Authors Electric

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman "3 million copies sold" boasts the cover of this book, which makes me wonder why I've taken so long to read it, considering it was first published in 2017 and comes with a glowing collection of positive reviews. Well, I confess I have  come across a few of those reviews over the years, and for some unknown reason formed the opinion that it's a Young Adult (YA) issues title, which as a fantasy/historical fan I don't normally enjoy. That's partly why I am doing this year of reading at Authors Electric, allowing different types of books to cross my path and sampling authors and genres more widely than I used to, in the hope I'll discover a new author and/or genre to enjoy. Within a few pages, I was rooting for the heroine. Eleanor Oliphant (not her real name - she has grown up in care) has an office job in accounts that she seems to be good at, lives alone in a small flat, runs her life to a strict routine ...

In the run up to Christmas, I saw a great gift idea: a year of reading, consisting of one book per month, chosen specially for the recipient and wrapped in brown paper so that each monthly read remains a surprise. Instead, I got a cheque (always useful on an author's income) and a Lindt chocolate teddy bear (can't go wrong with chocolate, although so far I haven't had the heart to eat him so he's currently sitting on my mantelpiece awaiting his fate). But I still like the mystery book idea, so I decided to turn some of my Christmas money into a year of reading for myself. Each month, I'll buy a book appropriate for the time of year, chosen at random by browsing in a real shop... and since my post on Authors Electric is towards the end of the month, I'll aim to review it here. January yielded A Winter Wedding at Bletchley Park  by Molly Green, picked up in the Works sale for just £1. A Winter Wedding at Bletchley Park by Molly Green Bletchley Park has fascinated ...