It’s six degrees of separation for books. Created by Emma Chapman and Annabel Smith. Check out the rules if you want to play along.
This month the chain begins with The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. It appeared in my round-up of the best books for 2014, as did The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison.
The Empathy Exams is a collection of medical stories – unusual topic. But I have read another collection of medical stories – Louise Aronson’s A History of the Present Illness.
Aronson’s short stories are all linked, as are the stories in the book I’m currently reading, Fishbowl by Bradley Somer.
Fishbowl hinges on the fate of a certain character – a fish named Ian. Another book featuring an animal as a critical character is the beautiful Red Dog by Louis De Bernières (really, if you haven’t read this book, stop everything and get yourself a copy).
Red Dog is set in outback Australia, as is Carrie Tiffany’s Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living.
An important element of the story in Everyman’s Rules is a train, as it is in my final link to Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy’s classic – a fairly grim note to finish on!
A collection of medical stories does sound odd.
Odd but strangely entertaining…
Great chain! I really need to read Empathy Exams!
Great chain! I’ve only read a few books that made the various best of 2014 lists. I’m trying to catch up on that but I’m still a bit behind.
I haven’t read Red Dogs, but Birds with Wings by Bernieres is excellent.
The only other one of his I’ve read is Captain Corelli… He’s appearing at the upcoming Melbourne Writers Festival, so I’m hoping to get to hear him speak.
Captain Corelli was good, but Birds without Wings was really sad and touching.
Red Dog, what a tearjerker! I think The Empathy Exams is the most wonderful title. But I just can’t dig short story collections.