A new year. A new decade. A new beginning? Before I start my first post of the year, I want to wish you all a happy new year! I hope 2020 will be a truly amazing year with lots of wonderful books. And what better way to start the new year than with my favourite bookish meme?
Six Degrees of Separation is hosted by Kate, who each month decides on a starting book, from which everyone builds a chain of six books. Feel free to join in and post your link here.
Starting point: Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This month we start with Daisy Jones & The Six, which is about sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll in the 70s. I haven’t actually read it, but it seems to have taken the blogging community by storm.
1. A Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
Strike, the protagonist in Robert Galbraith’s detective series, also has ties to the music scene; his father was a rock star and his mother a super groupie. Despite of being a detective, Strike possesses certain rock star qualities himself. Slightly overweight with boxer’s nose and pube-like hair, attractive women still seem to throw themselves at him en masse.
2. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
From one Strike to another. In Atlas Shrugged a group of business leaders go on strike to rebel against a useless, counterproductive government and business environment. This novel can challenge Trump, Brexit and Marmite, when it comes to dividing people and provoking extreme reactions. Besides from an impressive 34,749 one-star ratings on Goodreads, it also features on this list of most hated books of all times. I quite enjoyed it.
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Another book from the above mentioned list is Jane Eyre. Opposite Atlas Shrugged, I find it hard to see, why some readers would react so strongly against Jane Eyre (40,115 one-star ratings at Goodreads). Having said that, I must admit, it wasn’t really my cup of tea.
4. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca has several similarities to Jane Eyre. Both include the sinister presence of the first wife. Also, a deus ex machina fire is used in both novels to bring the story to a conclusion. It took me a couple of attempts to finish Rebecca. Young, naive, timid heroines falling in love with older men, just isn’t my kind of thing. I did find du Maurier’s writing, the building of tension and the mystery surrounding ‘the other woman’ exquisite, though.
5. My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Living in the shadow of someone else is always challenging. Rebecca is struggling to live up to the former wife of her husband. Korede in My Sister The Serial Killer is constantly being overshadowed by her younger, beautiful sister. Besides from being a fun and different read, this novel also demonstrates the extent of African family loyalty – for good and for bad.
6. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
My Sister The Serial Killer takes place in Nigeria. I’ve always been fascinated by Africa and enjoyed the setting immensely. Another great read from the African continent is The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, which is the first book in the series about the wonderful Mma Ramotswe. The many quirks inherent in the African culture are entertaining and endearing to read about, but they would probably drive me crazy, if I lived there for an extended period of time.
This was my first Six Degrees of the decade. Where did your chain take you?
I enjoyed your chain. I hadn’t thought about Rebecca in the context of Jane Eyre. I really dislike the Brontรซ book but am a fan of du Maurier’s novel. I think because she doesn’t try to make Maxim likeable. Rochester is horrible but at the same time romanticised, with Jane placed in the role of saviour of the emotionally crippled man-child. Du Maurier’s focus, to me, seems to be on the new Mrs de Winter overcoming her juvenile weakness to save herself.
You’ve reminded me that I need to read more in the Cormoran Strike series. I enjoyed the first one.
Glad you enjoyed it! I liked Rebecca so much more than Jane Eyre, but I did think there were similarities. It is true, that Maxim wasn’t meant to be likeable and that there was a lot of character development in the protagonist in Rebecca. But it did bother me, that Maxim wasn’t keen on that change and she just loved him unconditionally. Anyway, I got along well with du Maurier’s writing and definitely mean to try some of her other novels.
I have enjoyed all of the books about Cormoran Strike so far. Highly recommended!
Yes, that’s true that he wasn’t at all keen on the change in his new wife. He’s symbolic of many men of his generation in that, I think! So many of them must have thought they were getting someone biddable only to discover a living, breathing person. Du Maurier is magnificent. And I’ll get cracking on Strike!
You are probably right. I just think it says something about a person if he/she prefers the company of someone, who barely speaks and never contradicts. Or perhaps she just made for a nice change relative to Rebecca. Thanks so much for stopping by, I love to hear other people’s views!
Interesting chain. I didn’t like the Ayn Rand, I did like the Bronte, and I found the Alexander McCall Smith books to be… boring, but hey – that’s what makes life interesting, right? We can agree to disagree!
Hehe, absolutely true. It would be boring, if we all loved the same books. I can certainly see, why people don’t like Ayn Rand. I read Atlas Shrugged at a very young age – I might even have a different opnion, if I read it today!
Great chain! Love that link between one-star reviews! ๐ Happy new year, Stargazer, Happy New Decade! ๐พ
Haha, yes the one-star review link was a different one ๐. Happy new year and decade to you too!
Great selections! I hope you have an excellent reading year ahead of you! ๐
Thanks, and you!๐
I’m not a huge fan of Jane Eyre but I can’t say I hate it. Happy 2020 reading!
No, I didn’t hate it either, I don’t know what triggered this strong aversion in some people against poor Jane Eyre. Happy 2020 reading to you as well!
Great chain! Haha – you didn’t do a brilliant job of selling me on Atlas Shrugged, I must admit, with all those 1-star reviews! But I’m shocked to my socks to know Jane Eyre has so many!! It’s not my favourite classic, but I can’t imagine anyone giving it 1 star – must be kids who’ve been forced to read it in schoool, I bet. And I love the link from the serial killer book to the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency… ๐
Thanks! I was very surprised about Jane Eyre as well. You might be right about school children. Or perhaps some people expect something very different (more like a classic fairytale romance?) and the novel fails to meet their expectations. Haha, yes, you never know where these links take you, sometimes they just materialise of their own accord ๐
Your links are pretty creative! Thanks for sharing them!
Thanks – and you’re welcome! I always have fun making the chains.
I particularly like your 4 -> 5 link. Super chain.
Thanks so much!
Cool links! I loved Rebecca. I had never heard about that Goodreads list, and can’t believe Jan Eyre is on it!
Thanks! I wouldn’t say, I loved Rebecca, but I ended up enjoying it. Strange about Jane Eyre, indeed.
34,749 one star ratings on Goodreads? That’s weirdly impressive ๐ I have a copy of Atlas Shrugged somewhere but have never felt compelled to read it…maybe you’ve just given me 34, 749 more reasons to put it off (even though you didn’t mind it!). All that’s aid, I can’t believe more people hate Jane Eyre :-O
Haha, sorry, I didn’t mean to put you off Atlas Shrugged, but it really is a marmite book. It has 121,720 five-star ratings of Goodreads, perhaps that helps to give a more balanced picture. With books like that (strong statements about philosophy, society and politics) in a way it is better to get one-star reviews than 2- or 3-star reviews. At least 1-star reviews indicate it made an impression and is unlikely to be forgotten, whereas 2-3 stars might indicate a lukewarm neither-here-nor-there impression.
This is a fun chain! I enjoyed the first Galbraith book and maybe I am unusual in loving Jane Eyre and Rebecca! My book group read the Ladies Detective Agency and some were hooked; I thought it somewhat dull but liked his writing, if that makes sense. Making a chain this month and reading others was a good distraction from my broken dishwasher: I really hate washing dishes so if I ignore them, they aren’t really waiting for me, right?
Aww, thanks ๐. I don’t think you are unusual at all loving Rebecca and Jane Eyre, they are both much loved classics. To be fair, only extremely popular books can manage to achieve such a high number of one-star ratings as Jane Eyre. Less popular books never even gain a reader base of that magnitude. I do see why some people find the Ladies Detective Agency books boring. They are rather slow with focus on the small details. But that is exactly, what I like about them.
Oh no, sorry to hear about the dishwasher, that is truly dull work. If I have to do something less interesting, I always listen to audiobooks as a reward. Today I started on The Dutch House, while sorting out the laundry.
I liked Jane Eyre and Rebecca, but couldn’t get into the Alexander Macall Smith series; the other books in your chain I haven’t read. I enjoyed how you connected them all.
Yeah, a few people have said the same reg. The Lady Detective series. Perhaps, I am slightly biased because I love Africa including Botswana, which has an amazing wild life. Glad you enjoyed!
Great chain of thought! I haven’t actually read any of these but like you I’ve seen Daisy Jones & The Six pop up everywhere last year. It’s not really my favorite scene but I’m still curious if it really is as wonderful as everyone says!
Thanks! ๐ From what I’ve read, I am not sure Daisy Jones is for me, but you are right, everyone seems to love it. If you decide to read it, I hope you will write a review.
Of course but like you I donโt feel an immense desire to get it asap and read it right away so you might have to wait a while ๐
Love how you got there at the end. It’s insane how we associate different books depending on our own experiences in life. I’ve always been intrigued by Rebecca and would love to try it out someday. Thanks for sharing! ๐
Yes, it’s interesting to see which associations a certain book gives to different readers. The chains tend to be very different. Rebecca is worth reading just for du Maurier’s writing. I also want to read The Birds (the story behind Alfred Hitchcock’s famous movie), I think that could be right up my street. You’re welcome, I always have fun doing these book chains.
Another fun one of these, Stargazer! I never understood the dislike of Jane Eyre either. The only thing I can imagine is itโs often required reading in middle and high school here in the US. Happy New Year to you too!
Yes, very true, there might very well be youngsters, who are forced to read it in school. I understand that not everyone loves it, but a one-star review is quite extreme.
I love this! Such a clever idea.
It is fun to do! Feel free to join in!
What a great chain! I love how you connected the featured book to Career of Evil! I haven’t yet read Rebecca, but I love that you connected it to your chain through Jane Eyre. My Sister The Serial Killer is another one I want to read. I like that you ended with The No. 1 Ladiesโ Detective Agency. It’s been ages since I last read a book in the series, but I enjoy it. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks! My Sister, The Serial Killer was good fun – terrible thing to say about such a topic, but it really was. I hope you enjoy it, if you decide to read it. Glad you enjoyed The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, a few others have said they found it a bit boring.
Very nice article! I enjoyed a lot Reading it. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much for stopping by! I am glad you enjoyed it! ๐
Oh, good first link! i love that you ended on a Precious Ramotswe book. A couple of years ago we went to South Africa and we thought long and hard about going to Gaborone just because of these books! We ended up doing something else but maybe next time.
I didn’t go to Gaborone either, but I did do some wonderful safaris in Botswana. To me Africa is such an amazing place, I hope you get the opportunity to go back one day. Thanks for stopping by!