I spotted this meme on the outstanding blogs of Susan at A Life in Books and Marina at Finding Time to Write. If you haven’t visited their blogs I’d recommend you do for insightful reviews, bookish observations and original poetry. The meme was created by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best.

From what I can gather each month starts from a different book and the aim is to move from the initial book to the sixth book with one link from the previous title. The books don’t have to be linked to each other, just the one before.

The book starting the chain this month is IT by Stephen King. I’ve not read this novel, famous for it’s mighty page count and also the character of Pennywise, one to give those with coulrophobia (fear of clowns), the heepyjeepys.

There are many ways I can link, however tenously, Stephen King to my next choice. IT is a tome, weighing in at around 1,180 odd pages, my next choice a little further ahead with nearly 1,400 pages. It contains a character called Mercedes and Mr King has amongst his published works Mr Mercedes. He also wrote about a prison breakout in The Shawshank Redemption and an unscheduled release from incarcertation plays a big part in my next choice. It is of course The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

Another lengthy tome, also weighing in at over 1,400 pages is War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. The now legendary novel of epic proportions centres around a staggering 500 characters, set during Napoleon’s war with Russia. (And no, I’ve not yet managed to read it.)

Focussing on a different war is The Constant Soldier by William Ryan. A moving and well written tale of Paul Brandt, injured soldier in the German army, sent to work at a SS rest hut, sat in the shadows of a concentration camp.

Another World War Two tale and written by another William is Restless by William Boyd. Looking at things from a different perspective than The Constant Soldier, Restless tells the tale of Eva Delectorskaya, a Russian living in Paris who is recruited to the British Secret Service, the story switching between the war years and 1970’s Britain when Eva must call on her training again.

Hayley Atwell starred in the BBC adaptation of Restless as the young Eva and she has recently appeared in the adaptation for Howard’s End by EM Forster, the classic tale of class divide and conflict, and yet another book I have yet to read.

So there we go, from It to Howard’s End via a prison break and war torn Europe. Where would your chain take you?