30.5 (PJ Reads' Task - As Suggested By Tanja - Six Degrees of Separation)

[Matthew]

Here is an interesting relationship - Steven King, Amy Tan, Mitch Album and a few more authors play in a band together - The Rock Bottom Remainders!

[Donna Jo]

Matthew wrote: "Here is an interesting relationship - Steven King, Amy Tan, Mitch Album and a few more authors play in a band together - The Rock Bottom Remainders!"

I used to have a VHS of a performance (someone borrowed it and never returned it) and Steven King's version of "Teen Angel" was hysterical.

[Arow]

Does the following work: Kathy Reichs and Cecil von Ziegesar.
Kathy Reichs co wrote I'd Kill For That with Gayle Lynds. She co wrote Covert One series with Robert Ludlum. His novel Apocalypse Watch was turned into a TV series which stared John Shea. John Shea also played a role on Gossip Girl the TV series which is written by Cecil von Ziegesar.

[Usako]

Arow - CERTAINLY!

[Angie]

If I read a book by Roald Dahl and a book by his daughter Sophia Dahl does...does that connection work?

[Angie]

Ok wait I don't have Roald Dahl or his daughter on my TBR list anymore so here's another one and let me know if I am doing this right

Book 1: Pearls of Lutra by Brian Jacques
Book 2: 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Here's how I got there:
1.Brian Jacques is an author well known for his Redwall series.

2. He is good friends with Alan Durband, Mr. Durband was the one that helped get his first book Redwall published.

2. Alan Durband was a teacher and wrote the Shakespeare Made Easy textbooks for students.

3. Judi Dench was an avid reader of these textbooks while in school.

4. In 1987, Judi Dench was in the film 84, Charing Cross Road...

[Usako]

Angie - Hmmm. It's step 3 which is making me hmm. That's basically saying that author read someone's book. If there was a review, a comment that they met or something, SURE. But otherwise, not approved at that point. The Dahl to Sophia DOES work.

[Jon]

i humbly submit my degrees for approval

On the front cover of The Witch's Trinity: A Novel, there is a written commendation by Khaled Hosseni of Kate runner fame. " a gripping, well-told story of faith and truth" he says.

In this interview Hosseini lists The God of Small Things as one of his favourtie books.

God of small things, won the booker prize in 1997, in 2006 the prize was won by another Indian author - Kiran Desai for Inheritance of Loss

My book is Inheritance of Loss - 3 degrees..or something

[Jon]

oh dear..now i read to the start of your questions thread and think ive failed on 2 counts :( this is tricky! i thought i was being v smart!

[Jon]

am i ok until i get as far as another booker winner from a different year, e.g what if i read something that was shortlisted alongside God of small things in 1997 or some other connection through Roy?

[Jon]

ok here i go again, assuming my first selection doesnt work on account of the booker connection,

what about this:

first book - The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

Kirans mother, Anita Desai is also an auther and wrote . In Custody
This was made into a movie, directed by Ishmael Merchant.

Merchant also produced - Heat and Dust another booker winner.

i will read that one..

that work?

now i just need to figure out what i can do with Witches trinity!

[Usako]

Jon - Your second connection attempt works better! Nice one!

[Donna Jo]

Tanja--you are EVIL--I now am looking for connections with every book I come across. And I can't decide which to choose. And I'm jealous of people who find really clever connections. And you get the drift.

I have a couple more to run by you. Well, one with multiple endings.

Georgette Heyer was a friend to Joanna Cannan who was a sister of poet May Cannan, who was engaged to the son (who died before they married) of Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (who wrote under the pseudonym Q), who played a part in John Mortimer writing Rumpole of the Bailey (and Helen Hanff's 84, Charing Cross Road). I think 5 steps maybe.

Or from Heyer through Q (as above). Q left an unfinished manuscript which was finished by Daphne du Mauier.

[Usako]

Donna Jo - May I laugh evilly? *taps fingers together* Excellleeeeeent. And it is 5 steps. Nice connections there.

This definitely is turning out to be the "Getting to know your author" task.

[Angie]

This is a tough one. I can't seem to figure this out enough to do it. I'll try again and submit for approval

[Nancy]

I thought we HAD to have six degrees of separation, which was fun to accomplish via wickipedia and the rest of the internet. Here's my plan:

Gilead is on (one of my many) TBR piles.

Marilyn Robinson wrote Gilead and is on the permanent faculty of the Iowa Writer's Workshop with...
Ethan Canin, who co-founded the San Francisco Writer's Grotto with...
Po Bronson, who co-authoured Nurture Shock with...
Ashley Merryman, who was a speechwriter for...
Al Gore, who thru obviously channels surely has met...
Barack Obama, who authored

Dreams From My Father.

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner)]

Angie wrote: "This is a tough one. I can't seem to figure this out enough to do it. I'll try again and submit for approval"

Just by looking at your TBR..how about this?

Start with When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. His sister is Amy Sedaris who has appeared on the David Letterman show. Letterman had Ellen on his show. Ellen had Jonathan Safran Foer on her show. (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close or Everything Is Illuminated)

[Sarah (Mood Reader)]

I have a question... I've been looking for separations between Donna Andrews and someone else. I noticed from her website that she is part of different groups like Sisters in crime and Mystery writers of America. Could I read a book found in one of these groups.

Here are the links:
http://www.chessiechapter.org/
http://www.mysterywriters.org/?q=user...

[Jon]

Donna Jo wrote: "Tanja--you are EVIL--I now am looking for connections with every book I come across. And I can't decide which to choose. And I'm jealous of people who find really clever connections. And you get..."

wow! awesome detective work!

[Bluemoon]

Is this a valid connection?

The Stepford Wives was written by Ira Levine. Nicole Kidman was in the movie version. Nicole Kidman was also in The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman who also wrote The Amber Spyglass.

I want to read both The Stepford Wives and The Amber Spyglass.

[Usako]

Nancy - Crazy fun! That's approved!

Stephanie - SURE!

Sarah - Just make sure that Donna Andrews has attended those meetings (least some) to plausibly make a connection to another member.

[Melissa]

um, okay. I confess I am not following this thread because this task seems pretty overwhelming to me. But I have taken a stab at it and this is what I have. Someone please correct me if I have missed the point somewhere.

Starting with The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker for book A:
- Tiffany Baker went to UC Irvine,
- UC Irvine also graduated David Benioff
- David Benioff wrote the screenplay for Troy starring Brad Pitt
- Brad Pitt also starred in Interview with a Vampire
- Interview with a Vampire was written by Anne Rice
- Who also wrote Angel Time (book B)

is that the right number of steps? too few or too many?

[Sarah (Mood Reader)]

How am I supposed to see that she went to some of these meetings? Her name is listed on the site as being one of the members.

[Usako]

Melissa - Did Baker & Benioff attend UC Irvine at around the same timeframe?

[Cait]

I'm kind of posting this here for personal reference, since I have a bunch of different options but I have no idea what I will be in the mood for when the time to complete this task rolls around.

If I don't go Vonnegut --> Irving

Book 1. Breakfast of Champions - Vonnegut

Vonnegut also wrote Slaughterhouse-Five
The audio version of Slaughterhouse-Five was narrated by Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke wrote The Hottest State: A Novel
Hawke starred in adaptations of Hamlet, Fast Food Nation, Great Expectations, Snow Falling on Cedars, Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors

Hawke was also in Dead Poets Society with:

Robin Williams: The Night Listener, What Dreams May Come, Jakob the Liar

Robert Sean Leonard: Much Ado About Nothing, In The Gloaming, The Age of Innocence

[Melissa]

Tanja wrote: "Melissa - Did Baker & Benioff attend UC Irvine at around the same timeframe?"

Tanja, I have no idea... I can't find out when she was there, but I am guessing from an interview that it was before 2000 when she met her husband. Benioff graduated in 1999.

Do I need to start over?

[Usako]

Melissa - If it was before 2000 and Benioff graduated in 1999, there's a chance they went around the same time. So that's cool.

[Sarah (Mood Reader)]

Tanja - How do I know for sure that she has been to the meetings? She is listed as a member on their site as well as her mentioning it on her site.

[Belinda]

Tanja:

I decided to go away and nurse my headache from trying to make the Geographer's Library and Three Cups of Tea fit. I just put them somewhere else. I decided to go with an easy one, unless you object. Both Mike Lupica and Mitch Albom appear on the ESPN show Sports Reporters. I believe that is one degree of separation and I should be allowed to read a book by each of them.

Belinda

[Melissa]

sweet! Thanks Tanja!

[Usako]

Belinda - That's great!! Works for me :)

Sarah - Hmmm. Lemme look around. Cause not everyone shows at those meetings. It's like a membership similar to AARP. Sisters in Crime-Chesapeake Chapter, I'll accept. Their membership is VERY small! Mystery Writers is a lil huge. But if it gets broken down into chapters like Sisters, use the chapter Donna is in :)

[Belinda]

Thanks Tanja! My headache just disappeared!

[Deedee]

I found a pathway using solely Awards. PJReads said:
* Awards work solely that the authors were up for the same award for the same year AND same category. This is based on the assumption that the authors met or were made aware of another when up for the award

(1) 2009 Mythopeia: Nominated for "Best Novel": Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg & An Evil Guest by Gene Wolfe
(2) 2005 Nebula: Nominated for "Best Novel": The Knight by Gene Wolfe & Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
(3) 2004 Hugo: Nominated for "Best Novel": Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold & Humans by Robert J. Sawyer
(4) 1999 Hugo: Nominated for "Best Novel": Factoring Humanity by Robert J. Sawyer & Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century by Robert Charles Wilson

So, the two novels I'm planning to read are:
Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg and Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century by Robert Charles Wilson

[Usako]

Deedee - What a sneaky way to leap from one connection to another SOLELY by the award paths! And hey, it does work b/c there's that assumption the authors met when nom'd for the award. Like your research work! That did take some time. It's neat it's Nebula/Hugo!! :)

[Deedee]

Tanja wrote: "Deedee - What a sneaky way to leap from one connection to another SOLELY by the award paths! And hey, it does work b/c there's that assumption the authors met when nom'd for the award. Like your re..."

glad you liked my method! I went the awards route because the information for awards was easily available, and the information for the more creative linkages wasn't. Plus, I've had Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg and Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century by Robert Charles Wilson at the top of my TBR list for awhile now, so I was motivated to find a linkage. I was actually planning to read Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century for the Winter Challenge (Robert Charles Wilson is Canadian) but ran out of time.

[Jay]

Thanks PJReads and Tanja for this fun task!

I've got two books on my TBR list that I'm trying to fit in to this task because they're not working in other categories for this challenge. I've been coming up with my own ideas, but it's always fun to see what you guys can find!

So, can anyone help me find a connection between Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins?

A few ideas to help kick things off...David Simon is the creator of the HBO show The Wire where writers like Richad Price and George Pelecanos were staff members, and The Hunger Games is optioned by the producer Nina Jacobson who has worked as an executive in Hollywood on many big movies, including most of M. Night Shymalan's.

[Usako]

Jay - Must be Monday Morning blahs b/c my mind isn't wrapping around how to connect these two.

[Cindy AL]

Isn't this a great task, wouldn't it be great to have a task similar to this every time???

[Angie]

Ok tell me if this one works:

Book 1: Moonrise by Erin Hunter

1. Erin Hunter is actually 4 women that write the Warriors series.
2. Cherith Baldry is one of these women.

Book 2: The Silver Horn by Cherith Baldry

Does this one work???

[Cheryl]

I feel like I am a complete idiot since I have NO IDEA what the heck this is all about. Please help

[Angie]

Cheryl wrote: "I feel like I am a complete idiot since I have NO IDEA what the heck this is all about. Please help"

haha you and me both Cheryl you and me both...

[Jennifer]

Cheryl wrote: "I feel like I am a complete idiot since I have NO IDEA what the heck this is all about. Please help"

It's pretty easy. First, pick a book from your "to-read" list (either from here on goodreads, or your own bookshelf), and then try to link it to another book you want to read in 6 steps or less.

For example, Cheryl, you have Skipping Christmas by John Grisham on your goodreads "to-read" list. You could link him to J.D. Salinger (also on your "to-read" list) -

John Grisham wrote The Rainmaker which was made into a movie starring Matt Damon (1 degree), who starred in the movie Mystic Pizza with Julia Roberts (2 degrees), who starred in the movie The Conspiracy Theory with Mel Gibson (3 degrees), whose character in that movie was obsessed with the book The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger (4 degrees).

Does this help?

[Mads]

Jennifer L., your explanation helped me a lot!

I think this works but I want to make absolutely sure before I off and read two books:

I Robot >> The Silmarillion

I Robot by Isaac Asimov was made into a movie in 2004 that starred Will Smith. Smith played in Six Degrees of Separation, which also starred Sir Ian McKellen. Ian McKellen played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movies. The Lord of the Rings was written by J.R.R. Tolkien, who also wrote The Silmarillion.

When I got to Will Smith I thought of heading over to Independence Day (one of my favorite movies) but the coincidence was too much to resist!

Does that work?

[Usako]

Angie - That works out perfectly!

Anne - That's great!

[Angie]

Woohoo I did it :) Thanks Tanja!

[Angie]

Jennifer L. wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "I feel like I am a complete idiot since I have NO IDEA what the heck this is all about. Please help"

It's pretty easy. First, pick a book from your "to-read" list (either from h..."

Wow you're really good at this. That's a great one

[Sera]

Ok, I had this wrong last time so I'm trying again. Please let me know if this one works.

I picked Joseph J. Ellis' book from my TBR listAmerican Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson. Ellis was a speaker at the 2008 Aspen Ideas Festival. Thomas J. Friedman was also speaker at this festival. He wrote a book entitled Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America.

Does this work as one degree of separation?

In addition, both men are writers for the NY Times. Will this connection work if the former doesn't?

Thank you in advance for your help with this.

[Usako]

Sera - Ooooh that's grand! One degree of separation but that's really neat research there! Approved!

[Usako]

Catch the Degree Fever! *boogies on down*

[Sera]

Thank you so much!