6 Degrees of Separation: from Older Nonfiction to a New Middle-Grade Adventure

Today’s post participates in #6DegreesofSeparation hosted by Kate at booksaremyfavouriteandbest. The gist is that everyone starts with the same book, then finds another book that relates to it somehow, then one that relates to the second, until you’ve got a chain of six additional books. It’s a twist on the theory that every person on earth can somehow be connected to any other person in six or fewer steps, and provides an opportunity to talk about random books we love (or don’t).

This month’s starting point is an interesting book choice: Eats, Shoots, & Leaves by Lynne Truss. I feel like I’ve known about this book nearly my whole life, and even though it’s a topic that interests me, this isn’t one I have read. I honestly don’t think I ever will read this book, but I still like the idea of it, and I am sure it will start an interesting book chain!

Starting Point: Eats, Shoots, & Leaves by Lynne Truss

Genre: Nonfiction

Have I Read It?: No

Synopsis: In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor Lynne Truss, gravely concerned about our current grammatical state, boldly defends proper punctuation. She proclaims, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. Using examples from literature, history, neighborhood signage, and her own imagination, Truss shows how meaning is shaped by commas and apostrophes, and the hilarious consequences of punctuation gone awry.

1. The Elements of Style by William Strunk & E.B. White

Genre: Nonfiction

I Read It In: 2020, I think (possibly 2019)

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Link to Previous Book: About grammar

2. Morning & Evening by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Genre: Nonfiction – Theology

I Read It In: 2016

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Link to Previous Book: Nonfiction books received as a gift

3. Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

Genre: Historical Literary Fiction (Modernism)

I Read It In: n/a

My Rating: n/a

Link to Previous Book: Both are books that a college professor highly recommended I read

4. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Genre: Nonfiction – History, Science, Space Exploration

I Read It In: DNF in 2020

My Rating: n/a

Link to Previous Book: Books I did not finish reading but want to go back to someday

5. A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Genre: YA Science Fiction

I Read It In: 2018

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Link to Previous Book: Math is a strong but peripheral topic, and a form of exploration features prominently in both

6. Stand on the Sky by Erin Bow

Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction

I Read It In: 2020

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Link to Previous Book: Both in the top ten most beautiful covers I have ever seen

I like seeing how books which initially appear unrelated are able to be connected. Visit booksaremyfavoriteandbest to see what books others have connected.

Have you read any of the books in this list? Any thoughts on them you would like to share?

Until the next chapter,

Jana