From “Born to Run: An Autobiography” by Bruce Springsteen to “Daisy Jones & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

This is a monthly link-up hosted by KateW at Books Are My Favourite and Best. Each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the other books on the list, only to the one next to it in the chain. The rules are:

• Link the books together in any way you like.
• Provide a link in your post to the meme at Books are My Favourite and Best.
• Share these rules in your post.
• Paste the link to your post in the comments on Kate’s post and/or the Linky Tool on that post.
• Invite your blog readers to join in and paste their links in the comments and/or the Linky Tool.
• Share you post on Twitter using the #6Degrees hash tag.
• Be nice! Visit and comment on other posts and/or retweet other #6Degrees posts.

THANKS FOR PLAYING!

This month we start with “Born to Run: An Autobiography” by Bruce Springsteen!

This month (April 1, 2023), the chain begins with “Born to Run: An Autobiography” by Bruce Springsteen. Now, I’ve always liked Springsteen, but that doesn’t mean I want to read his autobiography. In fact, I prefer to listen to his music than traipse through the details of his life. Even the blurb on Goodreads isn’t calling to me, which says, “Rarely has a performer told his own story with such force and sweep. Like many of his songs (“Thunder Road,” “Badlands,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “The River,” “Born in the U.S.A.,” “The Rising,” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” to name just a few), Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography is written with the lyricism of a singular songwriter and the wisdom of a man who has thought deeply about his experiences.” Well, good for Bruce, or as they call him “the Boss,” and I’m sure many of his devoted fans will love this book.

First Degree. 

Now normally, I wouldn’t make my first link to another autobiography, mostly because there are only three left that I haven’t used for this meme before. However, this one fits because not only is it an autobiography (well, more of a memoir, to be honest), but it also has a version of the word “run” in the title. Yes, I’m talking about “Running in the Family” by my favorite author, Michael Ondaatje. I also just realized that both these books have black & white photos on the cover, so that also links them. Plus, we know that Ondaatje started out writing poetry, and that has spilled over into his having a very lyrical writing style, and Springsteen writes music with lyrics! There, that makes a very good link!

Second Degree.

From a real-life autobiography/memoir, to a fictional biography/memoir, my next link is to the novel “Will” by Christopher Rush. This book is a fictional accounting of William Shakespeare’s life, as told by Shakespeare while on his death-bed. In the book, he’s telling his story to his solicitor, in order to write his last will and testament. (By the way, last month’s second degree also had to do with Shakespeare!) Obviously, anyone who is a reader or a writer will be fascinated by The Bard and his life, especially if you’re like me, and also have a love of the theater! And famously, we know that Shakespeare left his “second best bed” to his wife! I really didn’t care how accurate this was, I really enjoyed the concept and the writing.

Third Degree.

I’m a bit surprised that I haven’t used the next book in my chain before now, as it is one of my favorites. The book I’m referring to is “Tamburlaine Must Die” by Louise Walsh. It too is a fictional memoir, which is actually about Christopher Marlowe, the playwright who was both a contemporary and rival of Shakespeare. This novella was the first time I was exposed to the Scottish author Louise Welsh, and it has probably one of THE best opening lines of any book I’ve ever read. “I have four candles and one evening in which to write this account. Tomorrow I will lodge these papers with my last true friend. If I survive the day, they will light our pipes. But should I not return, he has instructions to secrete this chronicle where it will lie undiscovered for a long span, in the hope that when these pages are found, the age will be different and my words may be judged by honest eyes.”

Fourth Degree.

Going from a fictional memoir to a fictional diary/autobiography, my next link is to “The Lost Diary of M” by Paul Wolfe. This novel is supposed to be the diary of Mary Pinchot, an American painter who was murdered October 12, 1964, shot twice at close range, and whose death remains an unsolved mystery to this day. What makes her murder so significant is that she was also a woman who was rumored to have been President John F. Kennedy’s mistress prior to his assassination in 1963. To be totally honest, I wasn’t thrilled with this book. I didn’t find Wolfe’s portrayal of Pinchot to be sympathetic, and I found that it didn’t feel enough like a diary, either. But you know, that’s just me. Lots of people loved it.

Fifth Degree.

Another way you can tell a story that might be controversial or problematic, is through a police interrogation. That’s why my next link is to “The Magician’s Lie” by Greer Macallister. In this book, a female illusionist (something quite unique back in 1905) is suspected of murdering her husband after one of her shows. When Officer Holt captures her, he decides not to wait for his superior and question her himself. His questions and her answers make truly compelling reading. By the way, this novel was Macallister’s debut, and she got me from the very beginning; I’ve been a fan ever since. Mind you, I’m not reading her latest books as they’re in the fantasy genre, but if she ever goes back to literary fiction, I’ll be first in line!

Sixth Degree. 

This brought me to my final link, which is to another fictional way of telling a story, and that is a fictional documentary. This is exactly what “Daisy Jones and The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid is meant to be, the transcript of the interviews with a Rock & Roll Band to document their rise and fall. This is one of those “marmite” novels, that you either love or you totally hate. I’m in the former category, and it got me reading more books my TJR, but this one is still my favorite. And yes, I am watching the TV series. No, it isn’t an exact adaptation of the book; some changes were made to make it more screen-worthy. However, I’m absolutely digging it, especially because of the soundtrack of music from my youth, along original ones. I’m actually surprised that these new songs are so good; I truly didn’t think that could be pulled off, but they did! I also see that Spotify is listing these fictional characters as real artists with full albums! How mind-blowing is that?

There you have it – my chain of books for this month. So… the question is, does this last book connect in any way back to our starting novel?

Actually yes, it does. Rock & Roll is the connection – one fictional band and one real-life artist!

If you don’t know these books, I hope you’ll click on the links to my reviews and check them out!

 

If you decide to join in on this meme, I hope you’ll give me the link to your post in the comments below, and/or put your link on the linky page that Kate has on her blog for this meme.

Next month (May 6, 2023), we will start with Hydra by Adriane Howell.