Six Degrees of Separation: We Have Always Lived in the Castle to The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best. The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links. I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz and A Good Book and a Cup of Tea hosted at Boondock Ramblings.

This month the starting point is Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, a book I have not and I am unlikely to read.

I did start reading The Sundial by Shirley Jackson a few years ago because it was a read along book for RIPXVI. I never did finish the book. 

The readalong book for this year's RIP (the 20th time the event has been held!!!) was Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia which I ended up sending back to the library unread

I had a few books set in Mexico I could have chosen but I ended up going with the book Texas by James Michener. I know that sentence seems strange but a large part of the state of Texas was once Mexican territory. 

If I think about the early days of Texas as we know it now then Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry comes to mind.

I need to avoid going down the bird route because I end up doing bird related books quite regularly, so instead I am choosing the last book I read by Larry McMurtry which is Comanche Moon.

The word moon leads me to The Girl who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen.

Next month, the starting point is a novella that you may read as part of this year’s Novellas in November – Seascraper by Benjamin Wood.


Will you be joining us?

Top Ten Tuesday: RIP XVI wrap up

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's is a Halloween freebie, so I have decided to do a round up of all the things that I did for RIPXVI, which ends on Halloween.

For those who don't know, RIP stands for Readers Imbibing Peril which has been going for 16 years, which is an eternity in blogging terms! It's a chance to dip into anything that might be Mystery, Suspense,Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror or Supernatural.


Here is what I have read and watched this year for RIPXVI.

I read....

The Black Swan of Paris by Karen Robards - I didn't intentially read this for RIPXVI but it certainly fit the criteria!

The Sundial by Shirley Jackson  - This is was the group read. I haven't finished it yet, but I will.

I watched....

What We Do in the Shadows - perfect Friday night viewing. We still need to finish the first season.

Squid Game  - Finished this series.

Birds of Prey: Harley Quinn - This was a bit of fun to watch.

Attack on Titan  - This an anime series that we were watching with my son. The final episodes start to be release in January next year.

Shaun of the Dead - This is one of those movies that I always stop and watch if I see it on when I am flicking through the channels.

I also did a Music A-Z post about spooky songs.

I've already started thinking about some ideas for next year!

This Week ..

I'm reading

I actually read a couple of books this week which is quite a surprise!!  I was partly able to do this because we took Monday off and then we were forced to have Tuesday off because we didn't have any power. What else can you do but read in that situation when there is no power and no internet?  

The first book I finished was Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop by Rebecca Raisin. It's not too early for Christmas books is it? As usual I love the way that Rebecca Raisin writes about food and books, and this was a fun read. My review for this one will be up in a couple of weeks.

Once I finished that book I was back on the familiar question of what should I read next. Because we had no internet, I couldn't download anything new to read and none of the 270 books that I already have downloaded on my Kindle were calling my name.

I was struggling until I happened to see my library books from last week and it was a case of decision made. I absolutely loved Viola Shipman's book The Heirloom Garden when I read it last year, so when I saw the library copy of The Summer Cottage by Viola Shipman sitting there that was it. This is inadvertly going to be the first of three books over the next few weeks. I was excited to be approved for a review copy of  The Secret of Snow which is out later this month. Then that same day I went to the library and The Clover Girls was there waiting for me! 

I also picked up The Fence by Meredith Jaffe and The Goblin Empire by Katherine Addison.

I am now reading The Sundial by Shirley Jackson, the readalong book for RIPXVI. I am three chapters in and I have to say it isn't exactly what I expected.

I'm watching

I mentioned RIPXVI and the two new series we started this week both easily fit for that challenge. On Friday night, we started watching the series of What We Do in the Shadows, mainly because we had just watched the latest available episode of What If? What We Do in the Shadows is a comedy/horror about a group of vampires that live in Brooklyn. It was a lot of fun. We'll see if we watch any more or not.

Speaking of horror, we started watching Squid Game last night. On Wikipedia this is classified as a "survival drama" series, but it is pretty scary as far as I can tell. The body count is certainly high. This is a big hit on Netflix right now and you can see why. Think The Hunger Games on steroids! Have you watched it?

Life

Other than a couple of days off as I mentioned above, it was a pretty normal week, whatever normal means. We are still in lockdown here, but we are now able to go 15kms from home and we are allowed to meet other people outdoors, so we can start to meet friends. We did that yesterday as some of our friends are moving to the country in a couple of weeks.

We are looking forward to having more freedoms, but I think we will still be a bit wary of venturing too far from home. There are definitely days when we are over being at home.

I did attend our second book club meeting on Zoom this weekend.  There were four of us in attendance this time and I enjoyed the conversation. We are doing a read-on-a-theme bookclub, and this month the theme was Spring. The next theme is "Books about books". So far I have thought of three different options, all of which were packed in a box which is in the shed, so I am going to have to come up with something else.

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Fruit Salad. Yummy! Yummy!

Music A-Z: R

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - October

Weekend Cooking: Fish Girl by Mirandi Riwoe

Six Degrees: The Lottery to The Good Wife of Bath

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Six Degrees of Separation: The Lottery to The Good Wife of Bath

Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best.  The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links.  I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz. 

The starting point for this month is a short story called The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. I found this story online and so, somewhat unusually, I have actually read this one. However, I wrote this post before I read it, so it didn't really colour my choices.

My first link is to The Sundial by Shirley Jackson. This is the readalong book for Readers Imbibing Peril XVI (RIPXVI) for this year. I did think about using RIP reads as my through theme but I ended up going in a more random direction.

My next link is to The Clockmakers Daughter by Kate Morton because the sundial is a way of telling the time as is a clock.

My link to the next book was supposed to be  the word daughter but when I went to look for the cover I realised that the book I was thinking of is actually called The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper (not the Cartographer's Daughter). I read this book earlier this year and loved it. So my connection can either be the possessive title or the fact that both books are historical fiction by Australian authors.

Let's get this chain back on track. My next choice is based on the fact that a cartographer is someone who draws maps, my next choice is The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks which I currently have out from the library.

The connection to my next choice is the word year. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks is a book that I read years ago and loved....well, except for the epilogue.

My final choice is The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks, because of the shared surname.

I have just realised that other than Shirley Jackson, these authors are all Australian, which wasn't deliberate. It just worked out that way, or maybe is reflecctive of my reading patterns.

Next month, our chain starts with What Are We Going Through by Sigrid Nunez.  I am looking forward to it!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Spring TBR list

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books on my Spring TBR List. 

The Last of the Apple Blossoms by Mary-Lou Stephens - This is going to be my book club book for this time. We are doing a read on the theme bookclub as opposed to having a specific book to read. The theme this time is Spring.

The Fossil Hunter by Tea Cooper - I loved The Cartographer's Secret when I read it earlier this year so I am looking forward to this one a lot.

Outback Secrets by Rachael Johns - Even when I wasn't reading at all, I would still read Rachael John's books so I am very much looking forward to this book.

Act Like It by Lucy Parker - Having loved Battle Royale when I read it a few weeks ago, I am definitely intending to go back and read the London Celebrities series.

The Sundial by Shirley Jackson - This is going to be the group read for RIP XVI and will also will be my first book by this author.

The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearlsey - Susanna Kearsley is one of my all time favourite authors so when there is a new book coming out which is then connected to my favourites of all her books of course I am going to read this one!

Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown - This is going to be the next Cook the Books selection. I have had this on my TBR list for many years so I am looking forward to finally reading it.

A Granite Springs Christmas by Maggie Christensen - Its not too early for Christmas books yet is it? I have read the first five books in this series and this is the next one!

Flora's Travelling Christmas Shop by Rebecca Raisin - Two Christmas books in a row!! I love the way that Rebecca Raisin writes about books, food and places so I am looking forward to this one.

Go Tell the Bees I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon  - How long have we been waiting for this book? My expectations aren't huge, unlike the size of the book, I have been invested in this series for so long there is no way I wouldn't read it.

Do you have any of these books on your list?

Top Ten Tuesday: By the numbers

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books with Numbers in the Title. 

I haven't done a TTT for a few months as I have been too busy at work to do the thinking and composing that is required for one of these posts, but this week I have time off so it seems like a good time to make the effort. When I started thinking about this topic, I was sure that I had already done a post with this theme but it turns out I might have only done this in my head. Recently I nearly did a Six Degrees of Separation post using numbers but decided against it for the same reason.

I am still going to go with my original idea which is a play on numbers rather than specifically in the title. Let's see how this go

Battle Royale by Lucy Parker - my first book by this author, but not the last. Also the first book in the Palace Insiders series.

Second Place by Rachel Cusk - I listened to Rachel Cusk's session at Melbourne Writers Festival. I am not sure that she is an author that I would read but it was interesting listening to her talk.

The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper - the third book that I gave a rating of 5/5 this year.

The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde - For obvious reasons.

The Life She Imagines by Maggie Christensen - The fifth book in the Granite Springs series.

The Time of Singing by Elizabeth Chadwick - the sixth book I read by Elizabeth Chadwich. She has a new book out which is why I had her on my mind. I also need to get back and read her as I am now a few books behind.

The Seven Sisters by Lucida Riley - Another obvious choice.

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff -  I know....cheating! but it starts with an 8 right?

Snowy Mountains Daughter by Alissa Callen - The ninth book I read this year. The next book in this series has recently been announced and I can't wait to read it!

The Sundial by Shirley Jackson - the tenth book on my kindle to read right now. This is the upcoming group read for RIP XVI.