We’re more than halfway through the year and Six in Six, hosted by Jo of The Book Jotter, is back again! I love taking part in this meme as I think it’s the perfect way to look back at our reading over the first six months of the year.
The idea of Six in Six is that we choose six categories (Jo has provided a list of suggestions or you can come up with new topics of your own if you prefer) and then fit six of the books or authors we’ve read this year into each category. It’s more difficult than it sounds, especially as I try not to use the same book in more than one category, but it’s always fun to do – and always a bit different as my reading tastes and patterns seem to change slightly each year.
Here is my 2022 Six in Six, with links to my reviews where available:
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Six authors I’ve read for the first time this year:
1. Janice Hallett (The Twyford Code)
2. Sophie Irwin (A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting)
3. Mathew West (The House of Footsteps)
4. Catriona McPherson (In Place of Fear)
5. Lianne Dillsworth (Theatre of Marvels)
6. Rosie Andrews (The Leviathan)
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The six oldest books I’ve read this year:
1. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (1722)
2. The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas, fils (1848)
3. Diary of a Pilgrimage by Jerome K. Jerome (1891)
4. The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie (1923)
5. The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie (1924)
6. Scarweather by Anthony Rolls (1934)
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Six books set in countries other than my own:
1. Fortune by Amanda Smyth (Trinidad)
2. Death in the Andamans by M.M. Kaye (Andaman Islands)
3. The Sunken Road by Ciarán McMenamin (Ireland)
4. Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo (Japan)
5. The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk (Turkey)
6. A Bad Business by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Russia)
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Six books about real people:
1. The Queen’s Lady by Joanna Hickson (Joan Vaux)
2. The Colour Storm by Damian Dibben (Giorgio Barbarelli or ‘Giorgione’)
3. The Stone Rose by Carol McGrath (Isabella of France)
4. The Rebel Daughter by Miranda Malins (Bridget Cromwell)
5. Booth by Karen Joy Fowler (The Booth family)
6. The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (Lyudmila Pavlichenko)
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Six books with living things in the title:
1. The White Hare by Jane Johnson
2. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
3. Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
4. Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper
5. The Reindeer Hunters by Lars Mytting
6. The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
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Six books read but not yet reviewed:
1. That Bonesetter Woman by Frances Quinn
2. Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
3. All the Broken Places by John Boyne
4. The Night Ship by Jess Kidd
5. Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead
6. The Magician by Colm Tóibín
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Have you read any of these books or authors this year? Will you be taking part in Six in Six?
She Reads Novels 
I love your living things in the title category. I have my six in six post nearly ready to go. I keep getting sidetracked by life!
Thanks! Sometimes six books just seem to fall neatly into one category and this year it was animals, birds and plants! I’ll look forward to seeing your post.
I attempted to read The Twyford Code, and I have The House of Footsteps and In Place of Fear in my stack. I read The Man in the Brown Suit but haven’t reviewed it yet. I read Booth but haven’t reviewed it yet (and have to say that your edition has a much nicer cover). I read The Eagle of the Ninth a long time ago, before my blog started. I read The Magician and my review is coming up soon, but I haven’t yet received my copy of The Night Ship. It’s not arriving until September.
I hope you enjoy The House of Footsteps and In Place of Fear – and The Night Ship, when your copy arrives. I’ll look forward to your reviews of those other books!
I’ve just finished my Six in Six post, it will be up tomorrow. Janice Hallett is on my list too (for The Appeal) and I also chose the category Books set in countries other than my own, but with all different books. It’s fun to see what everyone comes up with.
I’ll look out for your post. It’s always interesting to see which categories everyone chooses!
I’ve only read Diamond Eye, but I should have a go at this challenge too. I might choose slightly different categories from you, but this could be fun.
Yes, the great thing about Six in Six is that you can choose any categories you like and tailor the whole challenge towards your own reading.
I’m on the case!
Nicely done! I always like the way you come up with these things; I wouldn’t be able to do it so. You know I really liked The Magician, and I have The Night Ship to read later in the year.
Thanks! Sometimes I struggle to do this, but this year my books seemed to fall into categories quite easily. My review of The Magician should be ready soon – I didn’t like it as much as you did, but I still found it an interesting read.
I look forward to your review.
Thank you very much for joining in and spreading the word. Some more lovely categories for people to choose as well. I must get hold of that Fortune Hunting book I keep seeing it mentioned so often.
And thank you for hosting this again, Jo! I look forward to it every summer. The Fortune-Hunting book was very entertaining – I would highly recommend it!
Apart from the Christie titles (which I haven’t read) there’s the Susan Cooper book which you reviewed a few months ago which I hope to read this year. Annabel (of Annabookbel) is starting a read of the whole sequence in August so I’ll be starting from the beginning of the series again!
I hope you enjoy reading (or re-reading) the Susan Cooper books! I think you’ll find the last two particularly interesting as they’re set in Wales and have strong Arthurian elements.
Great reading and category choices as always, Helen! I particularly like your ‘ real people’ category, especially as I hope to read The Queen’s Lady later this year. 😊
Thanks! I look forward to Six in Six every year! I hope you enjoy The Queen’s Lady – I thought it was a great book.