Alison Wells Author

When I launched Random Acts of Optimism one of the highlights of the night was having the members of the book clubs in the library where I work come along to support me on the night. Book clubs are enduring, convivial, hilarious, serious, they have helped people back to a sense of community since the pandemic, they allow conversations about difficult and divisive topics in a place where people are willing to listen to each other, they have spawned spin off social and cultural groups and given life back to libraries and homes.

The prize!

To celebrate Book Clubs, I will give away 7 copies of Random Acts of Optimism to your book club and offer an (optional) Zoom call with your book club to answer questions about the stories in the book, about writing and inspiration and some insights into what library book clubs have been reading over the last few years.

Is Random Acts of Optimism a good choice for your book club?

Writer Madeleine D’Arcy said “A librarian and an elderly person form a bond during lockdown. There are ghosts. There are problems with plumbers. There are dinosaurs on the Isle of Wight. There is a story written from the point of view of a letter. There are stars, meringues, memories in jars, a spaceman. Most of all, there are people, trying to cope with life and all its travails. At times tender and thought-provoking, by turns humorous and bleak, this cornucopia of tales is truly a pleasure to read.”

The book of fifteen stories has something for everyone, you may love some stories and feel uneasy with others, there are straightforward stories, some strange, some spooky and several laugh out loud tales.

How to enter

To enter, send a message through the Contact Form telling me a little bit about your book club, how many meet, where, how long you’ve been meeting, favourite memories, favourite reads. I will draw the winners and make the announcement on Friday 1st December.

Whether you enter the competition or not, you can access some book club questions for Random Acts of Optimism as well as some general resources here. If a member of the library in the Republic of Ireland, you can borrow the book by requesting it be delivered to your local branch from the national network through the national reservation system or you can ask your local library to purchase a copy.

If you need additional copies for your group or just want to get it straight away you can get it from Wordsonthestreet publisher , from Amazon.co.uk, Blackwells, Barnes and Noble, Alan Hannas and Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop in Galway has copies on sale in their bookshop.

Hope to hear all about your book clubs from near and far and good luck!