This month we start with the book we ended with in January. That was Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. The title refers to a region in Michigan where the protagonist and her family own a cherry orchard. first degree My first-degree entry is a no-brainer: Anton Checkhov’s probably best known play, The Cherry Orchard. second […]
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This month we start with Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, which was My Most Surprising Read of 2022. Zevin’s powerful novel made me consciously re-examine how I read fiction, and I began putting together a list of books that, at various times in my life, have changed the way I read fiction.
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This month we start with Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder, which was published in July 2023. The book details the life of writer Eileen O’Shaughnessy, who married George Orwell in 1936. Anna Funder uses newly discovered letters between Eileen and her best friend to get to know Orwell’s wife, who has been
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I missed last month’s 6 Degrees because I was still on vacation in early July. But I’m back for this month’s exercise, which begins with Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld: With her keen observations and trademark ability to bring complex women to life on the page, Sittenfeld explores the neurosis-inducing and heart-fluttering wonder of love,
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This month we start with Elizabeth Day’s exploration of friendship, Friendaholic. Here’s part of the Goodreads description of the book: “ As a society, there is a tendency to elevate romantic love. But what about friendships? Aren’t they just as – if not more – important? So why is it hard to find the right
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Before we get started on this month’s exercise, here’s a bonus offering: What Does the Term ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ Mean? Moving on, we start this month with a book on the Stella Prize 2023 shortlist – Hydra by Adriane Howell. From the Amazon description, I think this novel would be squarely in my wheelhouse:
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This month’s starting point is Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography, Born to Run. first degree Another autobiographical work with a title that begins with the word born is Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet. second degree Another book with the word blue in the title is Michael
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This month’s starting book was a best-selling self-help title in the seventies – Passages by Gail Sheehy, published in 1976. I read Passages before I started keeping a reading journal, so I can only estimate when I read it. It would have been in the mid 1980s, as my 40th birthday approached. I remember it
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This month we start with the book that topped the most ‘Best Books of 2022’ lists – Trust by Hernan Diaz. Since I had bought the book on vacation last July, this choice prompted me to read it. Trust is a brilliant novel comprising four sections that each offer a different viewpoint on the lives
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Beach Read by Emily Henry is this month’s starting point: “ A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters. Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews
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