Six Degrees of Separation is a meme hosted by Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best. It works like this: each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six others to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the titles on the list, only to the one next to it in the chain.
This month we’re starting with Benjamin Wood’s beautifully expressed novella, Seascraper, the buddy read for this year’s Novellas in November hosted by Cathy and Rebecca.
Seascraper was one of two longlist wishes that came true from my Booker wishlist. The other was Andrew Miller’s The Land in Winter which made it onto the shortlist
One of the characters in Miller’s novel worked as a dancer in Bristol where Tessa Hadley’s The Party is set
I’m linking by title to Vesna Main’s Waiting for a Party in which the titular party is for a 102-year-old
Editor and author Diana Athill died a few months too soon to celebrate her 102nd. She was 100 years old when her memoir Alive, Alive Oh! was published.
Athill writes entertainingly about the publishing world as does Johanna Rakoff in her memoir My Salinger Year.
J.D. Salinger was famously reclusive as is Thomas Pynchon who published Shadow Ticket this year, aged 88.
This month’s Six Degrees has taken me from a novella I would have loved to have seen win the Booker to one that I’m unlikely to read. Part of the fun of this meme is comparing the very different routes other bloggers take from each month’s starting point. If you’re interested, you can follow it on Twitter with the hashtag #6Degrees, check out the links over at Kate’s blog or perhaps even join in.
Discover more from A Life in Books
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Yoiur chain is as cleverly-linked as usual … though I haven’t read your final four links. I wonder how long I’ll resist the urge to join in again? (not long!)
Thanks you. Maybe next month? As you know I’m a self-confessed 6 Degrees addict…
I’m missing it. But not quite enough to re-join yet.
That Diana Athill link is clever, and enjoyably obscure
Thank you! I was very fond of her in that way you can be even when you don’t know someone.
I’m hoping to read The Land in Winter soon! I’ve enjoyed other Andrew Miller books so I’m looking forward to it.
A great winter read!
I haven’t read any books in your chain but am interested in Alive, Alive Oh, and The Party. Parties and people living to great ages make so many possibilities for a good story.
Diana Athill’s memoirs are so interesting and not just from the publishing perspective, although that’s fascinating. She led quite a life!
It sounds as if she not only lives an interesting life but could write interestingly about it!
Absolutely!
This chain is so well put together with some really good books. I have read the Miller and Hadley books. Have Wood’s book on order in my local library. Diane and Joanne’s books particularly appeal.
Thanks, Lucy! Both have that publisher insider draw.
Nice work! Loved Seascraper
Thank you. Me, too. Such an atmospheric piece of fiction.
Such great links Susan, and very interesting picks. I especially loved the Main-Athill link and the Salinger-Pynchon!
Thank you, Mallika. I bet there are many more literary recluses.
Emily dickinson is counted among them I think!
The Diana Athill sounds great and I will read the Andrew Miller, it’s such a lovely title!
Highly recommend the Athill and the Miller’s perfect for this time of the year.
I’ve not managed to read a Pynchon all the way yet – I remember starting Vineland, but I know I never finished it. Love the Athill link too.
I got stuck early on in Gravity’s Rainbow. Athill was a national literary treasure!
I haven’t read these, but enjoyed your connections.
https://wordsandpeace.com/2025/12/06/six-degrees-of-separation-benjamin/
Thank you!
The Athill and Rakoff both interest me. I remember when the Rakoff came out, and passed me by. I have read a short story by Hadley and would like to read more of her.
The Party was Hadley’s first novella and I enjoyed it much more than her full length novels. I’m moving on to her short stories next.
Oh, very nice chain. I don’t know any of these books, except for our starter!
Thank you, Davida.
Lovely chain Susan and you have reminded me that I need to get a copy of Shadow Ticket!
Thanks, Cathy. I have to admit I’ve not managed to finish a Pynchon!
At least you’ve tried, I’ve never read him! The premise of this new one appeals though.
Urged on by my partner who loved the ones he read. We’re not compatible on that point!
I love the Bristol connection, and I’m always happy to see Diana Athill pop up in any bookish conversation!
She was a fascinating character, wasn’t she. A fine writer, too.