Six Degrees of Separation

 

Hosted by Kate at Books Are My favourite and Best, the Six Degrees of Separation meme asks you to start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where you end up!

 

Murmur by Will Eaves is this months selection as the springboard for Six Degrees of Separation. What I know of Alan Turing is largely gleaned from ‘The Imitation Game’ (starring Benedict Cumberbatch), and I wouldn’t be averse to learning more about him, but honestly this is not something I will ever read, reviews give me the impression that its terribly pretentious

Of the previous winners of the Wellcome Prize, I found The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot fascinating. I read it as a member of an informal bookclub, and it was one of the first books I reviewed on Goodreads.

Speaking of immortality, I really enjoy reading urban fantasy, and the immortal Atticus O’Sullivan, along with his faithful Irish Wolfhound companion, Oberon, who features in the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne is one of my favourites. Beginning with Hounded, the series ended last year with book 9, Scourged.

From an Irish Druid with a dog, to an Irish cop (with no dog) brings us to Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty, book five of his gritty crime series set in Ireland during ‘The Troubles’ featuring Guarda Sean Duffy. In this instance, Duffy is investigating the death of a journalist in the grounds of Carrickfergus Castle.

 

Duffy enjoys a whisky now and then, which leads me to Whisky and Charlie by Annabel Smith (one of the original hosts of this meme). First published in Australia as ‘Whisky, Charlie, Foxtrot’ in 2012, Whiskey and Charlie is a moving and poignant novel, the story of identical twin brothers, Charlie and William (aka Whiskey) Ferns.

Newly published, The Place on Dalhousie is authored by another Australian writer, Melina Marchetta. It’s an adult contemporary fiction novel that loosely follows up on her popular young adults novels, Saving Francesca and The Piper’s Son, though it can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone. It begins when Rosie and Jimmy meet during a flood.

To bring the chain to a close, I decided to go with Deeper Water by Jessie Cole in which a flood also has life changing repercussions for the main character, Mema, a young woman awakening to the possibilities of love and life.

 

Since I hadn’t read the first book in the chain, I also decided that the rest should draw on books I had read.

 

Join in anytime during the month – Click here for the rules!