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 Life of M by Rachel Cusk.
The last line of Life of M Last stunned me. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell also had a memorable last line – the frustration I felt reading it!
I first read Gone With the Wind when I was in high school, and watched the movie version a dozen times – I was obsessed with actress Vivien Leigh. Leigh was also in a movie version of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.
When I think Anna Karenina, my mind goes to a contemporary take on the story, the Australian mini series The Beautiful Lie (starring Sarah Snook – it’s outstanding), which in turn leads me to think about a movie I couldn’t fit into my Melbourne International Film Festival line-up this year, Clarissa. Clarissa is a contemporary version of Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.
Phew. That was a long link… My next is to Happiness and Love by Zoe Dubno, simply because it was the last post in which I mentioned Virginia Woolf.
Happiness and Love is written in a striking stream-of-consciousness style, as is Emma Cline’s Switzy.
The main character in Switzy is on a plane headed for Zurich. I flew to Zurich this year (brag!), and on the way I read Madeline Cash’s hilarious Lost Lambs.
I went from last lines and classics to some tenuous links – where will other chains go? Link up below or post your link in the comments section.
In recognition of Novellas in November (which I know lots of us participate in), next month (November 7, 2026) start with a novella that’s on your reading list.
A novella that’s on our reading list! That will be fun:)
I’ve read three of these books – that must be a first for me!
I’ve got Switzy on reserve at my library, but haven’t read any of your other choices either. Here’s mine: https://margaret21.com/2026/10/03/six-degrees-of-separation-from-life-of-m-to-raising-hare/
I tried… I really tried to read Life of M, but I failed, so I couldn’t get to that last line. That’s why my chain this time is DNF books! https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2026/10/03/tcls-6degrees-of-separation-for-october-3-2026-dnf-edition/
I remember being Gone With the Wind and Vivien Leigh-mad, too. Did you ever see Waterloo Bridge? She was stunningly beautiful in that film. I’ve been dithering about reading Anna Karenina – maybe watching the film is a better idea.
https://rosereadsnovels.wordpress.com/2026/10/03/six-degrees-of-separation-life-of-m-by-rachel-cusk/
I’m a fan of tenuous links particularly if they’re holiday related! Here’s my chain: https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/10/six-degrees-of-separation-life-of-m-to-the-nakano-thrift-shop/
Switzy is certainly one of the better reads from this year’s Booker longlist, a pity it didn’t make the cut. It deserves a wider audience I think.
My Six Degrees – https://bronasbooks.com/2026/10/03/six-degrees-of-separation-10/
Great to see Switzy on your list! I’ll have to start thinking which of the gazillion novellas I have lined up to start with
Yes, there ought not be any complaints about the starting book for November!
I was also obsessed with GWTW and Anna Karenina!! Good chain. https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpress.com/2026/10/03/six-degrees-of-separation-life-of-m/
What a great chain. I could have started with the first three but never even thought of that. Thanks for this.
Here is my list:
https://momobookblog.blogspot.com/2026/10/six-degrees-of-separation-life-of-m.html
I loved Vivien Leigh so much as a child, and really wanted to have auburn hair! Nice set of links. I’m afraid I’ll be a day or two late (as usual) with my chain, but I’ll be here!
My mother loved Vivien Leigh and took my sister and me to see Gone With the Wind in a proper theater when I was a teen so our first viewing wouldn’t be on TV. One of her biggest thrills was going to see Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier starring on Broadway in 1951 in a historic event where they alternated William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra and George Bernard Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra. It was THE ticket and I don’t know if she got to see both plays or just one. She had a Leigh scrapbook with a big Life Magazine article about it.
I think there must also have been a revival of the movie version of Caesar and Cleopatra because I remember seeing that with her too (but Caesar was played by Claude Rains, not Olivier).
It is very sad that there are drugs available now that would have helped Leigh and perhaps preserved her marriage to Olivier and/or her quality of life.
Anyway, here is my October chain: https://perfectretort.blogspot.com/2026/10/six-degrees-of-separation-from-life-of.html
Seeing GWTW in a theater from the era of it’s release is so important! I love reading that you got to do this AND see her on stage! I only go the film in the correct era of theater!
How amazing that your mother saw Leigh and Olivier perform! It seems there are few actors these days who do both theatre and film – I imagine it’s a whole different craft to do both.
I hear you on Gone With the Wind!
Can’t add to the linky but here’s my chain for this month:
https://portobellobookblog.com/2026/10/03/6degrees-of-separation-for-october-2026-from-life-of-m-by-rachel-cusk-to-the-jewel-keepers-by-sara-sheridan-booksky-%f0%9f%92%99%f0%9f%93%9a/
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I always love your creative links. Me? I go the easy way 😉
I’m all for easy!
I’ve had fun linking together various Rachels in my chain.
https://thinkaboutreading.wordpress.com/2026/10/03/six-degrees-of-separation-october-2026/
You flew to Zurich and you flew back again – a better option. RIP Esther Rantzen who didn’t go to Zurich
Yes, a return flight is the better option!
I didn’t know much about Esther Rantzen (and just did some research) – likewise, Australian states have had quite a long journey with voluntary assisted dying. It has been in place where I live for a few years now and I probably hear more about it than the average person because of my work, however, it is interesting to note that while people sign-up, only a portion of them ‘complete’. It seems that having the capacity, and knowing that you have control, is the comfort.
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What a good idea for links, this is what makes this so interesting – everyone goes off on completely different tracks!
https://justreadingabook.wordpress.com/2026/10/03/six-degrees-from-life-of-m/
A novella next month – that might be a challenge! My chain this month also has some tenuous links. https://maamej.wordpress.com/2026/10/10/six-degrees-from-life-of-m-to-the-fifth-season/
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I’m late at joining the party, but it’s always fun! https://smithereens.wordpress.com/2026/10/10/six-degrees-of-separation-october-2026-edition/
I’m late at joining the party, but it’s always fun! https://smithereens.wordpress.com/2026/10/10/six-degrees-of-separation-october-2026-edition/