A half-year retrospective…
This fun meme is run by Jo of The Book Jotter. The idea is to look back over the first six months of the reading year, select six categories from the selection Jo provides or create your own categories, and then find six books you’ve read between January and June to fit each category. It’s my third time of joining in, and my hardest year yet, due to the huge reduction in my reading over the last few months. But, inspired by Jessica at The Bookworm Chronicles and stealing/adapting one or two of her categories, I’ve squeezed out Six in Six and avoided duplication. All the ones I’ve read are books I’d recommend… except one. But I won’t be so mean as to name and shame it, so it can bask temporarily in the glow of inclusion…
Six British Library Crime Classics
Still loving this series and hoping they go on doing it for ever, despite the damage to my TBR…
Six Books written by Scottish Authors
Just made it! I don’t seem to have read as much Scottish fiction this year, neither classic nor contemporary. But I mostly enjoyed the ones I did read…
The House with the Green Shutters
The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau
Six Anthologies
I acquired loads of anthologies of vintage stories last year – crime, horror and science fiction. Although I dipped in and out of them all last autumn and winter for my Tuesday short story posts, I finished and reviewed them all this year, so they count!
The Weird Tales of William Hope Hodgson
Six New Releases
I’d normally split this between crime and fiction but I haven’t read enough of either to find six I recommend! Must do better. However, combining all the new releases I’ve read of whatever genre allows me to come with a nice selection…
Six Great Classics
Thank goodness for classics – this is the one category where I’m actually spoiled for choice!
Six Added to the Wishlist
Ok, this is cheating a bit since I haven’t read these. But as the bard said, some rules are more honoured in the breach than the observance… 😉
* * * * * * * *
So that’s my six sixes, and they tell me it’s been a strange old year, in reading as in life! Jo gives us till the end of July to do our sixes, so if you haven’t already joined in you still have time – it’s a wonderful way to waste spend some time!
FictionFan's Book Reviews 
Thanks for the Red Joan reminder. I’d meant to add it to my own wishlist but had forgotten all about it.
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I was worn down to add it eventually by the sheer weight of glowing blog reviews!
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I’m struggling to feel inspired to wrote blog posts atm – this looks like the perfect way to (waste) spend some time!
By the by, I posted one of your questions for the latest CC meme today. Thanks for your contribution.
I, for one, am really struggling with one blog let alone two right now, so any and all outside help is appreciated 🙂
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I’m exactly the same, and these memes are a perfect way to fill up space and have a bit of fun at the same time.
Oh, good, I’m glad the suggestions were helpful! Haha, I’m glad you picked that one – the other two were much harder! I feel I may have been channelling my old English teacher… 😉
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I like the idea of taking stock of where you are halfway through the year, FIctionFan. I have to admit, I haven’t done nearly as good a job as you at doing that for myself. I’m so glad you’ve been sharing the British crime classics with us; it’s great that the BL (and other places, too!) are putting out some of the lesser-known authors who still did some great stuff.
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It was tricky this year – I kept coming up with categories and then only being able to find five books to fit them! I’d like to read some of the other vintage crime publishers some time, but the BL ones seem to keep me fully occupied. Not that I’m complaining! 😀
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A great way to look back over the last six months. (Now I’m wondering when the pandemic books will start to roll out. That might be another category in a couple years.)
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Hahaha, well, they’ll have to do without me! I’m still desperately trying to avoid all the Brexit books that Britain has been awash with for the last couple of years… 😀
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And six (amongst others) of the books sitting on my TBR through your influence: The New Road, Braised Pork, The Year Without Sun, The Go-Between, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Thank you 🙏 🙂
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Six excellent choices and I’m 99.999% certain you’ll enjoy them all! The New Road will fit in well with the other Jacobite reading, and For Whom the Bell Tolls blew me away and still lingers in my mind, especially since I’ve been reading history books about the Spanish Civil War for the last couple of months. Yep, there’s a reason they call them classics… 😀
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A great variety here, I’m now just trying to work out the one you wouldn’t recommend. My reading intake has been so apalling recently, I don’t think I could even attempt to fill in this kind of list, so you’ve done a good job.
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Haha, it was a bit mean of me to leave you all wondering! It was The House with the Green Shutters, which I really disliked. I struggled badly to find categories this year – I’d pick one and then only be able to find five books for it! Gah! Hopefully we’ll both find our enthusiasm returning as life returns to some kind of normality.
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Congratulations, FF! And well done! Looks like a lot of variety on your list (much more, I’m afraid, than on mine). It’s not that I’ve been having a reading slump: it’s more like I’ve been immersing myself in favorite authors, probably seeking comfort for these trying times. Sigh
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I’ve been doing a lot of that too – lots of re-reads of Christie and Reginald Hill and such like, and loads of vintage crime which have become a kind of comfort reading for me. I was surprised I had read so many classics though – that must mostly have been before the plague hit!
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I love seeing so many of those gorgeous BL covers in this post! Beyond Time (the sci-fi collection) is sitting on my shelf, so I need to read it before the year is out.
I think you’ll like This Tender Land. We read it for book club last month and everyone appreciated it. (it’s a hard call as to whether I preferred it or his earlier novel, Ordinary Grace)
The Erik Larson is on my wishlist.
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I love the BL covers too, and the sci-fi and horror ones are as good as the vintage crime ones. I loved the Beyond Time collection, so I hope you enjoy it. I shall have to think about what anthologies to acquire for the spooky season this year – hard to believe it’s nearly upon us again!
It was your post on This Tender Land that forced me to add it to my wishlist – sadly it’ll probably be ages till I get to it though, given my TBR issues… 😉
I love Erik Larson and I’m always interested in books about Churchill so this one sounds perfect!
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Ooh, The Hours Before Dawn looks enticing!
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Doesn’t it? I came across a short story by her in an anthology and thought it was brilliant – really suspenseful. And this one is supposed to be her best… 😀
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Nice one! Even when you don’t read much, you do manage to get through quite a lot. I love the title “The Woman in the Wardrobe”. You really ought not to mention, there is ONE you don’t recommend. It’s impossible not to speculate about which one…
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Ha, I know, but I had to work much harder than usual this year to find six categories that I could find six books for! I can’t wait to find out if The Woman is in the Wardrobe voluntarily and alive, or unexpectedly and dead… 😉 Haha, since it was mean of me to do that I shall tell you – the unrecommended one is The House with the Green Shutters – ugh!
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Phew, glad I don’t have to speculate about that anymore! 🙂
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😂 You’ll be able to sleep tonight now…
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I plan to join in with this one too, if I can get organised enough!
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Oh, I’ll be interested to see your categories! It’s a fun way of looking back, even though I found it much harder to fill all the spaces this year than usual. 😀
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[…] saw this on FictionFan’s blog, but it’s a meme started by Jo at The Book Jotter. It’s a pause for reflection at the […]
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I’m so far behind in adult literature. Have only read a handful this year, in addition to adult nonfiction, concentrating on marginalized writers. Mostly, I’ve been concentrating on middle grade, as I’m prepping to write a MG novel. And soooo many others in my “completed” pile are picture books, LOL. Your sixes has sent me to lounge chair, where I’m trying to catch my breath.
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Haha, it’s impossible to keep up with them all! My categories have to change every year which shows me that I go through reading phases – butterfly mind! Mind you, my vintage crime phase shows no signs of passing… 😀
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I’m really curious about The Woman in the Wardrobe-maybe because it sounds like the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe? ha It looks like a crime classic though…
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Haha, if she pops off to Narnia I’ll kinda feel that’s cheating! It is – it’s one of the British Library series.
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Oh gosh…. I have so many posts to get out and now this one is going to tick away in my head and probably stomp all over my plans…. I must resist, I must! 😱
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Hahaha, go on, do it! It’s so much fun and you know you want to… 😈
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I resisted for ooooh …. at least 5 seconds 💪 Hours of fun follows! 😂
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Haha, this kind of post is such a great way of wasting time! Have fun! 😀
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So pleased you decided/caved in and took part, after some gentle persuasion from me (thank you for the mention and pingback) 😁 Great categories – I am particularly impressed with how you have read enough British Library Crime Classics for them to warrant there own category! I really must start reading these! Happy reading in the next six months 😊
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Thanks for the inspiration! Ha, the British Library Crime Classics have been perfect for these last few months when I haven’t been in the mood for heavyweight fiction – I think I’m addicted to them! So you’ve been warned… 😉
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Duly warned 😁
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Thank you very much for joining in – I keep seeing the Jane Casey novel, I might need to invest in that.
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Thanks for running the meme – great fun! The Jane Casey books are excellent – I highly recommend them. 😀
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