Six degrees of separation: next in line

Posted on March 7, 2026 by WordsAndPeace

#6Degrees

Six degrees of separation:
next in line

This fun meme is hosted by
Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest
(see there the origin of the meme and how it works
– posted the first Saturday of every month)

Today, we are supposed to start from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
I did read it, about forty-five years ago (yes, 45). As far as I can remember, I loved it back then, but I don’t think I would enjoy a reread at this point. My reading tastes have changed a lot. And I’m not interested in watching the movie either.

If you are still with me after this counter-cultural introduction, tighten your belt for a crazy chain.
You are used to crazy keyword chains by me, but even this didn’t satisfy me today, so I decided to go really over the top crazy.
Ready?
Don’t even try to figure out the connections in this picture!

Click on the titles to access my reviews

Next in line

Next in line? All depends what line we are talking about!

So, I went to my Goodreads list of all the books I have read (2,655),
and searched through alphabetical order of authors.
Here is the book I gave 5 stars to after Emily Brontë:

1. Summer of Reckoning, by Marion Brunet
MY VERDICT:
Excellent and intense evocation of life and misery in a small French city.

Then, I searched through alphabetical order of title.
Here is the book I gave 5 stars to after Wuthering Heights:

2. The Year of My Life: A Translation of Issa’s Oraga Haru, by Kobayashi Issa
Loved it (read in 2022), but haven’t posted my numerous notes yet!

Then, I searched through chronological order of publication.
Here is the book I gave 5 stars to after 1847:

3. Moby-Dick or, The Whale, by Herman Melville (1851)
Alas, read it before blogging, and don’t have a review on it either.

And now for the last 3 titles, I looked at 5 star books
with the exact same number of pages – 464 pages
in the edition I had it listed.
I actually read 13 books with that exact number of pages.
I’m featuring here my 3 favorites:

4. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, by Erik Larson
From my short review: Highly recommended, not just for Chicagoans.

5. The Complete Chi’s Sweet Home, Part 2, by Kanata Konami
I devoured all this series.

6. Walking the Bones, by Randall Silvis
MY VERDICT:
Suspenseful multi-layered thriller, enriched by the depth of the characters and their personal stories. Randall Silvis is becoming one of my favorite latest discoveries.

Visit other chains here

HAVE YOU READ AND ENJOYED ANY OF THESE BOOKS?
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF MY CRAZY CHAIN?
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR LINK IN A COMMENT

Spell the month in books: October 2025

Posted on October 6, 2025 by WordsAndPeace

Spell the month in books:
October 2025
Click on the logo to join

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I discovered this meme thanks to Marianne @ Let’s read.
“The idea is to spell the month using the first letter of book titles”,
and there’s an accompanying theme.

October:
Trick or Treat – Books that you feel strongly about,
whether positively or negatively

So I am going with books I rated with 5 Eiffel Towers.
And I tried to pick books that few bloggers talk about.

Olga’s Egg
Calypso
Two Days Gone
On la trouvait plutôt jolie (English: The Read Notebook)
Between Two Sounds
L’Eté meurtrier
The Reunion

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Click on the covers to access my review

Olga’s Egg:
MY VERDICT:
The Fabergé eggs as you never knew them. Intriguing, lavish, fascinating. My best historical novel of the year.

Calypso:
MY VERDICT:
A unique sci-fi boundary-pushing verse epic: ancient myth meets futuristic engineering, challenging readers to navigate humanity’s choice between technological dominance and ecological stewardship.
A compelling reading experience I will not easily forget.

Two Days Gone:
MY VERDICT:
Super suspenseful thriller enriched with a great reflection on the art of writing and the connection between the author and his characters.

On la trouvait plutôt jolie, published in English as The Red Notebook!
Be careful, Antoine Laurain has also a book translated as The Red Notebook, but this is Michel Bussi. So weird choice of the translator/publisher.
Very power book, on Africans trying to migrate to France.
I posted a few thoughts here.

Between Two Sounds: Arvo Pärt’s Journey to His Musical Language:
MY VERDICT:
Masterful chronicle of Arvo Pärt’s journey, through meticulous research and striking monochromatic illustrations.

L’Eté meurtrier (published in English as One Deadly Summer)
Impressive author. Short Goodreads review

The Reunion:
Also excellent French author. Check out why

Have YOU read
or are YOU planning to read any of these ?
Should I ignore any?
Please leave the link to your own post,
so I can visit.

Six degrees of separation: from murder to music

Posted on October 5, 2024 by WordsAndPeace

#6Degrees

Six degrees of separation:
from darkness to murder

Quite a jump today: starting with a dark murder, and ending up in Arvo Pärt’s beautiful music!

Using my own rules for this fun meme hosted by Kate at Booksaremyfavouriteandbest
(see there the origin of the meme and how it works
– posted the first Saturday of every month).

Here are my own quirky rules:

1. Use your list of books on Goodreads
2. Connect the books through key words
5. To help you understand what I’m doing, you will find in orange the word that will be used in the following title, and in green the word used in the previous title

This time, we are supposed to start from
Long Island, by Colm Toibin

I haven’t read it, and have no intention to do so.

1. A Long Way Down, by Randall Silvis
MY VERDICT: Crime fiction and borderline metaphysical. Try Randall Silvis now!
Check my full review

2. 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style, by Matt Madden
MY VERDICT: superb twist on Exercices de style, by Raymond Queneau
Check my full review

3. Tell No Lies, by Tanya Anne Crosby
This is romantic suspense, which I usually don’t read.
I actually read this series because I was asked to translate it into French!
I ended up really liking the plot a lot. Very well done.
Check my short review

4. Lies Told in Silence, by M.K. Tod
MY VERDICT:
For lovers of historical novels, the best way of reading something special at the occasion of the anniversary of WWI is to grab the latest book by M. K. Tod. Full of true to life characters and details on this somber page of French history, it will make you relive these dreadful events as if you were there, in the company of a normal family in northern France.
Check my full review

5. Arvo Pärt: Out of Silence, Peter C. Bouteneff
Check my full review, with excerpts

6. Between Two Sounds: Arvo Pärt’s Journey to His Musical Language, by Joonas Sildre
MY VERDICT: Masterful chronicle of Arvo Pärt’s journey, through meticulous research and striking monochromatic illustrations.
Check my recent full review

So we started with murder and ended up with music!

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Visit other chains here

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