Saturday 7 August 2021

Six Degrees of Separation ~ Postcards from the Edge

  Postcards from the Edge
Fisher, Carrie "Postcards from the Edge" - 1987

#6Degrees of Separation:
from Postcards from the Edge (Goodreads) to Sancta Lucia 

#6Degrees is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. I love the idea. See more about this challenge, its history, further books and how I found this here.

This month's prompt starts with Postcards from the Edge (Goodreads) by Carrie Fisher.

Postcards made me think of letters.

Rosendorfer, Herbert "Letters Back to Ancient China" (German: Briefe in die chinesische Vergangenheit) - 1983

A man from China made his way through a time machine, he travelled a thousand years and is more than surprised about everything he sees. He knows no cars, no telephone, no buildings that go over one storey high.

This made me think of the first book I read about China. It wasn't a thousand years ago but it might as well because that world is very different from ours.

Buck, Pearl S. "Peony" - 1948


Peony is a young servant (almost a slave) in a rich Chinese Jewish household. Her love to the son of the family cannot result in anything as traditional rules don't allow a marriage between them.

Peonies are my favourite flowers and therefore, I go further with a flower that is very popular in the last country I lived in, the tulip.

Moggach, Deborah "Tulip Fever" - 1999

Tulips meant a lot to the people of the 17th century in Holland and Flanders. Some bulbs would yield the price of a house in the most expensive quarter of Amsterdam.

Of course, there are other kinds of fever, the illness kind but also something we can compare to the tulip fever, the gold fever.

Allende, Isabel "Daughter of Fortune" (Spanish: Hija de la Fortuna) - 1999


This part of the "Del Valle" trilogy is situated mostly in the United States, especially California, and talks about different cultures getting together at around the time of the gold rush.

One of my favourite books about daughters is by a name sister:

Fredriksson, Marianne "Hanna's Daughters" (Swedish: Anna, Hanna og Johanna) - 1994

A remarkable story about the life of women and how it changed during the last century. The story is situated in Sweden but it could have happened anywhere in Europe.

Thinking about Sweden, I often think about winter, Christmas and their feast of Santa Lucia, so I had to think about this book by Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman who received the Nobel Prize for literature.

Lagerlöf, Selma "Sancta Lucia. Weihnachtliche Geschichten" (Swedish: Kristuslegender) [Christmas Stories] - 1893-1917

Look for further monthly separation posts here.

18 comments:

  1. This meme is seriously bad for my bookish wishlist! Tulip Fever really appeals and I read my first Isobel Allende recently, A Long Petal of the Sea.

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    1. Oh, I know, Cathy, same for me. But it's so much fun!!!

      Tulip Fever is quite interesting because it's based on real events. And Isabel Allende, I've read lots of her books, A Long Petal of the Sea is still on my TBR list.

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  2. What an amazingly international chain. You know, I got Lagerlof's "Jerusalem" via the Gutenberg Project but I just couldn't finish reading it.

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    1. Thanks, Davida. I only read the Christmas stories by Selma Lagerlöf, will have to see whether I can read "Jerusalem". Unfortunately, due to some copyright issues, the Gutenberg Project is blocked over here.

      And I love reading books from everywhere, so most of my chains and lists are international. But yours are quite diverse, also.

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  3. I've read the Moggach from your chain - and enjoyed it. I like the international feel of your choices, and I'll be returning to decide which to add to my TBR list. I really can't add them ALL!

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    1. Of course, you can't, Margaret. Even if we could just grab any book we see, there is not enough time. But it looks like Tulip Fever is the winner this month.

      As I said to Davida ^^, most of my lists are international. That's just who I am. LOL

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  4. Very nice connections! The way you describe the started book sounds so much more interesting to me than the official synopsis!

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    1. Do you mean the Letters from Ancient China? It is quite a funny one. And makes us aware how weird our time must look for other generations.

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    2. Ah, thanks for asking the question. Obviously I had read too fast. But yes indeed Letters from Ancient China does sound fascinating

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    3. You're welcome, Emma. I'm looking forward to hearing from you how you liked it.

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  5. Good work. I couldn't get through Tulip Fever, but I have loved other of her books.

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    1. Thanks, Lisa. I haven't read any of her other books. I found Tulip Fever very interesting but I have lived in the Netherlands for twenty years, so that might be it.

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  6. This is a lovely chain. I've had my eye on Tulip Fever for a while, looks like I need to prioritize it. And Pearl S. Buck is one of my favorite authors (in particular, I love her work The Time is Noon), but I think she hardly gets much mention these days. So happy to see her work here!

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    1. Thanks, Lex. Looks like most people think it sounds interesting except for one. I think you would enjoy it.

      Pearl S. Buck was my first "adult" author and she has a special place in my heart. I never read The Time is Noon, will have to put that on my list.

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  7. I have read several of your choices including Tulip Fever! Great choices.

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    1. Thanks, Marg, it's always nice to find other bloggers who have a similar taste. Happy Reading!

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  8. What a very interesting and unusual chain, and one that yet again reminds me how few 'international' books I ever read - I haven't even heard of some of these, so this is enlightening!

    I've been meaning to try Pearl S Buck for years, but have felt a bit daunted.

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    1. Thanks, Rosemary. I think many international books are not translated into English though the ones I review in English usually are. Mind you, you probably get them quicker in the UK than in America. I found some of these authors when I lived in England.

      I see you live in Scotland. Such a beautiful country. So, a wave to my "almost" former home. Hope we'll talk again.

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