Six degrees of separation: from a child to a professor

Posted on December 3, 2022 by WordsAndPeace

Picture found at: https://www.melindatognini.com.au

#6Degrees

Six degrees of separation:
from a child to a professor

Time for another quirky variation on this meme.
It worked well this month, starting with a child and finishing with a professor, a nice life journey, isn’t it?

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 if you are stuck
5. To help you understand what I’m doing, you will find in orange the word that will be used in the following title, and in green the word used in the previous title

We are supposed to start from The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey.
At one point I think I considered reading it, but never did.

1. The Snow Goose, by Paul Gallico
I just discovered Gallico a few weeks ago, and was very impressed by this story.
See my thoughts here.

2. The Goose Fritz, by Sergei Lebedev
Yes, believe it or not, I did read another book with the word goosein the title!
VERDICT: Revisiting your past, discovering your deep identity. Not always a comfortable journey.
My full review is here, with a few quotes.

3. Oblivion, by Sergei Lebedev
I’m stuck with the title, so I’m going now to my favorite book by Lebedev.
VERDICT: Powerful, intense, and poetic evocation of Soviet prison camps. Reading like a detective story, it will haunt the reader and help him escape oblivion. Unforgettable.
My full English/French review with quotes, is here.

4. The Memory Police, by Yoko Ogawa
Hmm, I’m going to jump from Oblivion to its opposite, memory!
VERDICT: Eerie dystopian allegory on the beauty of our world, and how it could disappear if we don’t resist, keep our conscience awake, and our heart alive.
Check here why I loved it so much

5.The Housekeeper and the Professor, by Yoko Ogawa
I have no other interesting book with the word ‘police’ in the title, so I’m going with another book by Ogawa, very different in genre, but very good too.
This is such a beautiful, warm, and quiet book, short but rich with so many layers. Here are all my thoughts about it

6. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, by Simon Winchester.
Great book about books! Winchester is such an amazing nonfiction author!
“The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary — and literary history. “

So I started with a child and ended with a professor, like a life journey.

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Six degrees of separation: from a chef to a gorilla

Posted on November 5, 2022 by WordsAndPeace

Picture found at: https://www.melindatognini.com.au

#6Degrees

Six degrees of separation:
from a chef to a gorilla

Time for another quirky variation on this meme.
You may have heard about a man coming from a monkey, but how about starting with a chef and ending up with a gorilla? That’s the journey I propose to you today.

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:

We are supposed to start from The Naked Chef, by Jamie Oliver.
I have not read it.

1. Naked, by David Sedaris
This is the only book I have read with this word in the title!
It was funny, but I didn’t appreciate it as much as some others by Sedaris, maybe because a lot was about family stuff.

2. Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris
Well, with only word in the title, I’m stuck, so to keep going with my chain, I’m choosing my favorite book by Sedaris, the first one I read actually.
Hilarious essays as the author tries to adjust after moving to France.

3. Talk to Me: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Think, by James Vlahos
VERDICT: Extremely well-documented and up-to-date research, showing where civilization is heading to, through current technological advances.
My full review with quotes, is here.

4. How Do You Live?, by Yoshino Genzaburo
This is a Japanese classic (written in 1937) for middle graders.
VERDICT: Japanese variation on “Know Thyself”. Classic middle grade novel full of wisdom. If we were to apply all its advice, the world would definitely be a better place. The first step is to read the book!
Check here why I loved it so much

5. One Sip at a Time: Learning to Live in Provence, by Keith Van Sickle
Another funny book about France! The author has written a few others, also about his move to France.
VERDICT: Hilarious vignettes on adjusting to French living. Neat way of discovering real France!
My review contains a couple of funny passages.

6. The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate.
Applegate always impresses me a lot, in her so deep books for children.
And yes, Ivan is a gorilla.
I wrote a short review about it in this post.

So my chain of evolution today looks like a chef, to a French learner, to an A.I., to a Japanese kid, to a French expat, to a gorilla!
That’s more fun than Darwin’s, lol.

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Visit other chains here

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

Six degrees of separation: from scandals to pancakes

Posted on October 1, 2022 by WordsAndPeace

Picture found at: https://www.melindatognini.com.au

#6Degrees

Six degrees of separation:
from scandals to pancakes

Time for another quirky variation on this meme.
There’s really no common point between the type of scandal featured in the book we were supposed to start from, and pancakes, except that pancakes is comfort food, and sometimes it helps…

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
5. To help you understand what I’m doing, you will find in orange the word that will be used in the following title, and in green the word used in the previous title

Notes on a Scandal

1. Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout, by Philip Connors
My review with a few excerpts is here.

2. The Mystic of Fire and Light: St. Symeon the New Theologian, by George A. Maloney
This is a great and very accessible translation to Symeon’s (949-1022) hymns. My review with excerpts is here.

3. The Mirror and the Light, by Hilary Mantel
I am so glad I can honor this great author (1952-2022) through this post.

VERDICT: With her exquisite style, Hilary Mantel gives a magnificent end to her Cromwell trilogy. Another masterpiece.
My full review, with long excerpts, and links to my reviews of the first two books.

4. Dead‘s Man Mirror, by Agatha Christie

The volume contains actually three stories: “Dead Man’s Mirror”, “Murder in the Mews”, and “Triangle at Rhodes”.
These were not my favorites.

5. Living with a Dead Language: My Romance with Latin, by Ann Patty
I enjoyed this book a lot. Here are a few short thoughts on it.

6. Pancakes in Paris: Living the American Dream in France, by Craig Carlson

VERDICT: Eye-opening memoir of an American living his dream to open a restaurant in Paris. Meet the real France.
My full review with a few excerpts is here

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