It’s time for #6degrees. Start at the same place as other wonderful readers, add six books, and see where you end up.
This month we begin with Anne Tyler’s latest novel, Redhead By the Side of the Road. I haven’t read it but as soon as I think Tyler, my mind turns to the first book I read by her, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant – it was part of my high school English course.
Also read for school (but one that I very much enjoyed, unlike Dinner) was Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It remains my favourite of all of Shakespeare’s comedies.
My son is busy with reading his English texts, one of which is The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde. We’ve listened to a recorded radio performance of the play and I was reminded of how funny it is.
I love books that fall into the ‘British madcap farce’ category, including the hilarious Queen Lucia by E. F. Benson. Lucia’s ‘friendly’ rival, has a penchant for trends in spiritual health and much of the plot revolves around the characters dabbling in things not usually seen in English drawing rooms, such as yoga.
Seeking spiritual health reminds me of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love. I abandoned it part way through the ‘Pray’ section – it was all so self-obsessed, and I swore off Gilbert…. until I read The Signature of All Things, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I started with an author I feel indifferently about (against popular opinion), jumped to comedies, and finished with an author who didn’t convince me initially but made me change my mind. Where will other chains go? Link up below or post your link in the comments section.
Next month (March 6, 2021), we’ll start with a book I’m hoping will make the Stella Prize 2021 longlist – Phosphorescence by Julia Baird.
