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 that Jessica has posted her list, 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 BOOKS FROM AUTHORS WHO HAVE NEVER LET ME DOWN

‘Framley Parsonage’ by Anthony Trollope
‘Britannia Mews’ by Margery Sharp
‘Rough-Hewn’ by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
‘The Forgotten Smile’ by Margaret Kennedy
‘Because of the Lockwoods’ by Dorothy Whipple
‘The Soul of Kindness’ by Elizabeth Taylor

* * * * *

SIX BOOKS THAT TOLD STORIES OF TIMES GONE BY

‘Queens’ Play’ by Dorothy Dunnett
‘Circe’ by Madeleine Miller
‘Green Dolphin Country’ by Elizabeth Goudge
‘The King’s General’ by Daphne Du Maurier
‘Heat and Dust’ by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
‘House of Gold’ by Natasha Solomons

* * * * *

SIX BOOKS WRITTEN BY WOMEN IN THE 20TH CENTURY

‘Fenny by Lettice Cooper
‘Flowers on the Grass’ by Monica Dickens
‘The Godwits Fly’ by Robin Hyde
‘Thank Heaven Fasting’ by E. M. Delafield
‘Another Part of the Forest’ by G. B. Stern
‘Poor Caroline’ by Winifred Holtby

* * * * *

SIX BOOKS THAT TOLD TALES OF CRIME AND INTRIGUE

‘The Chinese Shawl’ by Patricia Wentworth
‘The Wicked Cometh’ by Laura Carlin
‘The Dry’ by Jane Harper
‘A Strange Disappearance’ by Anna Katherine Green
‘The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’ by Stuart Turton
‘Fatal Inheritance’ by Rachel Rhys

* * * * *

SIX BOOKS THAT I CAN’T FIT INTO A CATEGORY

Grania: The Story of an Island’ by Emily Lawless
‘The Cliff House’ by Amanda Jennings
‘Beauty’s Hour’ by Olivia Shakespear
‘Girl With Dove’ by Sally Bayley
‘The Lady of the Basement Flat’ by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
‘Other People’s Money’ by Émile Gaboriau

* * * * *

SIX NEW BOOKS THAT CAME INTO THE HOUSE

‘City Folk and Country Folk’ by Sofia Khvoshchinskaya
‘The Artificial Silk Girl’ by Irmgard Keun
‘Putney’ by Sofka Zinovieff
‘The Revolution of the Moon’ by Andrea Camilleri
‘The Salt Path’ by Raynor Wynn
‘All The Perverse Angels’ by Sarah K Marr

* * * * *