Six Degrees of Separation, from the Sea to the Mountains

Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme, now hosted by Kate @ books are my favorite and best.

On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

This month we start from yet another book I haven't read:


0. Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
Summary:

Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach and scrape for shrimp, spending the afternoon selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street, and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream. When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas? Haunting and timeless, this is the story of a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.​​​​ Here's the Goodreads summary.

I have thought of two directions to build this month's chain. I can use seascraper, and link it to shell seeker - a rather lame connection to Rosamund Pilcher's The Shell Seekers - or I could use the horse-drawn cart to lead me to another book. And I shamelessly use the latter - a book I have used just last month. In my defense, I think it's a good choice, and this is going to be a good chain; I promise!

1. The Thursday's Child by Noel Streatfeild

I have mentioned in last month's post, about another kind of horse-drawn vehicle, that is a canal boat. In this case, the horse walked on the bank, while a rope from the canal boat was attached to the horse. This book's main character spent some times in this canal boat. You can read more about the book here. She was called Margaret Thursday, an orphan who's named after the days of week she was born.

This reminded me of an author whose name was associated with the days of the week.

2. The Third Eye by T. Lobsang Rampa

T. Lobsang Rampa (T for Tuesday) is pen name of Cyril Henry Hoskin, an English author who penned The Third Eye, a story about a fictional lama in Tibet. I have read it pre-blogging era, so here is the Goodreads summary if you are interested, and as there was a dispute over the authenticity of the author, here's my post about it. And speaking about Tibet, here's my most favorite nonfiction so far...

3. Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer

Heinrich Harrer, the writer of Seven Years in Tibet - a remarkable book, by the way, here's my review - was a renowned mountaineer. And that reminded me of this book, with 'mountaineer' in the title..

4. The Dead Mountaineer's Inn by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky

This book is a locked room mystery with a touch of science fiction. It was set in a remote inn and ski chalet. The inn had been used by mountaineers in the past - hence the name. The whole story is eccentric, yet entertaining. Here's my review if you're interested.

5. The Swiss Summer

From a remote chalet in Russia, I bring you cross country, to another remote chalet in Switzerland. What a refreshing experience to be brought to these mountainous remote chalet through books! And this one would be a contender for my most favorite reading of the year. Many people found it dull, perhaps, but I loved it, as was reflected in my review. The heroine found unexpected friends while staying on Swiss Alps, and that would be the key to connect us to my last link...

6. In the Mountains by Elizabeth von Arnim

This is a less known of Elizabeth von Arnim's books. Perhaps, it's because the first half is rather boring and uneventful. A woman found peace on the Swiss Alps, away from troubles in the real world. It sounds boring, indeed. But wait until two women who were lost on the mountain, appeared on the scene. And that's how our heroine found unexpected friends on the Swiss Alps. Though it's not von Arnim's best, it's a refreshing and entertaining read. I reviewed it here.


And so, from the sea, I have brought us to the mountains. How do you like it? ;)

Have you read those books? If you do #sixdegree too, how it works out for you this time?