Friday, November 4, 2022

Six Degrees of Separation: From The Naked Chef to Sense and Sensibility

The Six Degrees of Separation meme is hosted by Kate at booksaremyfavoriteandbest. The idea behind the meme is to start with a book and use common points between two books to end up with links to six books, forming a chain. The common points may be obvious, like a word in the title or a shared theme, or more personal. Every month Kate provides the title of a book as the starting point.

The starting book this month is a cookbook – The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver. This was the first cookbook by Jamie Oliver and I honestly don't remember why he (or his TV show) was called The Naked Chef. 


First Degree of Separation: 

My first link takes me from the Naked Chef to a White House Chef, in State of the Onion, a cozy mystery by Julie Hyzy. The main character is White House Assistant Chef Olivia Paras. She gets involved with some intrigue related to a possible threat on the President's life. When she isn't busy sleuthing, she is vying for the Executive Chef position, which will be available when her boss retires. Some recipes are included. After being on my TBR shelf for years, I finally read this book in October.

Second Degree of Separation: 

My second link is to The President Vanishes by Rex Stout, published in 1934. This is a mystery novel about the mysterious disappearance of the President of the United States, who was in the middle of a political crisis over his handling of the foreign situation in Europe. The disappearance seems to be a kidnapping, but no ransom is demanded. I read this years ago, and I did like it at that time. I am biased; I haven't read any of Rex Stout's mysteries that I did not like.

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Third Degree of Separation:

In the third link I am sticking with presidents of the US, but this one is real. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders is about US President Abraham Lincoln and the death of his young son, Willie. The book is a blend of fantasy and historical fiction, and full of supernatural elements. The story is set in 1862 in the first year of the Civil War in the US. President Lincoln's eleven-year-old son, Willie, has died and Lincoln visits his body at the crypt several times. I liked reading the book, but much of it mystified me.

Fourth Degree of Separation:

My fourth link is to another real United States President. In Jack 1939, a novel by Francine Mathews, John F. Kennedy is a spy. 

From the book's dust jacket: "It’s the spring of 1939, and the prospect of war in Europe looms large. The United States has no intelligence service. In Washington, D.C., President Franklin Roosevelt may run for an unprecedented third term and needs someone he can trust to find out what the Nazis are up to. His choice: John F. Kennedy. "

Fifth Degree of Separation:

Francine Mathews also writes as Stephanie Barron. Jane and The Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor is the first novel in the Jane Austen Mystery series. In that series, Jane Austen was an amateur sleuth. I read it around the time it was first published, 1996. I did read the second in the series and lately have been thinking about reading another in the series. Has anyone else read this series and do I need to read it in order?

Sixth Degree of Separation:

For my last link I move from a mystery series starring Jane Austen to one of Jane Austen's novels, Sense and Sensibility, another book I read in October of this year. This is the story of two sisters, once living in luxury, who now have very little prospects of marrying well. Elinor, the eldest, is sensible and concerned about propriety. Marianne, 16, is the opposite. This is not my favorite book by Jane Austen, but still I found it to be a very worthwhile read. My review is here.


My chain took me from a cook to books about presidents (fictional and nonfictional) and then to Jane Austen. Have you read any of these books, and what did you think of them?

Next month (December 3, 2022), the first book in the chain will be The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey.


39 comments:

Davida Chazan (The Chocolate Lady) said...

Interesting chain (am I the only one to go fully the food route?), but... JFK as a spy? Really? That's absurd! He was in the Navy on PT boats the whole time! No way he was a spy on the ground. No matter... lovely chain!

Margaret 21 said...

I loved Lincoln in the Bardo, lightly against my expectations. And who can go wrong with Jane Austen? Great chain!

Cath said...

Mad that you can go from Jamie Oliver to the President but I love that you can! I have that Jane Austen book unread on my tbr pile, I must get to it as I think it would tie in nicely with my renewed interest in her.

susanosborne said...

Great chain! I'd love to read State of the Onion.

Me said...

I had no idea that there was a mystery series in which Jane Austen is a sleuth. That sounds like fun!

NancyElin said...

Oh, Tracy you do this meme so well...I still don't dare join.
Perhaps I can test myself (in private) before I make a fool on myself in cyberspace.
Love you book covers, BTW!

Margot Kinberg said...

I'm really happy to see a Julie Hyzy here, Tracy. She's got lots of talent, and maybe not the attention she deserves. It's nice to see you mention her here. And of course, Rex Stout's work is always worth a (re)read, in my opinion. I like the way you've put these links together!

TracyK said...

Davida, I love your links that were all related to food. And you are probably right about JFK. I have had this book on my shelf for 10 years now and my concerns about being able to suspend disbelief might have to do with that. But I do love espionage books of just about any kind, so it probably depends upon the skill of the writer whether I will buy into the story or not.

Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys said...

Great chain - this is only my 3rd time participating, so I'm still learning some of the nuances. I find it so interesting to see where my mind goes as I try to make connections. I love the huge turn to presidents - I did a huge turn to mysteries set in Canada! :) Have a great week.
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

TracyK said...

Margaret21, I did enjoy reading Lincoln in the Bardo but I was confused a lot of the time. I learned new things about Lincoln though, and that was nice too. And I was happy that my chain led to Austen.

TracyK said...

Cath, my Six Degrees did hop around a bit this time, but it worked the way I like, serendipitously, so that was good. The reason I want to give Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen series a try is because I have more interest in the time she was living in that I had in the past, and that may give them more appeal for me. Sometimes I am bothered by using a real person as a sleuth, but I remember liking the writing.

TracyK said...

Susan, State of the Onion is fun, and I will continue reading the books as I find them. I commented on your Six Degrees, some interesting books there.

TracyK said...

ME, I have got to get back to the Jane Austen as solver of mysteries books to see if I am more in the mood for them now. I think I would enjoy reading about that time period.

TracyK said...

Nancy, thank you so much. I have complete faith that you could do very well at Six Degrees, and you read so many varied things. You should give it a try and share it with us.

My problem is that it takes so long to put together. As I get older, that is a problem for me.

TracyK said...

Margot, I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy Julie Hyzy's book so much, and I will follow up on that series. Also recently I have been thinking about getting back to reading more Rex Stout books. There is always so many books to keep up with.

Lisa of Hopewell said...

Very good chain. I can't believe I somehow missed the book Jack 1939. I'll have to find it

TracyK said...

Terrie, I checked out your Six Degrees post and enjoyed your chain. As I noted in my comment there, I read a lot of books set in Canada, so I enjoyed seeing some in your post.

I had enough books about presidents that I could have stuck with presidents in books all the way through, but then I changed my mind.

TracyK said...

Thanks, Lisa. I hope I can fit Jack 1939 into my reading next year. After it has sat on my shelf for 10 years. I am coming over to your post to check it out right now.

Whispering Gums said...

I enjoyed all your president links Tracy. And love that you ended with Austen. I’ll check that review.

I see your comment that you‘ve changed your comment process. I don’t know what you did but I hope it works as I stopped commenting on blogger blogs a few months ago because the ads get was just too much.

TracyK said...

Whispering Gums, It is always good to include Austen. I read five of Austen's novels in 2017, then I read the only one I had left, Sense and Sensibility this year. Now I am ready to reread a few of them, and maybe read some related books.

My note about commenting is a few years old. At that time some bloggers had problems with commenting so I switched to the current method, and that improved the situation for some. For others, it may have made it worse.

I have considered changing to WordPress but at this point I am not up to that.

Marg said...

Love how you made the link to all those books about presidents! Fun chain this month.

TracyK said...

Thanks, Marg. I was surprised how many books that touch on Presidents of the US I had read or were on my shelves. It will be interesting to see next month's chains.

Mallika@ LiteraryPotpourri said...

State of the Onion sounds like fun as does the Austen mystery. Sense and Sensibility is my least favourite of hers I think. Marianne does so get on my nerves. Great chain!

pattinase (abbott) said...

Only the first and last. We watched his TV cooking series in the UK and bought this book. And SENSE AND SENSIBILITY is my third favorite Austen. I tried LINCOLN in the Bardo but didn't get far. I may have read the Stout book because I read so many of his forty years ago.

Elza Reads said...

Such a clever chain! This month really is the best.

I've read and enjoyed Lincoln in the Bardo, but now I'm really interested in Jack 1939. Sounds intriguing.

Have a wonderful November!

Elza Reads

TracyK said...

I agree, Elza, this month I have seen more different and interesting chains than ever and it was good inspiration for me. You have a good November too.

TracyK said...

Patti, I have seen some shows that Jamie Oliver was on when we watched The Food Network a lot. His cookbooks sound interesting from a reading viewpoint. I liked the picture of Lincoln in Lincoln in the Bardo but some parts of it were too weird and crazy for me to grasp. But I did finish it.

TracyK said...

Mallika, State of the Onion was fun and I hope the series continues to be as good. There are now 14 books in the Jane Austen mystery series, and I think I should give them another look.

FictionFan said...

I'm intrigued by the JFK book. Was he really a spy or did the author invent that?

TracyK said...

FictionFan, I am in no way an expert on JFK, but I think it is totally made up. Since I don't know much about JFK before the presidency, I think I could suspend disbelief in that situation. I will find out soon, I hope.

Judith said...

Hi Tracy,
I'm all over your trail of books and am absolutely fascinated! Thank you! I had no idea that Francine Mathews wrote a mystery/spy novel about JFK in 1939! Oh, that's perfect. Will definitely seek that one out, for sure. What fun!
In my opinion, you were brave to seek out and read Lincoln in the Bardo. I've read George Saunders' first volume of short stories, The Tenth of December. It was great, but he is OUT THERE SOMEWHERE. So if you were mystified by Lincoln in the Bardo, I totally understand and that's why I haven't read it!
Yes, I've read some of the books in that Jane Austen mystery series. I ADORED the one set at Christmas, when her guests are snowed in for weeks and great murders abound. But I can't remember the title. If you're interested, let me know and I'll search for it through my lists.
And I've read Francine Mathews' series of police procedurals set on Nantucket Island--not all of them, but a few. Really, really liked them, and she captured the essence of Nantucket. Guess what--a new entry in this series is being published this November. It's a Christmas mystery for her Nantucket police people. Sounds great.

Judith said...

Tracy,
The new Francine Mathews Nantucket police procedural is Death on a Winter Stroll, the latest Merry Folger mystery. Wintry, brrrr... I have placed a hold for when it comes in at the library. And can't wait.
When I find it, I'll let you know the title of the Jane Austen Christmas title, because it was really good. (In fact, I'd luxuriate in reading it again!)
Happy sleuthing!
Judith

TracyK said...

Judith, I am so glad to hear from you. I had just been thinking of you, and then I saw you had a new post, which I will come by and read.

The Jane Austen mystery set at Christmas sounds perfect, I may see if I can get a copy to read this Christmas. And I am pretty certain I have the first book in that police procedural series set on Nantucket Island, and that sounds like a very good setting.

CLM said...

Nice chain! I did try Lincoln in the Bardo but had the audio and was completely lost; did not even finish the first CD. I think I was turned off permanently although I know a lot of people enjoyed it.

I think I have a Francine Matthews or two somewhere; will have to take another look. I am a bit distrustful of books that use other authors' characters.

TracyK said...

Constance, I don't see how Lincoln in the Bardo would do well as an audio book. It depends too much on many voices and it is hard enough to follow in print. I am glad I read it but would never recommend to someone else.

I am definitely going to try some of Francine Mathews books (under both names). At least one or two of the Jane Austen series, and the first in the Merry Folger series, and she has some other spy novels. When, of course, is the question, as I always have so many books I want to read.

Marina Sofia said...

Quite interesting presidential links - although the thought of JFK as a spy did make me laugh! Still, it sounds like fun. Jane Austen would probably have made a good spy, she was so observant.

TracyK said...

Marina, I had even more books related to presidents but did not use them all. (The Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry, about the JFK assassination, and Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II -- both fantastic books.) I wanted to have more variety.

Yes, JFK as spy sounds outrageous but could work, since I am a spy fiction junkie. I hope so anyway. And that is a good idea -- Jane Austen as a spy.

Emma at Words And Peace / France Book Tours said...

So neat to see Rex Stout on your list!
https://wordsandpeace.com/2022/11/05/six-degrees-of-separation-from-a-chef-to-a-gorilla/

TracyK said...

Emma, I like to fit in a Rex Stout book when it is applicable. I have read all of the standalone mysteries by Stout; they are not as good as the Nero Wolfe series but I enjoyed them all.