Happy Accidents

What I’m thinking about here, particularly, is finding a good book or a good author by accident. Sometimes it’s easy – my ex-colleagues Alison and Lois used to put together brilliant book displays, and I found load of good books that way. Or it can be systematic – I’ve heard of one library user who chooses books thus: male author beginning with A, female author beginning with B, and so on…

But it always feels better when it’s a genuine accident. I’ll give you an example – I got an email from someone querying a fact in an article I’d written for a local history database (we were both right, as it happens – but he was more right than I was). Anyway, I knew his name as someone who had written a book on the World Cup, so I tried to find it in the library (to nitpick it, if I’m honest). Instead, I discovered that he had written a novel. I decided to read it, and I loved it. I passed it on to friends, who also loved it. His name is Cris Freddi and the book is Pelican Blood – try it.

Oh, but there’s lots of ways to do it – there’s a cool picture on the cover,  he’s the son of your favourite author (Adam Lively, son of Penelope – The Burnt House is worth a read), it’s on the shelf next to the book you’re actually looking for (seriously, this has worked!).

Or here’s a good one – when you discover that the singer in a band you like has started writing novels. Sometimes, that singer can go on to become one of your favourite authors. I’ll tell you who I’m talking about next time.

Hey – my first cliffhanger!