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 Lynne Truss’s commentary on grammar, Eats, Shoots & Leaves.
I have a few grammar reference books on my shelf but my favourite is The Greatest Gatsby by Tohby Riddle (it’s a visual guide to grammar and was of great help to my kids when they were younger).
My next link is rather obvious – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Next up is Nick by Michael Farris Smith – released earlier this year, the novel imagines Nick Carraway’s life before Gatsby.
I’m unlikely to read Nick, but it did get me thinking about prequels and sequels written by other authors. Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley came to mind – I read it when it was released because I loved Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind (from memory Scarlett was terrible!).
Scarlett ends with the burning of a house. A burning house features in Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere.
Little Fires Everywhere starts with a climatic event and then rewinds to show how things lead to that point. R. O. Kwon uses the same technique in The Incendiaries.
Gatsby and fires sums up my chain this month. Where will other chains go? Link up below or post your link in the comments section.
Next month (August 7, 2021), we’ll start with a bestselling work of autobiographical fiction, Postcards From the Edge by Carrie Fisher.
