It was Jo’s idea, six years ago now, and it’s become an annual event – mark the end of the first six months of the reading year by putting six books into each of six categories.
It’s not quite as simple as that sounds, but working out what book might go where is a lovely way of looking back.
I’ve already spotted Helen and Margaret posting their lists, and I am sure that there are – and there will be – others out there.
As usual, I’ve tweaked the categories to suit my reading style, and to make sure that this is a celebration of books I’m happy to remember.
And in the case of my last six, happy to be reading right now or very soon.
Here are my six sixes:
Six book by authors I know will never let me down
Lise Lillywhite by Margery Sharp
Love by Elizabeth Von Arnim
Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy
Together and Apart by Margaret Kennedy
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor
* * * * * * *
Six books holding stories of crime and intrigue
Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler
Danger Point by Patricia Wentworth
The Trespasser by Tana French
Six Green Bottles by Anne Hocking
Let the Dead Speak by Jane Casey
Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Croft
* * * * * * *
Six books published in the last year or so
Winter: A Seasonal Anthology
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola
Foxes Unearthed by Lucy Jones
Crimson and Bone by Marina Fiorato
* * * * * * *
Six books written by 20th century lady authors
A Place to Stand by Ann Bridge
Fidelity by Susan Glaspell
This Real Night by Rebecca West
The Priory by Dorothy Whipple
The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West
Crossriggs by Jane and Mary Findlater
* * * * * * *
Six books that pulled me back into the past
The Quincunx by Charles Palliser
A Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett
The Runaway by Elizabeth Anna Hart
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
The West Wind by Crosbie Garstin
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
* * * * * * *
Six books sitting on my bedside table
Marcella by Mary Augusta Ward
The Wild Air by Rebecca Mascull
A Secret Sisterhood by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney
The Wheel of Fortune by Susan Howatch
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Peculiar Ground by Lucy Hughes-Hallett
* * * * * * *
Beyond Eden Rock 
What a fun idea. I especially like your category of ‘Six book by authors I know will never let me down’. Elizabeth Taylor would be there for me too – The Soul of Kindness if we’re looking at books read in the first half of 2017.
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Thank you for joining in and spreading the word.
I see The Wild Air on many a list, must get this in my wish list.
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You’ve been reading some great books this year. I particularly like your final category – you have a lot to look forward to there!
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I love the categories you’ve chosen and it looks like you’ve been doing some great reading 🙂 I have also taken part in this meme again this year too (my post is scheduled for Tuesday).
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Ooh – I do love a good meme. I shall have to really stretch the truth with my post because I have read very few books this year malheureusement. Fortunately it is a rainy day today – perfect for blogging and reading. I haven’t read Thomas Hardy since school but I loved his work. Anthony Trollope is still on my to read list I am ashamed to admit. As I get older I lean more to reading crime for a more satisfying read – what does that say about me??? I haven’t heard of any of your authors you mention in this genre so that will be fun to follow up. I’ve reserved the Croft. I love historical novels too and Dorothy Dunnett has been recommended to me already by someone else. I really must follow that up. In the meantime I’ve order Rustication by Palliser because that sounded interesting too. The Bear and the Nightingale sounds really interesting…I am so influenced by a book’s cover so have chosen the copy from the Brisbane Library service as Moreton Bay’s cover didn’t appeal to me. Wild Air and Peculiar Ground are also on order. Thank you so much for introducing me to new books/authors.
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thanks for more great books to read. I love book lists.
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My first thought: what a fun idea!
My second though: I’ve only read 30 this year, so I can’t hit 36 if I tried
Haha. Book lists are always fun, though. Now that I think of it, your “six books on the bedside table” aren’t necessarily books you’ve read yet. Maybe I found a loophole!
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Please feel free to join in, even if you only post about six books. The idea bein its halfway, 6 months through our reading year.
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Love the categories you’ve chosen though I’m not familiar with a lot of the books you’ve mentioned. The Quincunx is one I’ve been meaning to read but never felt the time was right. I’m also a participant in this meme.
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