Coming into a new office is remarkably similar to starting a new book. There are new people to meet, new locations to familiarise yourself with, and new idiosyncrasies to grow used to, whether these are particular ways the author has of phrasing sentences, counter-intuitive taps, or a shower whose presence, so far, no one has been able to satisfactorily explain to me. It can be daunting and exciting at the same time.

But perhaps this is where the similarities end. Unlike in a book, I’m hoping that no discernable narrative comes into play. Should people in the office start getting picked off one by one, like characters in a Rebecca Tope novel, this definitely wouldn’t be something I’d enjoy. Even a swarm of bees from a Laurie R. King novel is probably best avoided here, because, as far as I can tell, bees flout even the most basic health and safety regulations.

Yet like the most enjoyable books, I already feel welcomed into this world. Sitting in the office, beneath the shadow of the Post Office Tower (when presumably the Royal Mail believed that any problems with the postal system could be countered simply by moving the post farther away from the ground), is a pleasant experience, and I’m looking forwards to my time here over the coming month. And hoping that all the most thrilling and exciting plots will stay firmly confined to the pages of the novels I’ll be helping to publish.

What are your experiences of starting in a new office, and could any of them have come straight from the plot of a book?

George Alabaster, currently doing work experience at A&B