Thanks to Marelli at ElzaReads, I discovered the really cool six degrees of separation bookish meme!! I fell in love with that concept – six degrees of separation – from the first I heard of it years ago, or rather when I first saw the movie with that name featuring a young Will Smith (who is most possibly still persona non grata and hope this post doesn’t get impacted with that mention!!)

I got so excited about doing this that I went off on a couple different paths as I went from book to book. Since this is the first time I am joining in, here is more about it first

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.

Books can be linked in obvious ways – for example, books by the same authors, from the same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or, you may choose to link them in more personal ways: books you read on the same holiday, books given to you by a particular friend, books that remind you of a particular time in your life, or books you read for an online challenge.

A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the other books on the list, only to the ones next to them in the chain.

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From Beautiful Beaches to Bollywood and Beyond

Here is my first list that links Beaches to Bollywood in six degrees of separation! The links are within the themes or something about the main characters between each pair of books. I talk more about them below.

The Six Degrees: Beach Read –> By Any Other Name –> The Girls I’ve Been –> Nora Goes Off Script –> Decoy Girlfriend –> My So Called Bollywood Life –> More Than Just a Pretty Face

• Beach Read and By Any Other Name. The link – the two main characters in these romances! In Beach Read – romance writer and literary writer, while in By Any Other Name, pretty closely – romance editor and romance author. I am yet to read the first book, but enjoyed the second one in this pair.
• By Any Other Name and The Girls I’ve Been . The link – any other name (to remain spoiler free!). I am yet to read the second one in this pair but I know I will have to read it before I watch it on Netflix (apparently, it is coming soon and featuring Millie Bob Brown!)
• The Girls I’ve Been and Nora Goes Off Script. The link – the main character’s name is Nora in both books! I hope to read them both soon.
• Nora Goes Off Script and Decoy Girlfriend. The link – movies, yes, and the fact that the main characters stay together for reasons other than romance or love but can’t help falling in love with each other:) I read The Decoy Girlfriend a few months ago and did enjoy it thoroughly but failed to review it at the time. Maybe I will post mini-reviews of all these books in a future post!
• The Decoy Girlfriend and My So Called Bollywood Life. The link – Bollywood! Again, read the second book as well a while ago but completely missed reviewing it though I enjoyed this fun and cute read
• My So Called Bollywood Life and More Than Just a Pretty Face. The link – the main character has to pick between two people. Like with ‘My So…’, I read and enjoyed ‘More than..’ a couple of years ago but somehow never reviewed it.

From Beautiful Beaches to Libraries and Lost Things

Here is my second list linking Beaches to lost things in six degrees of separation! Here, I used words in the title to link the books. And the linking words are: Read | Water | Breath | Tiny | Things | Library

The Six Degrees: Beach Read –> How To Read Water –> Breathing Underwater –> Ten Tiny Breaths –> Tiny Beautiful Things –> The Library of Lost Things –> The Paris Library

• Beach Read and How To Read Water. The link – “read.” How to Read Water is now on my TBR and sounds like such an interesting book to read about reading water.
• How To Read Water and Breathing Underwater. The link – “water.” Breathing Underwater was one of my favorite reads of the year in 2021. A sweet, sweet teen/YA read.
• Breathing Underwater and Ten Tiny Breaths. The link – “breath.” I read Ten Tiny Breaths a few years ago and found myself surprised to love it as much as I did (hadn’t expected to initially).
• Ten Tiny Breaths and Tiny Beautiful Things. The link – “tiny.” Cheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things is a read I have dipped into earlier, and love that you can pick it up to read randomly anywhere in the book and feel instantly better.
• Tiny Beautiful Things and The Library of Lost Things. The link – “things.” The second book in this pair was one that left me with a whole library of feelings. Check out my review here
• The Library of Lost Things and The Paris Library. The link – “library.” The Paris Library was one of my favorite reads in 2021. Can’t help it, I always fall for books that are based on WWII (though they end up making me cry often) and also those about books and libraries, and this one had both!

And Now, the End of This Post

Dear reader, first, the usual question – have you read or heard about any of these books? Your thoughts on those you have read? Also, any recommendations for similar reads? And what do you think of these chains/degrees of separation? What would be on such a list/chain for you? Do let me know and do join in the fun as well at booksaremyfavouriteandbest. Plus, this meme is a monthly meme, so only 12 to do over the year. I am already planning the February one!