Jo at The Book Jotter is hosting Six in Six again and I’ve decided to take part,  it’s an enjoyable look back at what I’ve been reading over the first six months of the year. Joanne always suggests lots of possibilities of categories and I’m taking advantage of most of her suggestion.

Six authors new to me:

Rachel Ferguson  – A Footman for the Peacock

The Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair

Charles Spencer – Killers of the King

Lin Anderson  – The Wild Coast

Flora Fraser – Pretty Young Rebel

Forest Silver by E.M. Ward

Six books that took me by the hand and led me into the past:

The Revolt of the Eaglets by Jean Plaidy

Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff

The Winter List by S.G. MacLean

Across the Barricades by Joan Lingard

The Secrets of Blythswood Square by Sara Sheridan

A Footman for the Peacock by Rachel Ferguson

Six books from the non fiction shelf:

Notes from Walnut Tree Farm by Roger Deakin

Holloway by Robert Macfarlane

Pretty Young Rebel by Flora Fraser

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

Landmarks by Robert Macfarlane

Women and Power by Mary Beard

Six books by Scottish authors:

The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by Shona MacLean

Green Willow’s Secret by Eileen Dunlop

The Fall of Kelvin Walker by Alasdair Gray

The Tenement by Iain Crichton Smith

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

Squeaky Clean by Callum McSorley

Six vintage crime books:

Uncle Paul by Celia Fremlin

Suddenly at His Residence by Christianna Brand

Green for Dander by Christianna Brand

Someone from the Past by Margot Bennet

Somebody at the Door by Raymond Postgate

Post After Post Mortem by E.C.R. Lorac

Six book titles containing female names:

Consider the Lily by Elizabeth Buchan

Harriet Said by Beryl Bainbridge

Madame Claire by Susan Ertz

Eustacia at the Chalet School by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer

Dimsie Grows Up by Dorita Fairlie Bruce

The Life and Death of Harriet Frean

Thank you Jo for hosting this, it’s always useful to have a look back.  I’ve been reading a lot of historical fiction over the past six months, more than usual I think. For the rest of 2024 I plan to mix things up a bit more, but reading plans often ‘gang agley’  – as we all know!

Jo of The Book Jotter is hosting her Six in Six meme again and I’ve decided to join in. The idea is to look back at what you’ve read over the first six months of the year and to share share six books in six categories. Jo has a lot of suggestions for categories but you’re free to come up with categories of your own if you would rather. Here goes!

Six books by authors that were new to me:

1. The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
2. The Strays of Paris by Jane Smiley
3. Divided Souls by Toby Clements
4. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
5. Another Little Christmas Murder by Lorna Nichol Morgan
6. Bag and Baggage by Judy Allen

Six crime books:

1. The Man from Occupied France by Anthony Parsons
2. The House on the Hill by John Drummond
3. The Deadly Truth by Helen McCloy
4. Anna, Where Are You? by Patricia Wentworth
5. Another Little Christmas Murder by Lorna Nichol Morgan
6. The Black Book by Ian Rankin

Six books by Scottish authors:

1. The Fascinating Hat by Isabel Cameron
2. The House of the Pelican by Elisabeth Kyle
3. The Gates of Eden by Annie S. Swan
4. Bel Lamington by D.E. Stevenson
5. The Black Book by Ian Rankin
6. Personality by Andrew O’Hagan

Six historical fiction books:

1. The Last Protector by Andrew Taylor
2. The Royal Secret by Andrew Taylor
3. The Grove of Eagles by Winston Graham
4. Light Over London by Julia Kelly
5. The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
6. Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer

Six books written for children/YA:

1. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
2. Pinnochio by Carlo Collodi
3. An Edinburgh Reel by Iona McGregor
4. Hitty – Her First 100 Years by Rachel Field
5. The Spanish Letters by Mollie Hunter
6. White Boots by Noel Streatfeild

Six books that were favourites:

1. The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
2. The Masterpiece by Emile Zola
3. The Wind Off the Small Isles by Mary Stewart
4. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple
5. The Last Protector by Andrew Taylor
6. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

I could have chosen more than six books in all of these categories, it has been a good reading year so far with just a few duffers read. One of the many great things about reading book blogs is that the book recommendations by fellow bloggers mean that it’s rare for me to waste time reading books that I don’t enjoy. The last one ‘Julia’ that I really didn’t like was completely my own fault for choosing it because of the title.

I really enjoyed looking back over the books that I read over the first six months of the year. It has reminded me that I should read more classics, more books in translation – and more non-fiction as I wasn’t able to gather up six books in any of those categories, I only got as far as five!