Six Degrees of Separation – From Phosphorescence to Lassie Come Home

Posted March 6, 2021 by elzaread in 6 Degrees of separation / 27 Comments

Greetings all you wonderful humans! How was your February? Our February was just about as crazy as the Six Degrees of Separation chain my Mommy is coming up with today. If there’s woman who knows how to pull a cat from a hat, it’s her. And somehow, it always end up making sense in some obscure way. 
I’m sure by now you all know the rules of this monthly fun meme hosted by Books are my Favorite and BestOn the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Books can be linked in obvious ways, for example: same authors, same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or you might choose to link them in more personal ways: books you read in the same holiday, books given to you by a particular friend or books that remind you of a particular time in your life. The choices are endless here! 
 
Our starting point for this month, is a book that we’ve never heard of before. Come to think of it – most of the starting books are unfamiliar to us and I think that is why we sometimes come up with a few crazy links. But this one has a beautiful cover and I think it can be worth the read.
 
If you are a South African and you are more than familiar with load shedding and blackouts, you might mistake this book for an ESKOM survival guide. Well, I guess it can be considered as a survival guide in some form.
A beautiful, intimate and inspiring investigation into how we can find and nurture within ourselves that essential quality of internal happiness – the ‘light within’ that Julia Baird calls ‘phosphorescence’ – which will sustain us even through the darkest times.
 
When my Mommy saw the title, she just saw the word phosphor and it immediately reminded her of one of her favorite Agatha Christie novels and thus our first degree.
 
 

An elderly spinster has been poisoned in her country home…
Everyone blamed Emily’s accident on a rubber ball left on the stairs by her frisky terrier. But the more she thought about her fall, the more convinced she became that one of her relatives was trying to kill her.

On April 17th she wrote her suspicions in a letter to Hercule Poirot. Mysteriously he didn’t receive the letter until June 28th… by which time Emily was already dead
 
I hate spoiler alerts, but if you haven’t read this book before, I will have to spoil it for you now. Otherwise you will have no idea how my crazy Mommy got here. “When her first attempt with the tripwire failed, she decided to switch one of her aunt’s capsules for her liver troubles, with one filled with elemental phosphorus, knowing that her death from the poison would mimic the symptoms of liver failure. The aura witnessed by those attending the seance was because of the poison Emily had unknowingly taken.” But you still don’t know who did it, just how. So you can still read it. 
 
Bigger question now is how on earth does my Mommy get to the second degree? Easy as pie.
 
 
The moving, uplifting true story of an unlikely friendship between a man on the streets and the ginger cat who adopts him and helps him heal his life.
 
It’s all in the name. Do you remember that the leading character in Dumb Witness was the frisky terrier, named Bob? My Mommy would also like to have a frisky terrier and she will probably call him Bob. Daddy isn’t aware of this and her wishes do not carry my consent. 
 
I believe that the theme of our second degree also links up with our startup book. If you are looking for some phosphorescence in your life – adopt a cat. 
 
 
I don’t think our third degree needs a lot of explanation. It’s obviously just a wordplay on A Street Cat named Bob. Or is that one a wordplay on this one?  Just joking. Of course I know this timeless classic play and the story of Blanche DuBois and her last grasp at happiness, and of Stanley Kowalski, the one who destroyed her chance. I believe Blanche might have found our startup book rather beneficial in her search for happiness. 
 
 
Quite easy to link our 4th degree to our second and third one. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof  is also a play written by Master Tennessee Williams. There’s a cat in the title, but not in the play. Rather confusing, I know. Oh, and we can also link it to our startup book. All these people could also do with a copy of Phosphorescence
 
 
Thrown upon this choice and wondering how on earth my Mommy got here? Don’t worry, so did I. But if you go back to the rules of the Six Degrees‘s meme, you will see that personal choices are not allowed to receive a thrown. My Mommy’s choice of 3rd and 4th degrees, are both classic plays that she will highly recommend, but Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is my Mommy’s favorite play of all times. Not quite sure why. Just about all the people in all 3 plays are seriously dysfunctional and I believe a copy of Phosphorescence will be welcomed underneath George and Martha’s Christmas tree as well. 
 
But there actually is one other connection that links the 4th, 5th and our last degree perfectly. 
 

 

 

The one and only Elizabeth Taylor. What an unbelievably beautiful and talented woman. If only she also read Phosphorescence and adopted a street cat.
I guess our last link don’t need much introduction or explanation?
Lassie is Joe’s prize collie and constant companion. But when Joe’s father loses his job, Lassie must be sold. Three times she escapes from her new owner, and three times she returns home to Joe, until finally she is taken to the remotest part of Scotland—too far a journey for any dog to make alone.
But Lassie is not just any dog.
First published in 1940, Lassie Come-Home has become one of the best-loved dog stories in the world. This beautiful edition showcases the original text and illustrations within a striking new jacket.
 
 
My Mommy always says that she would love to have a Lassie dog. Daddy says no, because they just run away as proven over and over if you read all the books and watch the movies. I see no problem with getting a dog that will keep on running away. Will suit me perfectly fine. 
 

 

Bit of a crazy and far reaching chain this month, but  it was still fun! Have you read any of our books/plays?

 
Remember to share your Six Degrees of Separation with us!
 
Have a wonderful weekend!
 
 
Lots of Love,
 

 

 

 

 
Share the Meows
RSS
Follow by Email
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
Instagram

27 responses to “Six Degrees of Separation – From Phosphorescence to Lassie Come Home

  1. Books and Elizabeth Taylor, well done 😉 I remember watching Dumb witness recently, the scene with the phosphor was striking ! And Bob was so cute… It also reminds me that I read a lot of Tennessee Williams in my day.

  2. Ooh, I really liked the phosphorus connection with Dumb Witness. How did you rememebr that one? Very neat, indeed. And the books/ movies that followed-up, love those too. Now I want to rewatch Cat on a Hot Tin Roof all over again.
    ~ Lex

    • Hi Lex! Oh I don't really know how I remember it!! I think it was one of those really crazy, wow murders and it just stuck! Glad you liked our list. Yes, one can watch Cat on a hot tin roof over and over for sure.

    • Hi there Trin! I believe it's one of the greatest plays ever. We did a production of it in drama school and it was by for one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

      I am going to take a look at your review now.

  3. This is certainly different and fun!

    I rarely read animal books as I can't bear the thought that they will probably die at the end to teach us all a Life Lesson.

    Cat books I have enjoyed for many years, however, are those by the late Doreen Tovey, who wrote about her life in a Devon cottage, first with her aunt Lousia and an assortment of animals, then later with her husband and their numerous generations of Siamese cats.

    My exisiting Siamese is called Gracie after Grace Kelly and her late sister was Lizzie after Elizabeth Taylor. They have even turned out like their namesakes – Lizzie was a complete diva, whereas Gracie is a much cooler character and (mostly) quite graceful.

    When he was little my son used to watch a children's programme called Come Outside, in which Pam Ferris and her collie dog Pippin used to fly off in her light aircraft (not really, of course) to visit interesting places like a toothpaste factory – it was essential that Pippin should run off and get lost in every episode so that Pam could find her by going through the factory, and on the way find out how things were made. My son, aged 3, used to get so upset at the idea that Pippin was lost that we had tears almost every time. Hence we never watched Lassie!

    • Hi there Rosemary! I've grown up with Siamese cats. My mother always had Siamese cats. They really are a breed all by themselves, no denying that. And just as gorgeous!

      I always check out the reviews on animal books carefully before I just dive in. Otherwise I will cry forever yes. You do get a couple of fun cat series though that rather leave you laughing than crying!

      Thanks so much for stopping by and for telling me more about you!

  4. CLM

    Enjoyed your chain. That is a lot of cats! I also just read The Thursday Murder Club which I thought was fun.

    • You are always going to find lots of cats on this blog! The Thursday Murder Club really was a fun read and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

    • Hi Emma! Thanks for the compliment. I hope you enjoy Dumb Witness. It truly is a wonderful Agatha Christie and such a clever murder plot.

  5. I wondered how Elza would tolerate Lassie being included! Elizabeth Taylor is just so ridiculously gorgeous – especially in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof. And Dumb Witness is one of my favorites! I had forgotten about that particular side effect of the poison but it was fantastic.

    • HI Katherine! Dumb Witness is definitely one of my favorites as well and I am sorry that we don't hear more about what happened to Bob. I know, Elizabeth Taylor was as pretty as a picture. They don't come like that anymore…

  6. That's a great chain. Dumb Witness is one of my favourite Christie novels too and I love the way you linked it to your second book!

    • Hi Helen! I also love Dumb Witness. Mainly because of Bob and it's such a clever murder. If that makes me sound a bit crazy, I do apologize …

  7. I have not read any of them but I have seen all of the plays in one form or another. Elizabeth Taylor, phenomenal! I will agree there! I'm so slowly making my way through Agatha Christie. She's always a treat. Loved seeing your fantastic choices. That Phosphorescence book looks right up my alley. I'll have to check it out.

    • Hi there Heather! I've read so many plays when I was in drama school and somehow it still remains a great love. My whole drama group were completely obsessed with Elizabeth Taylor and especially Who's afraid of Virginia Wolf. Writing this post brought back some memories for sure.