Emma at Words and Peace is now hosting Six in Six, a flexible meme in which at or around the end of the sixth month one may list six titles in six categories chosen from books one has read so far during the year. As Chris at Calmgrove says: ‘for 2026 therefore it’ll be six books in six categories in the sixth month in the twenty-sixth year of this century, which is kind of neat’. I’ve now read 50 books, so duplications shouldn’t be needed… Here are my Six in Six, links will take you to my reviews.
Six non fiction books
- Homework by Geoff Dyer
- David Bowie: The Artists, the Albums, the Music by Philippe Margotin
- The Future of Fraud by Becky Holmes
- Ghost Stories by Siri Hustvedt
- The Wrong Son by Neil Griffiths
- Adrift: The Crious Tale of the Lego Lost at Sea by Tracey Williams
Six debut novels
- Sycorax by Nydia Hetherington
- Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce
- The Names by Florence Knapp
- Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash
- To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage
- The Portrait Artist by Dani Heywood-Lonsdale
Six 20thC novels
- 1935: Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers
- 1947: The Rose and the Yew Tree by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie)
- 1960: The Country Girls by Edna O’Brien
- 1961: Marnie by Winston Graham
- 1963: Ice Station Zebra by Alastair MacLean
- 1979: Kindred by Olivia Butler
Six novels with interesting structures
- Timelines & Voices: The Expansion Project by Ben Pester
- Meta / biography: The Cauliflower® by Nicola Barker
- Mystery within a mystery: Fair Play by Louise Hegarty
- Polyphonic: The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine
- Dual timeline: Borderline fiction by Derek Owusu
- Story cycle with ppt: A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Six novels with settings around the world
- Iceland: Stop Dead by Katrín Júlíusdóttir
- Japan: Heaven by Meiko Kawakami
- Italy: Venice Requiem by Khalid Lyamlahy
- South Africa: Wilderness of Mirrors by Olufemi Terry
- New Zealand: The Reaper by Vanda Symon
- Kuwait: An Unlasting Home by Mai Al-Nakib
Six genre-ish novels
- Horror: The Sauna Elf by Aki Mäkiaho
- Folk horror: Paradise by Ben Tufnell
- Spec fiction/Pandemic: How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
- SF/genre-busting: The Delusions by Jenni Fagan
- Dystopian Western: The Westward Hours by Dennison Smith
- Spies: The Interpreter’s Secret by Andrew Rosenheim
Well done for putting this together and posting it so quickly, and I do like your categories! ‘Six novels with interesting structures’ got me thinking about what I might’ve read that would fit, but nothing as yet fits the brief…
Thanks Chris. I couldn’t resist!
Pleased to see that Emma has picked this one up. I’d forgotten all about it!
Great categories – and interesting books! Will be checking some of them out.
Thanks Bev.
Well done! I like your category “Six novels with interesting structures”
Thanks Emma. I love books that play with structure ( ina good way).
I like your choice of categories. The Rose and the Yew Tree is on my 20 Books of Summer list, so I’ll be reading it soon!
Thanks Helen. The Westmacott was rather fab I thought, hope you enjoy it too.
This is so great, I haven’t read anything on any of your 6’s!
I always love seeing what categories people pick for this tag. Ive heard a lot of good things about The Names and really must try to read it soon. Harriet Tyce is an author I’ve been meaning to try too, although I have my eye on her latest title. Love the mix of genres you’ve read from too.
Thanks Charlotte – variety is my watchword for keeping reading fresh.