Friday Five Challenge ~ À La Mod by Ian Moore

Rosie Amber’s Friday Five Challenge, involves taking only five minutes to choose a book cover which appeals instantly. So take a few minutes, pour yourself a coffee…..and have a browse.

In today’s online shopping age, readers often base their buying decisions from small postage stamp size book covers (Thumb-nails), a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they really spend making that buying decision?

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

My Friday Five Challenge is this….. IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description for this book, and any other details.

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

It was the Travel and Holiday section for this week’s challenge. Not something I would generally go for but on the second page I spotted this cover….

The book description reads…

Comedian, mod and professional grump Ian Moore has had enough. 

Tired of being unable to park anywhere near his cramped house in a noisy town he doesn’t like, he hatches a plan to move his wife and young son to a remote corner of the Loire Valley in search of serenity and space. 

Several years later, Ian finds himself up to his neck in bilingual offspring, feral cats, promiscuous horses, dysfunctional spaniels and needy hens; he’s wrestling with electric fences, a foreign language, a mountain of animal waste and a wife who collects livestock like there’s a biblical flood on the horizon, all while trying not to dirty his loafers. 

But despite the ups, downs and increasing demands of Ian’s showbiz career, the Moore family persevere in true Brit style to create a unique, colourful and ultimately rewarding life in their new home – à la campagne and à la mod!

Kindle price ~ £0.99/$1.54

Pages ~ 353

À la Mod sounds a really fun read and, for me, the cover art supports that image. Out of 110 reviews 87 are 5*, the rest are distributed fairly evenly through the other ratings, giving it an overall rating of 4.5* The reviews I glanced through seemed genuine, from people who had reviewed other books. Just five reviews on Amazon.com, three of which are 5*.

I imagine there are quite a few books on the experiences of expats now living in France, and indeed various other countries. And looking at the section underneath ‘Customers who bought this item also bought….’ I see there are! This one appealed to me because of the comedic aspect, which most of the reviewers commented on in a positive way. A few found it less than funny but then, I suppose it all depends on an  individual’s sense of humour. 

Would I BUY or PASS ~ I’d BUY. 

For £0.99 it would be worth taking a chance. Here are the book links ~ Amazon UK Amazon US

Check out other Friday Five Challengers’ choices..

Rosie went for the biography section and chose Zelda Fitzgerald.

Steampunk for Shelley

Terry chose an Enchanted August

Liz goes to Cornwall for a murder mystery

Barb is having ‘weefee’ trouble in the Spanish wilderness. You have to read this!!

If you’d like to enter next week’s challenge, and the more the merrier, check out Rosie’s blog to read about the Friday Five Challenge.