of Dying Breaths, by M. J. Rose
A few years ago, I enjoyed M. J. Rose’s style. I read a few books by her. Now, I have gone to other reading horizons.
Here is the recap of my review:
VERDICT: The Collector of Dying Breaths is a smart and unforgettable mix of historical fiction, suspense, and fantasy, with a touch of romance. If you love history, France, and the haunting world of perfumes and fragrances, you won’t want to miss its message on what real love is all about.
5. The Collector, by Anne-Laure Thiéblemont
I really enjoyed this mystery. Unfortunately, the author passed away befor writing the second volume.
VERDICT: Complex and suspenseful art heist on pre-Columbian art with a smart and unexpected twist. Highly recommended for lovers of art, gems, and mystery.
6. Breath, Eyes, Memory, by Edwidge Danticat
As my 5th book has only one word, I’m stuck, so I used the last word of title 4 to finish this chain! And it happens to be also about a daughter and her mother, like in the starting book!
This was a very powerful and emotional read.
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You did good with this chain😁 I believe I have a copy of Breath Eyes Memory but haven’t read it yet.
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I think it’s an important modern classic
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Good chain, Emma. What a great idea for the topic. I have only read the last of your books.
My Six Degrees of Separation ended with The Cost of Sugar by Cynthia McLeod.
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Thanks for sharing your chain
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John Fowles also wrote a book called The Collector… did you read it? Very good, but very creepy!
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Thanks! No I haven’t read it. I’m tempted, though I usually don’t read horror
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Not really horror… more psychological thriller. I had to read it in High School (my, but my school was VERY progressive)!
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Thanks! This is the 2nd book I have run into recently, that a lot of readers have classified as horror, but then bloggers commenting here have told me the same, “more psychological thriller”.
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The Collector of Dying Breaths has such a gorgeous cover and I like the title enough to go and see what it’s about!
I played with a variation of your normal Six Degrees today and used one word per book from the original title to make up my chain. Thanks for the inspiration!
Have a wonderful February Emma!
Elza Reads
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MJ Rose writes unique books. If you like that genre, she’s an excellent writer. Woohoo, running now to your chain!
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I have a passion for art and for mysteries, so The Collector sounds god to me. Great chain!
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I think you would really enjoy it then. Another great mystery focused on art, a hidden gem: The Mona Lisa Speaks: https://wordsandpeace.com/2013/10/30/book-review-the-mona-lisa-speaks-i-love-france-71/
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Yes, it does sound like a good one too!
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Definitely worth your time
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Great chain! I read The Collector of Dying Breaths a few years ago, but never read any of M.J. Rose’s other books. Sorry you were disappointed with your first Ngaio Marsh book – she’s an author I’ve been wanting to read too.
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I think Seduction, by MJ Rose, is also very good: https://wordsandpeace.com/2013/05/14/book-review-seduction/
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I do enjoy the way you make your link to the next book in these chains.
I am going to try to answer your question about the Ngaio Marsh books. I think I have read most of the books in the series, but many of them I read when I was much younger, decades ago, and a different kind of reader. I read another 10 or so back in 2003. I liked them well enough to keep reading but… sometimes I like the first half, leading up to the investigation, but not the investigation itself. I liked the early ones where Inspector Alleyn meets his wife, who is an artist. I think the author was from New Zealand, and some of the ones set there are interesting. I gave Night at the Vulcan, set in the theater, a good review back in 2012. I am guessing some of the books are good and some are so so, but whether it is worth it to read them all to find the good ones, who knows.
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I was actually disappointed to realize very few of her books are set in New Zealand, but it’s good to know there are some. Thanks for your input, it definitely gives me the desire to try again
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Ngaio Marsh is on my classic crime writers to read list. Great chain!
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Which book are you planning to try?
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Great chain, but not only have I not read any of yours, I haven’t heard of several of them. Best get reading ….
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As I Lay Dying is a short classic
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Right! Time to put that right then – thanks.
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Let me know what you think
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Will do!
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Great!
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I’m always amused by how hard you make it for yourself: clearly an intellectual challenge you relish every month!
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For me, it’s actually much easier than the usual ay. I just do a word search on my Goodreads shelf of books I have read
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