Six Degrees of Separation – From Postcards from the Edge to The Secret Letters #SixDegreesofSeparation #6Degrees

Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme hosted by Kate @ Books Are My Favourite and Best. The idea is to start with the book that Kate gives us and then create a chain of six books, each suggested by the one before…

I haven’t taken part in this meme for years, but thought I’d join in today as I don’t have enough of a book haul to post my usual Stacking The Shelves post.

This month Kate’s starter book is Postcards from the Edge, a work of autobiographical fiction by Carrie Fisher. I haven’t read it, but because I loved the audiobook of Wishful Drinking read by Carrie herself, I definitely want to try this one, preferably on audio if I can find it on Scribd.

Another work of autobiographical fiction that I intend to read/listen to sometime is David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. I did actually attempt it last year, but I my concentration wasn’t very good at the time, so I put it down for another occasion, plus it’s over 34 hours long on audio! 

I do love Dickens and have particularly enjoyed his books on audio which works much better for me especially if Martin Jarvis is reading them. I also loved his narration of The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. I borrowed it from the library a while back and then bought it recently in an audible members sale.

Another library audiobook I loved was The Lost Man by Jane Harper, a fantastic book set in the Australian Outback. Even though I listened to it first it’s actually the author’s third book, but it didn’t seem to matter as it was a standalone novel.

I do have a bad habit of reading the Maisie Dobbs series out of order, because I usually get my books from the library. I particularly enjoy the audiobooks, as Julie Teal’s narration has brought the characters to life so perfectly that it seems wrong to read the books instead of listen to them. Hence getting them from the library in the wrong order. It’s mostly been okay because the author regularly referred to previous cases and important life events, but it sometimes made me feel a bit irritated as it felt a bit like waffle to me.

A book that really did feel like waffle to me was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I know lots of people have raved about it, but it just felt very pretentious and contrived. I’m not sure if I threw it across the room or not, but just thinking about it now makes me feel like I want to! 😂

I’m not normally prone to throwing books across the room, especially when they’re ebooks on my device. However, sometimes characters just drive me up the wall, especially Rose in The Secret Letters by Catherine Law.

Starting with a work of autobiographical fiction via a memoir, to a Dickens, a children’s book, an Australian crime novel, the first book in a cosy mystery series,to a famous inspirational read and a historical fiction from 2016. Hope you enjoyed the trip! 😀

Next month (August 4, 2018), the starting book will be Second Place by Rachel Cusk