It’s the first Saturday of the month which means it’s time for another Six Degrees of Separation, hosted by Kate of Books are my Favourite and Best. The idea is that Kate chooses a book to use as a starting point and then we have to link it to six other books of our choice to form a chain. A book doesn’t have to be connected to all of the others on the list – only to the one next to it in the chain.
This month we’re starting with Sandwich by Catherine Newman, as usual a book I haven’t read. I don’t have any plans to read it, but here’s what it’s about:
For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family’s yearly escape. Their rustic beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, its quirky furniture and mismatched pots and pans greeted like old friends.
Now, sandwiched between her children who are adult enough to be fun but still young enough to need her, and her parents who are alive and healthy, Rocky wants to preserve this golden moment forever. This one precious week when everything is in balance; everything is in flux.
But every family has its secrets and hers is no exception.
With her body in open revolt and surprises invading her peaceful haven, the perfectly balanced seesaw of Rocky’s life is tipping towards change…
I wasn’t sure how to get started with this month’s chain. I seem to have used food-related links a few times lately, so wanted something different. Sandwich is being marketed as ‘The NYT bestseller from the author of Richard & Judy Book Club pick, We All Want Impossible Things’ so I looked to see which other books had been part of the Richard & Judy Book Club over the last year or two and noticed The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett (1). I love Hallett’s books, although I know they’re not for everyone. This one is about a cult led by a man who calls himself the Angel Gabriel and is written in the form of emails, letters, WhatsApp messages, and even excerpts from books and film scripts.
A simpler link next, using a shared word in the title. Less than Angels (2) was the first Barbara Pym novel I read and I enjoyed it, although I’ve since read others by her that I liked better. The book was published in 1955 and tells the story of a group of anthropology students at a London research centre. I read it for a Barbara Pym Reading Week hosted by two fellow bloggers in 2013.
Another author I tried for the first time thanks to an event hosted by a blogger was Margaret Kennedy – I read her The Constant Nymph (3) for a Reading Week a year later in 2014. Again, it wasn’t a favourite but I liked it enough to read more of her work. The ‘nymph’ of the title is Tessa, the daughter of Albert Sanger, a musician who lives in a chalet in the Tyrol with his large family known as ‘Sanger’s circus’.
Part of The Unicorn Hunt by Dorothy Dunnett (4) is also set in the Tyrol. This is the fifth book in Dunnett’s House of Niccolo series and follows the rise in fortunes of Nicholas de Fleury, whom we first meet as a dyer’s apprentice in 15th century Bruges. The series takes us all over Europe and Africa and I thoroughly enjoyed all eight books.
Big Sky by Kate Atkinson (5) is also number five in a series, in this case the Jackson Brodie series. In this book, private investigator Jackson is on the trail of a client’s cheating husband when he encounters a desperate man standing on the edge of a cliff. Like the others in the series, this one is more about the characters than the mystery or the crimes being committed, but I think that’s why I enjoy them so much. I still have the latest book in the series waiting to be read.
My final link is to another book by an author whose name is Kate. The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth (6) is the story of Dortchen Wild, a young woman who grows up next door to the Grimm family in the small German kingdom of Hessen-Cassel. The Grimms have two sons, Jakob and Wilhem, who of course become known as the Brothers Grimm. The novel explores how they collected their famous fairy tales and the role Dortchen may have played in this.
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And that’s my chain for December! My links have included: the Richard and Judy Book Club, the word ‘angels’, reading weeks, the Tyrol, the fifth book in a series and authors called Kate.
In January, we’ll be starting with the 2024 Booker Prize winner, Orbital by Samantha Harvey.
She Reads Novels 
Very nicely done. I have heard lots of good things about Barbara Pym books, but I’ve yet to read anything by her. Any suggestions for a starter book?
Excellent Women is her most popular book and probably a better place to start than the one I started with.
Thanks. I just put it on my Awesome Books wish list.
Getting started is often the trickiest bit, isn’t it. I took the easy way out.
Yes, it can be difficult to find that important first link!
I’ve read several of Kate Atkinson’s books but none of her Jackson Brodie series. Do I have to start at the beginning or can I jump in anywhere?
My 6Degrees list: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/12/6-degrees-of-separation-from-sandwich-to.html
The Jackson Brodie books all work as standalones, but if you read them in order you’ll get a better understanding of the backgrounds of the characters and the relationships between them.
The book club–that was a great idea! I love Barbara Pym!
Thanks! I still have a lot of Barbara Pym books left to read.
I love Kate Forsyth’s books!
Good chain this month!
Thanks! I’ve only read two of Kate Forsyth’s books and keep meaning to look for more.
Have you read Bitter Greens? That was the first one I read and it is my favourite.
Yes, Bitter Greens is the other Kate Forsyth book I’ve read! I loved that one too.
It’s a very eclectic book chain. I love it! And I really enjoyed that Barbara Pym novel. But then, I’ve enjoyed all the books by her that I’ve read. 😀
Thank you. I’ve only read a few Pym novels but have liked them all so far and will be reading more!
Oohhh, I look forward to hearing what you think of Death at the Sign of the Rook. I’ve started listening to the audiobook, and I’m beginning to think I should have picked up the print version instead.
I’m hoping to read it soon. I often struggle to concentrate on audiobooks, so it will be the print version for me!
I used to love Barbara Pym but haven’t read anything by her for ages, so thanks for the reminder. Two authors here I can’t get on with – Hallett and Dunnet, but you’ve definitely made me want to read the Kate Forsyth, so you’ve added at least 2 authors to my TBR!
I enjoyed both The Wild Girl and Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth, but her next few books didn’t seem to get published in the UK (she’s an Australian author) and I lost track of her after that. I still have a lot of Barbara Pym books left to read!
Sorry to be so late to comment. This is a clever chain with some authors I am not familiar with. I need to read something by Janice Hallett. I love Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie series; I read Big Sky recently and it was very good. Looking forward to reading the next one.
Tracy K at Bitter Tea and Mystery
I love Janice Hallett. Her first book, The Appeal, is probably a good one to start with, but they’re all great. And yes, I enjoyed Big Sky too! I must find time to read Death at the Sign of the Rook.