• Home
  • About
    • About Treefall Writing
    • About Melinda Tognini
    • Comments Policy
  • My Books
    • Many Hearts, One Voice
    • Tales From Our Home
    • Other Publications
  • Young Writers: Competitions
  • Work with Me
    • Workshops
    • Mentoring & critiquing
    • Oral history
    • Working in schools
  • Blog
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Family history
    • Young writers
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
    • About Treefall Writing
    • About Melinda Tognini
    • Comments Policy
  • My Books
    • Many Hearts, One Voice
    • Tales From Our Home
    • Other Publications
  • Young Writers: Competitions
  • Work with Me
    • Workshops
    • Mentoring & critiquing
    • Oral history
    • Working in schools
  • Blog
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Family history
    • Young writers
  • Contact
scroll down for more
Reviews & Recommendations

6 Degrees of Separation: From Trust to The School Teacher of Saint-Michel

Melinda Tognini February 5, 2023 No Comments
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Welcome back to the bookish version of Six Degrees of Separation, where Kate from booksaremyfavouriteandbest provides us with the title of a book, and we all link that to six other titles, depending on the weird and wonderful connections our brains decide to make.

This month, the starting book is Trust by Hernan Diaz; it is set in New York and has been described as “a literary puzzle about money, power, and intimacy”.

 

A book that got me thinking about trust and vulnerability is actually last month’s starting book Beach Read by Emily Henry, which led me to Book Lovers by the same author. On the face of them, they are both contemporary romances, which I picked up to read over the holiday break. However, I was intrigued to see that in each one, the protagonist had exited a relationship in which she didn’t feel safe enough to truly be herself.

I’m about to read an Australian contemporary romance on the recommendation of a friend—The Last Love Note by Emma Grey.

At the same time that I bought The Last Love Note, I also picked up Root and Branch: Essays on Inheritance by Eda Gunaydin, which I ordered several weeks before it was awarded the Victorian Premier’s Award (non-fiction category). I’m hoping it will offer some guidance for the form and structure of my own work-in-progress.

 

There has been so much good life writing coming of Australia in recent years. I’ve also been reading Sam Van Zweden’s Eating with My Mouth Open, which explores her (and our) relationship with food.

A book Van Zweden discusses is Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland, with a focus on Alice’s relationship with food as she travels down the rabbit hole.

On the subject of food, my wonderful friend Shannon Meyerkort recently invited me and several other writers around for dinner in honour of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of writers and journalists. We were asked to choose a book and bring a dish from that particular story. I opted for The School Teacher of Saint-Michel, which is set during the Second World War, and involves a town that sits on the border of occupied and free France. My dish was cherries and French Vanilla ice cream. To understand why, you’ll have to read the book!

 

So, this month I’ve traveled from 1920s/1930s New York to current day North Carolina, before heading to the other side of the world for Australian fiction and non-fiction before heading down the rabbit hole and popping up in wartime France.

Where will six degrees of separation lead you?

If you would like to know where it led others, then head over to booksaremyfavouriteandbest.

Next month’s starting book will be Passages by Gail Sheehy.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
  • Share This:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email
Previous 6 Degrees of Separation: From Beach Read to The Twelfth Raven
Next What’s On Your Heart? Spreading Love not Chocolate
Melinda Tognini

story-gatherer & mentor

Related Posts
6 Degrees of Separation: From Western Lane to Bedtime Story November 4, 2023
Podcasts Worth Listening To: Books and Writing May 21, 2023
6 Degrees of Separation: From Hydra to The Odyssey May 6, 2023

Your comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign-Up to my Monthly Newsletter

Sign up here to receive regular writing resources, research tips and creative prompts, as well as reading recommendations and MAD links. 

Privacy

Read my full privacy policy here , but essentially I promise to keep your information confidential and not pass on your details to any 3rd parties. Ever.

Blog Categories

  • Reading
    • Reading recommendations
    • 6 Degrees of Separation
    • Stories that matter
    • My story
    • Five Faves
    • Reading
  • Writing
    • Writing
    • Writing prompts
    • Writing quotes
    • Writing resources
    • Creating space for your story
    • Family History
    • Young Writers

What I’m Reading

goodreads

Australian Society of Authors

asa_logo_col

Interesting Blogs

  • speakupforthose
  • wwwssnaveenravi
  • Stephen McAlpine
  • Reid on Writing
  • My summer as a chaplain
  • Natasha Orme
  • Treefall Writing
  • Gove Peninsula Festival: Nhulunbuy East Arnhem Land
  • Memoir Notes
  • Write Note Reviews
  • isobelblackthorn.com
  • Theresa Kaminski
  • Booklength Project Group
  • Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer
  • Mirymom's Blog
  • Latest Comments

    Thanks, Margaret. I thought Chloe Hooper's book was particularly interesting because of the way she weaves different elements together, but just a note that it is essentially a recovery narrative, which may or may not be what you're looking given your daughter's experience x
    In 6 Degrees of Separation: From Western Lane to Bedtime Story
    An intriguing chain. I like the look of Between Water and the Night Sky. And the Chloe Hooper interests me because my daughter had exactly this to face when my son-in-law was dying. But each of these look interesting. Great post!
    In 6 Degrees of Separation: From Western Lane to Bedtime Story
    Thank you, Davida! I Am, I Am, I Am has become my favourite memoir as a collection of essays I have read to date. But yes, heartbreaking in some many different ways!
    In 6 Degrees of Separation: From Western Lane to Bedtime Story

    Recent Posts

    • Why I Write
    • 6 Degrees of Separation: From Western Lane to Bedtime Story
    • Creative Writing Prompts: Winter
    • Podcasts Worth Listening To: Books and Writing
    • 6 Degrees of Separation: From Hydra to The Odyssey
    • Creative Writing Prompts: Walking in Their Shoes

    Follow or Contact Melinda Tognini

    • Facebook
    • Email
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    Melinda Tognini (c) 2023 | Site by ICTECH