Six in Six was the idea of Jo, who used to blog at The Book Jotter and was something I joined in with every July, as I thought it was a good way to look back on the first six months of the year. We would choose six categories (Jo provided a list of suggestions but participants could come up with new topics of their own if they preferred) and then try to fit six books or authors we’d read from January-June into each category.

Although Jo is no longer blogging, some of us still wanted to take part in this and so far I’ve seen posts at In Another Era and Hopewell’s Public Library of Life. My attempt is below – some of the books could have fit more than one category, but I only wanted to use each book once.

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Six books set in countries other than my own

The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor (Italy/Vatican)
Strange Pictures by Uketsu (Japan)
The Rush by Beth Lewis (Canada)
Clear by Carys Davies (Scotland)
The Sirens by Emilia Hart (Australia)
Woman in Blue by Douglas Bruton (Netherlands)

Six books with a bird or animal in the title

The Little Sparrow Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd
The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis
Secrets of the Bees by Jane Johnson
The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham
We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida

Six novels with a touch of fantasy or the supernatural

The Morrigan by Kim Curran
The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley
Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay
Jennie by Paul Gallico
The Darkening Globe by Naomi Kelsey
The Secrets of the Rose by Nicola Cornick

Six books with a mystery to solve

Tea on Sunday by Lettice Cooper
Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz
The Edinburgh Murders by Catriona McPherson
Traitor’s Legacy by SJ Parris
A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor
A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie

Six books about real people

The Queen and the Countess by Anne O’Brien (Margaret of Anjou/Countess of Warwick)
Britain’s Greatest Private Detective by Nell Darby (Henry Slater)
Cleopatra by Natasha Solomons (Cleopatra)
The Cardinal by Alison Weir (Cardinal Wolsey)
That Dark Spring by Susannah Stapleton (Olive Branson)
Love, Sex & Frankenstein by Caroline Lea (Mary Shelley)

Six books I’ve read but still need to review:

The Portrait Artist by Dani Heywood-Lonsdale
The Greek House by Dinah Jefferies
The Game is Murder by Hazell Ward
A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
White Corridor by Christopher Fowler

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What do you think of my six sixes? Have you read any of these books? Did you enjoy your reading in the first six months of the year?

Unbelievably, 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 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 2024 Six in Six, with links to my reviews:

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Six books set in countries other than my own

1. Silence by Shūsaku Endō (Japan)
2. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (Malaysia)
3. Water Baby by Chioma Okereke (Nigeria)
4. Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein (Trinidad)
5. The Nightingale’s Castle by Sonia Velton (Hungary)
6. Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis (France)

Six classic crime books not by Agatha Christie

1. The Undetective by Bruce Graeme
2. Impact of Evidence by Carol Carnac
3. Opening Night by Ngaio Marsh
4. Fear Stalks the Village by Ethel Lina White
5. They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer
6. Deadly Duo by Margery Allingham

Six books with a touch of fantasy

1. The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
2. The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
3. Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
4. The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
5. Doomed Romances: Strange Tales of Uncanny Love by various authors
6. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

Six authors I’ve read for the first time this year

1. Akimitsu Takagi (The Noh Mask Murder)
2. Zadie Smith (The Fraud)
3. Alexander Lernet-Holenia (Count Luna)
4. Paul Gallico (Thomasina)
5. Neil Jordan (The Ballad of Lord Edward and Citizen Small)
6. Benjamin Myers (Cuddy)

Six books about real people

1. The Tower by Flora Carr (Mary, Queen of Scots)
2. The Household by Stacey Halls (Angela Burdett-Coutts)
3. The Black Count by Tom Reiss (General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas)
4. The Angel Makers by Patti McCracken (Zsuzsanna Fazekas)
5. Clairmont by Lesley McDowell (Claire Clairmont)
6. The Reckoning by Sharon Penman (Llewelyn ap Gruffydd and Ellen de Montfort)

Six book covers that catch the eye

1. The Beholders by Hester Musson
2. The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola
3. The Burial Plot by Elizabeth Macneal
4. The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron
5. The Puzzle Wood by Rosie Andrews
6. The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin

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Have you read any of these books or authors this year? Are you taking part in Six in Six?

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 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 2023 Six in Six, with links to my reviews where available:

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Six books set in a country other than my own:

1. Prize Women by Caroline Lea (Canada)
2. The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder (Norway)
3. Homecoming by Kate Morton (Australia)
4. Music in the Dark by Sally Magnusson (Scotland)
5. These Days by Lucy Caldwell (Ireland)
6. My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor (Italy)

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Six authors I’ve read for the first time this year:

1. Edgar Rice Burroughs (The Efficiency Expert)
2. Helen Scarlett (The Lodger)
3. Fiona McFarlane (The Sun Walks Down)
4. Geoffrey Household (Rogue Male)
5. Lucy Barker (The Other Side of Mrs Wood)
6. Isabelle Schuler (Lady MacBethad)

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Six authors I had read before this year:

1. Georgette Heyer (The Spanish Bride)
2. RF Delderfield (Farewell, the Tranquil Mind)
3. Hilary Mantel (The Giant, O’Brien)
4. Thomas Hardy (A Laodicean)
5. Dorothy B. Hughes (The So Blue Marble)
6. Joan Aiken (The Embroidered Sunset)

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Six classic mysteries:

1. The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo
2. The Black Spectacles by John Dickson Carr
3. Inquest by Henrietta Clandon
4. The Cat Saw Murder by Dolores Hitchens
5. Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie
6. Death of an Author by ECR Lorac

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Six books with a touch of myth or magic:

1. Savage Beasts by Rani Selvarajah
2. Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
3. Atalanta by Jennifer Saint
4. Once a Monster by Robert Dinsdale (review to follow)
5. Assassin’s Fate by Robin Hobb
6. The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay (review to follow)

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Six books I loved and haven’t mentioned yet:

1. The Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge
2. The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
3. Random Harvest by James Hilton
4. The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier
5. The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
6. The Empty World by D.E. Stevenson

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Have you read any of these books or authors this year? Will you be taking part in Six in Six?

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?

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 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.

Here is my 2021 Six in Six, with links to my reviews:

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Six Agatha Christie novels read for the Read Christie 2021 challenge

1. JANUARY – A story set in a grand house…The Body in the Library
2. FEBRUARY – A story featuring love…Sad Cypress
3. MARCH – A story featuring a society figure…Sparkling Cyanide
4. APRIL – A story set before WWII…Murder in Mesopotamia
5. MAY – A story featuring tea…A Pocket Full of Rye
6. JUNE – A story featuring a garden…Nemesis

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Six mysteries, thrillers or crime novels NOT by Agatha Christie

1. The Pact by Sharon Bolton
2. The Deadly Truth by Helen McCloy
3. The Royal Secret by Andrew Taylor
4. The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji
5. Hare Sitting Up by Michael Innes
6. Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

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Six non-fiction books read this year

1. Myself When Young by Daphne du Maurier
2. The Killer of the Princes in the Tower by MJ Trow
3. Live Alone and Like It by Marjorie Hillis
4. The Light Ages by Seb Falk
5. The Fall of the House of Byron by Emily Brand
6. The Haunting of Alma Fielding by Kate Summerscale

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Six books that took me on a tour of Europe

1. The Manuscript Found in Saragossa by Jan Potocki (SPAIN)
2. Ashes by Christopher de Vinck (BELGIUM)
3. Ariadne by Jennifer Saint (GREECE)
4. Still Life by Sarah Winman (ITALY)
5. The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley (IRELAND)
6. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles (FRANCE)

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Six books with titles connected to rivers, seas and storms

1. The Land Beyond the Sea by Sharon Penman
2. Islands of Mercy by Rose Tremain
3. A Net for Small Fishes by Lucy Jago
4. The Drowned City by KJ Maitland
5. River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay
6. The Wrecking Storm by Michael Ward

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Six books I’ve enjoyed reading this year but couldn’t fit into another category

1. Good by Stealth by Henrietta Clandon
2. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
3. China by Edward Rutherfurd
4. The Metal Heart by Caroline Lea
5. The Hardie Inheritance by Anne Melville
6. The Last Daughter by Nicola Cornick

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I was pleased to find that I’d read six non-fiction books so far this year – it’s not often that I’ve read enough to fill a whole category. However, I’m disappointed that I haven’t read six classics (apart from the classic crime). I’ll have to make up for that between now and December!

Have you taken part in Six in Six or are you planning to? Have you read any of the books I’ve mentioned?

We’re more than halfway through the year and I’m pleased to see that Six in Six, hosted by Jo of The Book Jotter, is back again! I love to take part in this as I think it’s the perfect way to reflect on 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 try to fit six of the books or authors you’ve read this year into each category. It’s not as easy as it sounds and I usually find that there’s a lot of overlap as some books could fit into more than one category, but it’s always fun to do.

Here is my 2020 Six in Six, with links to reviews where possible (I’m behind with reviews and will be posting the rest of them eventually).

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Six classic mysteries

1. Murder to Music by Margaret Newman
2. Answer in the Negative by Henrietta Hamilton
3. The Long Farewell by Michael Innes
4. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
5. Blood Upon the Snow by Hilda Lawrence
6. The Hollow by Agatha Christie

Six books set in a country other than my own:

1. The Missing Sister by Dinah Jefferies (Burma/Myanmar)
2. Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten (Russia)
3. A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende (Spain and Chile)
4. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies (Canada)
5. The Split by Sharon Bolton (South Georgia)
6. The House by the Sea by Louise Douglas (Italy)

Six books by authors new to me this year:

1. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
2. The Almanack by Martine Bailey
3. Mrs Whistler by Matthew Plampin
4. A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
5. Queen Lucia by EF Benson
6. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Six books about royalty:

1. Royal Flush by Margaret Irwin (Minette, sister of Charles II)
2. The Silken Rose by Carol McGrath (Eleanor of Provence)
3. The Great Matter Monologues by Thomas Crockett (Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Katherine of Aragon)
4. Blood Queen by Joanna Courtney (Macbeth and his wife Cora/Gruoch)
5. The Brothers York by Thomas Penn (Edward IV and Richard III)
6. The Irish Princess by Elizabeth Chadwick (Aoife, daughter of the King of Leinster)

Six books I’ve particularly enjoyed so far this year:

1. In a Dark Wood Wandering by Hella S Haasse
2. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
3. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie
4. The Expendable Man by Dorothy B Hughes
5. A Vision of Light by Judith Merkle Riley
6. Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau

Six pretty covers:

1. The Foundling by Stacey Halls
2. Requiem for a Knave by Laura Carlin
3. Becoming Belle by Nuala O’Connor

4. The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
5. The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey
6. The Lady of the Ravens by Joanna Hickson

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Have you read any of these? Are you taking part in this year’s Six in Six too?

We’re halfway through the year and I’m pleased to see that the Six in Six meme, hosted by Jo of The Book Jotter, is back again! I love to take part in this as I think it’s the perfect way to reflect on 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 try to fit six of the books or authors you’ve read this year into each category. It’s not as easy as it sounds and I usually find that there’s a lot of overlap as some books could fit into more than one category, but it’s always fun to do.

Here is my 2019 Six in Six, with links to reviews where possible (I’m behind with reviews and will be posting the rest of them eventually).

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Six classic crime novels

1. The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie
2. Death of a Doll by Hilda Lawrence
3. Who Killed Dick Whittington? by E and MA Radford
4. A Knife for Harry Dodd by George Bellairs
5. The Secret of High Eldersham by Miles Burton
6. And Death Came Too by Richard Hull

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Six books with a touch of fantasy

1. Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
2. The Binding by Bridget Collins
3. Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb
4. The Woman in the Lake by Nicola Cornick
5. The Alchemist of Lost Souls by Mary Lawrence
6. The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

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Six books that are not novels

1. The Mysterious Mr Quin by Agatha Christie (short stories)
2. Margaret Tudor by Melanie Clegg (non-fiction)
3. The Return of Mr Campion by Margery Allingham (short stories)
4. The Afterlife of King James IV by Keith John Coleman (non-fiction)
5. The Doll by Daphne du Maurier (short stories)
6. Amours de Voyage by Arthur Hugh Clough (narrative poem – I know this could be classed as a novel in verse, but I needed a sixth book!)

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Six books set in different countries

1. The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea (Iceland)
2. Cashelmara by Susan Howatch (Ireland)
3. Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh (India and Italy)
4. Casanova and the Faceless Woman by Olivier Barde-Cabuçon (France)
5. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See (Korea)
6. Death in Kenya by MM Kaye (Kenya)

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Six authors read for the first time this year

1. E Phillips Oppenheim (The Great Impersonation)
2. Sarah Moss (Bodies of Light)
3. John Buchan (The Thirty-Nine Steps)
4. Michelle Paver (Wakenhyrst)
5. Alex Reeve (The House on Half Moon Street)
6. Samantha Harvey (The Western Wind)

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Six of my favourite books so far this year

1. The Way to the Lantern by Audrey Erskine Lindop
2. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
3. The Devil’s Slave by Tracy Borman
4. Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
5. Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer
6. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

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Have you read any of these books? Will you be taking part in Six in Six this year too?