Some books vanish from memory the moment you close them. Others stay—etched in your mind, revisited in thought, and recommended often. These are the books to keep. For this month’s Six Degrees of Separation, I followed a trail from The Safekeep through tales of love, loyalty, grudges, and more—only to return to where I began. Each book connects to the next through a shared word or theme, forming a full-circle chain of wondrous stories.

Books to Keep: A Chain of Wondrous Stories

The Safekeep —> The Keepers of the House —> The Dam Keeper —> Love Story —> The Rupa Book of Love Stories —> The Blue Umbrella —> The Grudge Keeper —> The Safekeep

The Safekeep —> The Keepers of the House

The Link: the word “keep”

As always, I am yet to read the starter book of this month’s SixDegrees, The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden.

From The Safekeep to The Keepers of the House, the shared word “keep” connects these titles. While one delves into hidden histories and secrets in 1960s Netherlands, the other explores family legacies in the American South. I read The Keepers of the House years ago and remember feeling kind of heartbroken as I reached the end. Both these books, aside from the word “keep,” seem to also center on the burdens—and the resilience—of those who are left to “keep” memory and place.

The Keepers of the House —> The Dam Keeper

The Link: the word “keep” again

While Shirley Ann Grau’s The Keepers of the House and The Dam Keeper do not have many other ties other than the word “keep” in their titles, both do share stories of family legacies. The Dam Keeper is a graphic novel based on a movie – from an Oscar-nominated animated short.

Though Shirley Ann Grau’s Pulitzer winning novel has no filmic ties, the TV show The Originals does have an episode titled The Keepers of the House!

The Dam Keeper —> Love Story

The Link: from movies to books

Moving from a story with visual roots to a book that was almost a cultural phenomenon—Love Story. Like The Dam Keeper, it started as a movie (not a book first!). Love Story began as a screenplay and the studio requested Segal to adapt the script into a novel as part of the film’s marketing campaign. The novel was published on Valentine’s Day 1970 while the movie was released in December that year. So the book did come first, technically, but was first conceptualized as a movie 🙂 (source).

Love Story —> The Rupa Book of Love Stories

The Link: love story

From one poignant love story to an entire anthology—The Rupa Book of Love Stories, edited by Ruskin Bond, offers a myriad set of magical tales of love from writers like Oscar Wilde, O’Henry, Anthony Hope and Guy de Maupassant.

The Rupa Book of Love Stories —> The Blue Umbrella

The Link: Ruskin Bond

Staying with Ruskin Bond, I next bring you The Blue Umbrella. I totally loved the book, and the movie made based on the book (book to movie in this case). It is a gem of a novella indeed. And beautifully captures childhood, community, and generosity.

The Blue Umbrella —> The Grudge Keeper

The Link: the concept of keeping and letting go, of grudges and such.

From umbrellas to grudges—both books gently examine the things we choose to carry. In Ruskin Bond’s The Blue Umbrella, it’s a symbol of wanting and sweetness. In The Grudge Keeper, it’s literal: a man collects villagers’ complaints until they become too heavy to bear. Mara Rockliff’s imaginative narrative and Eliza Wheeler’s stunning art make this poetic picture book magical, and into one that mirrors Ruskin Bond’s charm in a whimsical cultural setting.

The Grudge Keeper —> The Safekeep

The Link: the word “keep”

As always, I tried to come back full circle. This time, kept it simple with “keep”—linking The Grudge Keeper and The Safekeep. We could look at it more deeply and discover other links maybe, but for now, let us keep it simple with “keep!”

And Now, the End of This Post

Dear reader, do you have your own circle of books to keep—titles that won’t let go no matter how long it’s been since you read them? I’d love to hear your list or your take on this bookish chain. And if you haven’t tried the Six Degrees of Separation challenge before, join in with us this month!