Another month, another new starter book for the cool six degrees of separation bookish meme. The book that starts it off this month is Elizabeth Day’s Friendaholic. And that immediately reminded me of another book about friendships, one that showed me that finding friends everywhere is kind of possible..

While not all of my books in today’s chain are about friendships or finding friends, at least three of them definitely do have enough focus on friends. Plus, you are sure to find something about friendships (if not about finding friends) in the others as well. And then, isn’t threading these books together via links (sometimes innovatively imagined!) also a way of telling these books, “hey look! Finding friends everywhere is possible!”)

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Finding Friends: The Bookish Kind

Friendaholic – The Milk Lady of Bangalore – Multiple City – The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth – Me Talk Pretty Some Day – Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant? – Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel – Friendaholic

The Pairs

Friendaholic – The Milk Lady of Bangalore

The link: Friendships

I am yet to read the Elizabeth Day’s book Friendaholic but it sure does sound like one I will love reading. From the Amazon description for this book: From ghosting and frenemies to social media and seismic life events, Elizabeth leaves no stone unturned. Friendaholic is the book you buy for the people you love but it’s also the book you read to become a better friend to yourself.

The Milk Lady of Bangalore was a book that delighted me in so many ways. Shoba Narayan talks about her experiences when she moved back to India after years abroad, and starting an unexpected yet lasting friendship. This memoir showed me just that we can find friends anytime, anywhere! My review of this book is here. For other books about female friendships, check out this list I have.

The Milk Lady of Bangalore – Multiple City

The link: Bangalore

Both books in this pair are set in Bangalore. Multiple City: Writings On Bangalore compiled by Aditi De is a book I “borrowed” from my brother’s (and one of my very first friends too – one I did not go about finding however) library! This allows me take a trip to Bangalore (and also time-travel a bit depending on the essay I pick) whenever I feel like it. Just open a page, read a random essay, and be transported. The book finds a few mentions on my blog like here and here.

Multiple City – The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth

The link: Anthology of essays

We need more books like The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth. And that can easily be my one sentence review for this amazing anthology! However, here is a review I had drafted a while ago when I first read this book but it somehow never made its way out:

This book totally appealed to the parent in me; it tugged at my heartstrings and inspired all those feelings – of hope and happiness, of anger and sadness, of well, a whole range of feelings when we read about race nowadays. And I am sure it will do the same for my kids as they read it from a different perspective – that of the target audience of this book.

I am almost tempted to write something similar to this, or have a conversation (which we have done in the past) with my kids with this book in mind.

This is the book that we will refer to when we need to have all these relevant conversations about race, love and truth; whether it is with each other, with friends and family; whether it be between parent and child, or just about anyone.

A must-have-next-to-you-read.

The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth – Me Talk Pretty One Day

The link: The word “talk” and also, essays

I mention Sedaris many times on my blog. Both my son and I enjoy reading his books, and his humor does leave us LOL many times. As for Me Talk Pretty One Day, you can find our thoughts on it here.

Me Talk Pretty One Day – Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

The link: Still stuck on the word “talk” here and well, will also throw in “some!”

Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant? is a memoir by New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. The topic: aging parents. Chast tells the story of the last several years of her parents’ lives through a combination of cartoons and photos, and with a narrative that somehow manages to offer both comfort and comic relief for anyone experiencing the life-altering loss of elderly parents. (this is paraphrased from the book’s description)

This memoir written with humor and honesty is a more recent read and one that is simply brilliant and so very raw and real. Both artwork and the narrative tug at heartstrings constantly while also helping bring smiles on my face as I read it. It is a coming-of-age story of a different sort – as we face the age where our parents get towards becoming octogenarians.

And I do enjoy graphic novels. So that adds that “something” to this book!

Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant? – Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel

The link: Graphic novels/books

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel – A Modern Retelling of Little Women by Rey Terciero and illustrated by Bre Indigo. As I already mentioned earlier, I enjoy graphic novels. So when I spied this contemporary graphic-novel adaptation of Little Women, I had to read it. And I loved it. My review of the book is here.

Closing the Circle

Closing the circle with the link – friendships – again! The modern adaptation of Little Women, as with the original, focuses on friendships and sisterhood. And that leads me back to Friendaholic!

And Now, the End of this Post

Dear reader, the usual list of question for you on my #sixdegreesofseparation post – have you read or heard about any of these books? Your thoughts on those you have read? Also, any recommendations for similar reads? And what do you think of this chain/six degrees of separation? What would be on such a list/chain for you? Do let me know and do join in the fun as well once a month (the first Saturday) at booksaremyfavouriteandbest.