How is it November already! Anyway, time to vote on our monthly read for Elsie’s Attic Book Club. Here we are, back in lockdown so I have tried to choose some really decent reads to distract us and to cosy up with. To cast your vote, hop on over to our Facebook group here. Here’s a little about the five choices . . .
Just Ignore Him – Alan Davies 
So this book is a hardback, which I know aren’t always popular but the reviews have been so unbelievable that I just thought I would put it out there . . . Told with immense emotional depth, Daviesâs memoir is an arresting and devastatingly honest account of childhood trauma, the quest for belonging, and the complex role of humour in overcoming adversity.
The story of a life built on sand. In the rain.
In this compelling memoir, comedian and actor Alan Davies recalls his boyhood with vivid insight and devastating humour. Shifting between his 1970s upbringing and his life today, Davies moves poignantly from innocence to experience to the clarity of hindsight, always with a keen sense of the absurd.
From sibling dynamics, to his voiceless, misunderstood progression through school, sexuality and humiliating ‘accidents’, Davies inhabits his younger mind with spectacular accuracy, sharply evoking an era when Green Shield Stamps, Bob-a-Job week and Whizzer & Chips loomed large, a bus fare was 2p – and children had little power in the face of adult motivation. Here, there are often exquisitely tender recollections of the mother he lost at six years old, of a bereaved family struggling to find its way, and the kicks and confusion of adolescence.
Through even the joyous and innocent memories, the pain of Davies’s lifelong grief and profound betrayal is unfiltered, searing and beautifully articulated. Just Ignore Him is not only an autobiography, it is a testament to a survivor’s resilience and courage.
The Split – Sharon Bolton
A year ago Felicity Lloyd fled England to South Georgia, one of the most remote islands in the world, escaping her past and the man she once loved. Can she keep running her whole life? Freddie Lloyd has served time for murder – and now he wants her back. Wherever she is, he won’t stop until he finds her. Will he be able to track her to the ends of the earth?
The Second Sleep – Robert Harris 
All civilisations think they are invulnerable. History warns us none is.
1468. A young priest, Christopher Fairfax, arrives in a remote Exmoor village to conduct the funeral of his predecessor. The land around is strewn with ancient artefacts â coins, fragments of glass, human bones â which the old parson used to collect. Did his obsession with the past lead to his death? The young priest finds an iPhone and what unfolds is truly captivating.
As Fairfax is drawn more deeply into the isolated community, everything he believes â about himself, his faith and the history of his world â is tested to destruction.
I am Watching You – Teresa Driscoll
What would it take to make you intervene?
When Ella Longfield overhears two attractive young men flirting with teenage girls on a train, she thinks nothing of itâuntil she realises they are fresh out of prison and her maternal instinct is put on high alert. But just as sheâs decided to call for help, something stops her. The next day, she wakes up to the news that one of the girlsâbeautiful, green-eyed Anna Ballardâhas disappeared.
A year later, Anna is still missing. Ella is wracked with guilt over what she failed to do, and sheâs not the only one who canât forget. Someone is sending her threatening lettersâletters that make her fear for her life.
Then an anniversary appeal reveals that Annaâs friends and family might have something to hide. Annaâs best friend, Sarah, hasnât been telling the whole truth about what really happened that nightâand her parents have been keeping secrets of their own.
Someone knows where Anna isâand theyâre not telling. But they are watching Ella.
Here to Stay – Mark Edwards 
A beautiful home. A loving wife. And in-laws to die for.
Gemma Robinson comes into Elliotâs life like a whirlwind, and they marry and settle into his home. When she asks him if her parents can come to stay for a couple of weeks, he is keen to oblige â he just doesnât quite know what heâs signing up for.
The Robinsons arrive with Gemmaâs sister, Chloe, a mysterious young woman who refuses to speak or leave her room. Elliot starts to suspect that the Robinsons are hiding a dark secret. And then there are the scars on his wifeâs body that she wonât talk about . . .
As Elliotâs in-laws become more comfortable in his home, encroaching on all aspects of his life, it becomes clear that they have no intention of moving out. To protect Gemma, and their marriage, Elliot delves into the Robinsonsâ past. But is he prepared for the truth?
From the two million copy bestselling author comes a tale about the chilling consequences of welcoming strangers into your home.
