Six degrees of separation: from an Australian gang to a Brit who never told a lie

#6Degrees

Six degrees of separation:
from an Australian gang to a Brit
who never told a lie!

Time for another quirky variation on this meme.
The book we are starting from speaks is about a famous Australian gang, and I end up with a classic full of humor about a Brit who said he never told a lie! Can you guess who these people are?

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

True History of the Kelly Gang

This is the book we are supposed to start from.
I have not read it, and I am not planning to.

“In True History of the Kelly Gang, the legendary Ned Kelly speaks for himself, scribbling his narrative on errant scraps of paper in semiliterate but magically descriptive prose as he flees from the police. To his pursuers, Kelly is nothing but a monstrous criminal, a thief and a murderer. To his own people, the lowly class of ordinary Australians, the bushranger is a hero, defying the authority of the English to direct their lives. Indentured by his bootlegger mother to a famous horse thief (who was also her lover), Ned saw his first prison cell at 15 and by the age of 26 had become the most wanted man in the wild colony of Victoria, taking over whole towns and defying the law until he was finally captured and hanged. Here is a classic outlaw tale, made alive by the skill of a great novelist.”

Conan Doyle for the Defense   An Elegant Defense

  The Novel of the Century A Novel Bookstore

  Mr Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore Meet Mr Mulliner

Click on the covers to read my review
or the relevant page

1. Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World’s Most Famous Detective Writer, by Margalit Fox

VERDICT: A must read for all Sherlock Holmes’ fan. A well researched piece of literary critique.

2. An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives, by Matt Richtel

For once, this is not a book that I have read, but that I added to my TBR (In February).
Here is just a short paragraph from the synopsis:
“A magnificently reported and soulfully crafted exploration of the human immune systemthe key to health and wellness, life and death. An epic, first-of-its-kind book, entwining leading-edge scientific discovery with the intimate stories of four individual lives, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times journalist.”

3. The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of Les Misérables, by David Bellos

It is very sad I never reviewed it!
If you love Les Misérables, especially the book itself, this is a MUST read, with so much fabulous background information. And so well written by a very gifted translator.

4. A Novel Bookstore, by Laurence Cossé

The end was a bit disappointing for me, though the concept of the boo is really neat.

5. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, by Robin Sloan

VERDICT: The most yummy book I have read this year. Cook and learn French at the same time!

6. Meet Mr. Mulliner, by P.G. Wodehouse

I read several books by Wodehouse about twenty years ago, this one among others, and really enjoyed it a lot. To be honest, I really can’t remember a thing, except that I had great laughs. Listing it here is a great reminder that I really need to go back to Wodehouse.
According to his own statement, Mr. Mulliner never told a lie…

A fun self-description to end up with, when we started with a famous infamous Australian gang…

📚📚📚

Visit other chains here

📚📚📚

HAVE YOU READ AND ENJOYED ANY OF THESE BOOKS?
IF YOU HAVE CREATED A CHAIN,
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR LINK IN A COMMENT

Advertisement

Six degrees of separation: from truth to a notebook

#6Degrees

Six degrees of separation:
from truth to a notebook

This month, we are supposed to start with the last book on our last chain, so for me, that was this awesome nonfiction on Conan Doyle – which is kind of neat, as I’m also participating in Nonfiction November.

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).

See where it led me, on the other side of the pond!

Here are my own quirky rules:

1. Use your list of books on Goodreads
2. Take the first word of the title offered and find another title with that word in it
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

   Conan Doyle for the Defense  Aleppo Codex

  99 ways to tell a story   Ninety-three  

  Black Coffee    the-black-notebook

1. Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World’s Most Famous Detective Writer
VERDICT: A must read for all Sherlock Holmes’ fan. A well researched piece of literary critique.

2. The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession Faith and the International Pursuit of an Ancient Bible
Do you like a good mystery? Do you like “serious” books about things that actually happened? Do you have lots of commuting time? Well, these are three reasons you have to listen to this book!

3. 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style
 Raymond Queneau and his famous Exercices de Style (Exercises in Style) is a great representative of the Oulipo movement: he takes one short and simple event, and then retells that same thing in 99 different styles.
Matt Madden does a fantastic job by doing the exact same thing, but this time all in different variations with graphics and comics. Loved it! 

4. [ok, I kind of cheated, I went from ninety-9 to ninety-3)
Ninety-Three
Most people read Les Misérables (at best), but have you also red Ninety-Three?
The last of Victor Hugo’s novels, it is regarded by many including as his greatest work. I recently revisited it to study with one of my students. Really good!

5. Black Coffee: A Mystery Play in Three Acts (Hercule Poirot #7)

I actually just finished reading this one!
As you may know, I’m into a project of listening to all of Hercule Poirot’s stories and novels, for The Classics Club. I hit an obstacle when I got to #7:  it is listed as a play, and I could see it was indeed played during Agatha Christie’s lifetime, but I could find no audio recording, nor even any play on videos. I would end up each time on a novel adaptation of this play, by another author! Even though this adaptation is famous, I still wanted to read the original play. As usual, my public library managed to find the precious book!
I wonder why no one seems to play this any more, it was a lot of fun. It was neat to see Hercule Poirot in a play setting. The mystery was very satisfying, with obviously lots of red herrings and a good amount of potential guilty parties.
“The story concerns a physicist named Sir Claude Amory who has come up with a formula for an atom bomb (Black Coffee was written in 1934!). In the first act, Sir Claude is poisoned (in his coffee, naturally) and Hercule Poirot is called in to solve the case. He does so after many wonderful twists and turns in true Christie tradition.”

 

6. The Black Notebook

VERDICT: Great typical book by Modiano. The excellent translation lets you plunge in Modiano’s hazy labyrinth between past and present.

***

Visit other chains here

***

HAVE YOU READ AND ENJOYED ANY OF THESE BOOKS?

 

Six degrees of separation: from the screw to the deerstalker

#6Degrees

Six degrees of separation:
from the screw to the deerstalker

Yeah, feels good to be back!
I finally found time to join this meme – last time was in March.

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), I started with a famous classic and ended up with the detective with the deerstalker!

Will you dare follow me to track them?

Here are my own quirky rules:

1. Use your list of books on Goodreads
2. Take the first word of the title offered and find another title with that word in it
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

  The Turn of the Screw No Turning Back

  No Woods So Dark As These A Walk in the Woods

  The Most Beautiful Walk Conan Doyle for the Defense

1. The Turn of the Screw
A classic om my Classics Club TBR, I hope to read it soon!

2. No Turning Back
I did cheat a bit, from turn to turning

VERDICT: With a nice flow in the writing and rich diversity of genre and content, Dan Burns offers a captivating collection of short stories. A great invitation to lean forward and jump.

3. No Woods So Dark As These
VERDICT: Not your usual page-turner: Randall Silvis is great at mixing crime and metaphysics.

4. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
From my review (that was 10 years ago, and I was not writing a “verdict” back then!):
Bryson writes very well, he’s so funny and witty, while giving you great information at the same time, such as ecological, historical, and geological facts in this book.
NB: I did end up walking a bit on the Appalachian Trail!

5. The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris
From my review:
I really enjoyed very much his book, full not only of fun and personal anecdotes, but also rich in plenty of cultural, historical,  and literary references.
It really gives you the desire to pack and go, and follow him with his book as a guide, through the fun tours, well organized.
It reminded me that, as he says, the best walk is the one you make up yourself.

6. Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World’s Most Famous Detective Writer
VERDICT: A must read for all Sherlock Holmes’ fan. A well researched piece of literary critique.

***

Visit other chains here

***

HAVE YOU READ AND ENJOYED ANY OF THESE BOOKS?