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 Maggie O’Farrell’s new release (and already a best-seller), Land.
I’m tuning in to Maggie’s talk at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. One of the great things that came out of COVID was being granted online access to international writers festivals and author talks. One of the most memorable I attended was Matthew McConaughey talking about his book, Greenlights.
My review of Greenlights was very brief. There’s a few other books I’ve written one-line reviews for, including My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh.
I heard Moshfegh speak at the 2022 Melbourne Writers Festival about her strange fairytale, Lapvona. She wrote the novel as a way of understanding the death of her brother.
Akshi Singh wrote her book, In Defence of Leisure, also after experiencing the death of her brother.
In Defence of Leisure delves into the work of psychoanalyst, Marion Milner. Another book that uses the work of a real-life psychoanalyst (in this case, Jacques Lacan) is Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin.
I was completely seduced by the cover of Scaffolding. I have no problem buying a book for the cover, and did it most recently with Ellena Savage’s The Ruiners.
I went from author talks and brothers to psychoanalysts and book covers – where will other chains go? Link up below or post your link in the comments section.
Next month (September 5, 2026), start with your book group’s current selection (if you’re not in a book group, start with the book that you’re currently reading).
