How the Meme Works
On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book. Books can be linked in obvious ways – for example, books by the same authors, from the same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or, you may choose to link them in more personal ways: books you read on the same holiday, books given to you by a particular friend, books that remind you of a particular time in your life, or books you read for an online challenge.
Hydra by Adriane Howell
I have not read this book, so here is part of the blurb:
Anja is a young, ambitious antiquarian, passionate for the clean and balanced lines of mid-century furniture. She is intent on classifying objects based on emotional response and when her career goes awry, Anja finds herself adrift. Like a close friend, she confesses her intimacies and rage to us with candour, tenderness, and humour.
Cast out from the world of antiques, she stumbles upon a beachside cottage that the neighbouring naval base is offering for a 100-year lease. The property is derelict, isolated, and surrounded by scrub. Despite of, or because of, its wildness and solitude, Anja uses the last of the inheritance from her mother to lease the property. Yet a presence – human, ghost, other – seemingly inhabits the grounds
My Chain
1
Another book I haven’t read came immediately to mind–it’s cover so reminiscent of an IKEA catalog that I can’t get it out of my mind. I may give up and read it. In addition to “clean lines” something strange–like something “haunted” is happening in the giant furniture super store. HorrorStor: A Novel by Grady Hendrix.
2
Another book, set in a store that I have not read is Babbacombe’s by Susan Scarlett from Dean Street Press’s Furrowed Middlebrow–a favorite of mine as you likely know. It’s on my TBR. I love this cover–it remind me of my doll house, built by my maternal grandfather (well, in truth, it reminds me a bit more of Queen Mary’s fabulous doll house, but….).
FYI “Susan Scarlett” is really Noel Streatfeild.
3
Another book featuring a store–this time one I have read, and loved, is Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. Will Tweedy, Miss Love Simpson–love the whole family. The made for tv movie version was even good.
4
While I thought I’d use only books I haven’t used before, this one just has to be used. Like Cold Sassy Tree it is set in a small town in Georgia and, well, plums grow on trees–right? Quite a Year for Plums by Bailey White (if you’ve never heard Bailey White–a long ago sensation on NPR, then Google her and listen to her voice–it makes her stories come alive. “Computer School” is my very favorite–it is in Sleeping at the Starlite Motel). Click the linked title of the book, then scroll down in my post to play a piece with Bailey White in it.
5
Plums, in the previous book’s title, somehow made me think of pomegranates–a fruit often used in Iran and also on the cover of this book (at least that looks like one to me). I happen to love pomegranates! They used to only be available around Thanksgiving (late November) but like everything today you can get them most of the time. This is a wonderful book. Maman’s Homesick Pie by Donia Bijan (my review is linked–scroll down in the linked post to find the link).
6
Another “cafe” book, albeit a “restaurant” book is A Boat, A Whale, and A Walrus: Menus and Stories by Renee Erickson. Don’t read this book on an empty stomach! (My review is linked–scroll down in the linked post).