Six Degrees of Separation – from Ghost Cities to Fortune’s Folly

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. This month’s starting point is Ghost Cities by Siang Lu, a satirical novel that begins with a Chinese-Australian character being fired from his job at the Chinese consulate in Sydney because he misrepresented his language skills and only speaks English.

The Steam Whistle Theatre Company by Vivian French – 15/20 Books of Summer

The Pringle Players are down on their luck and decide to head north from London for new opportunities. Inspired by the train that will take them to the small market town of Uncaster, Pa Pringle gives the theatrical troupe a new name for their new venture: The Steam Whistle Theatre Company.  

Niccolò Rising by Dorothy Dunnett – 14/20 Books of Summer

It’s hard to know where to start with this dazzling book but, after a slow start, it became so compelling I had to switch from the leisurely pace of the audiobook to a trusty paperback. That also helped with the typically Dunnett vast array of characters, as the actual book has a proper list of those involved, most of whom are “recorded in history,” as is noted a bit smugly. Her best known series, the Lymond Chronicles, is set during the 16th century. In Niccolò Rising, which turned out to be book one of eight, she sets the scene in 1460 and her hero is not a member of the landed gentry like Francis Crawford but a lowly 18-year-old apprentice for a Bruges dyer. 

July 2025 Reading

The Kitchen Front and The Demon of Unrest turned out to be my favorite books this month and, as always, I enjoyed a Vera Stanhope mystery by Ann Cleeves. This detective has really grown on me. I listened to four audiobooks in July and am now in the middle of a very long one – 23 hours – which Hoopla will reclaim before I am done (luckily, I have an actual book as well).

Dear Miss Lake by AJ Pearce: a WWII story

In the fourth – and equally delightful as its predecessors – book about Emmy Lake, it is 1944, the war seems endless, and even the upbeat staff of Women’s Friend magazine are exhausted by the need for nonstop positive messaging:

Nightshade by Michael Connelly

Michael Connelly can’t write fast enough for me now that I have caught up with nearly every one of the 39 books he has written. So, of course, I was pleased to hear he was launching a new series that features Detective Stilwell (either the author deliberately did not give him a first name or I missed it), who exposed the sloppy work of a fellow detective. His reward – no support from Internal Affairs; lots of animosity from Rex Ahearn, said detective; and exile to a remote but beautiful part of Los Angeles County, Catalina Island. 

WWW Wednesday - August 13

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Spell the Month in Books - August

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews From the Stacks and occurs on or near the second Saturday of each month:

Apples Every Day by Grace Richardson (1965). This is a quirky boarding school story about Sheila, spending her first term at a progressive school in Canada where you only go to class if you are in the mood.