February 6, 2021
#6Degrees of Separation: From Redhead By the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler to Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
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Quirky Characters!
#6Degrees of Separation: from Redhead By the Side of the Road to Anxious People.
#6Degrees is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. I’ve seen this meme around for a while and Davida’s posts at The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog inspired me to give it a try this year! Making connections between books is challenging, creative, and fun!
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 your post on Twitter using the #6Degrees hashtag.
- Be nice! Visit and comment on other posts and/or retweet other #6Degrees posts.
Play Along?
This month’s prompt starts with Redhead By the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler, and I’m thrilled because the story features a quirky character.
If you’ve followed my blog for long, you know how I absolutely adore an endearing quirky character! I cannot help myself in creating this chain with a theme of quirky characters! Because our chain begins with a male quirky character, I have attempted to use male characters in the chain with the exception of the last book in the chain which includes a cast of quirky characters.
Amazon Summary: “Micah Mortimer is a creature of habit. A self-employed tech experts and superintendent of his Baltimore apartment building, Micah seems content leading a steady, circumscribed life. But one day his routines are blown apart when his woman friend tells him she’s facing eviction, and a teenager shows up at Micah’s door claiming to be his son. These surprises, and the way they throw Micah’s meticulously organized life off-kilter, risk changing him forever.”
First Degree. From Redhead, I think of my next quirky male character, Harold Fry in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.
My Summary: “Harold Fry is recently retired and lives in a small English village with his wife. After a long marriage, they have their differences but have settled into an amicable, predictable, and manageable daily routine. One day, a letter arrives for Harold from a woman (former co worker) that he hasn’t heard from in twenty years. Queenie is writing from a hospice to say goodbye. In the process of mailing his reply, Harold decides that he must deliver his message in person and decides to walk. As Harold impulsively sets out on his quest, he figures out the logistics of the six hundred mile journey as he goes. On the way he meets interesting people, finds plenty of time to reflect back on his life, and confronts some unsettling thoughts and feelings that he has buried.” My review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry here.
Second Degree: Another story with an older quirky character is A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.
Goodreads Summary: “A grumpy yet lovable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moved in next door. Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time? Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.“
Third Degree: The next book with a quirky character is Frank in The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce.
My Summary: “Set in the 1980s on a run-down street in a forgotten suburb of London, there is a small indie music shop that is jam-packed with vinyl records of every kind. Frank, the shop’s owner, has a way of connecting his customers with the exact piece of music they never knew they needed, he welcomes the lonely, and he goes out of his way to help others. One ordinary day, a beautiful young woman in a green coat, Ilse Brauchmann, comes into his music shop and changes his life. Frank feels an attraction to her and yet he fears developing any closeness; in spite of his reservations, he begins to teach her about music and they develop a close friendship based on their common musical interests. Frank is terrified of his feelings for Ilse, yet he’s drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with eyes as black as vinyl. It’s complicated because Ilse has secrets and Frank has a past that haunts him. Readers find out about Frank’s life with his eccentric mother through flashbacks; however, Ilse remains mysterious. While Frank and Ilse contemplate the risks of a relationship, there are events in the community that threaten the livelihood of all the small, independent shops including Frank’s music shop. A further complication for Frank is the growing popularity of cassette tapes and CDs while Frank cherishes the world of vinyl.” My review of The Music Shop here.
Fourth Degree: Connecting to the strong theme of a quirky character is Arthur in The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg.
My Summary: “At first glance, Arthur shares certain things in common with Ove (A Man Called Ove): each is an older, mature character, each is a widower grieving the loss of a beloved wife, and each finds “family” in unexpected ways.
On one of Arthur’s routine trips to the cemetery to have lunch and conversation with his wife, he meets Maddy, a troubled teenage girl who hides in the cemetery to avoid school. She discovers that Arthur is a friendly, understanding, trustworthy, and positive person and gives dear Arthur the nickname “Truluv.” Arthur and Maddy develop a friendship and when Arthur’s nosy neighbor, Lucille, becomes involved, they discover the joys of ‘found family’.” My review of Arthur Truluv here.
Fifth Degree: Continuing the theme of a quirky character with another Arthur in The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick.
Goodreads Summary: “In this poignant and sparkling debut, a lovable widower embarks on a life-changing adventure. Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. He gets out of bed at precisely 7/30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same gray slacks and mustard sweater vest, waters his fern, Frederica, and heads out to his garden. But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam’s death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam’s possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he’s never seen before. What follows is a surprising and unforgettable odyssey that takes Arthur from London to Paris and as far as India in an epic quest to find out the truth about his wife’s secret life before they met–a journey that leads him to find hope, healing, and self-discovery in the most unexpected places. Featuring an unforgettable cast of characters with big hearts and irresistible flaws, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a curiously charming debut and a joyous celebration of life’s infinite possibilities.”
Sixth Degree: The final link in the chain is one more story of several quirky characters in Anxious People by Fredrik Backman.
My Summary: “Anxious People is the story of a bank robber and a group of hostages at an open house…a bunch of idiots, really (in the most endearing sense of the word). But the real story behind the circumstances is about a bridge and so much more.” My review of Anxious People here.
I hope you enjoyed this #6Degrees of Separation chain from Redhead By the Side of the Road to Anxious People!
The most striking thread that connects the stories in this chain is quirky characters (mostly male). I have read all these books can highly recommend them all!
I need to note that these are the first six books I thought to connect. Many stories are out there that could also fit this chain. Can you think of another title that features quirky characters?
ICYMI:
January #6Degrees of Separation post here.
If you have a February #6Degrees of Separation post, please leave a link in the comments!
QOTD!
Do you have ideas for creating your own chain?
What book would you add to this chain?
Have you read one of these stories?
Happy Reading Book Buddies!
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I’m linking up today with 
Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Perfect. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was short-listed for the Commonwealth Book Prize and long-listed for the Man Booker Prize and has been translated into thirty-six languages. Joyce was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards New Writer of the Year in 2012. She is also the author of the digital short story A Faraway Smell of Lemon and is the award-winning writer of more than thirty original afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4. Rachel Joyce lives with her family in Gloucestershire.
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