Books Over the Channel

I picked up "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" as a freebie at a book expo while I was still with Borders. For one who loves reading and used to live in the U.K., it was a no-brainer. I finally got around to reading it a few weeks and found it to be a quick, enjoyable read.

The novel sets its scene through a series of letters written to or from Miss Juliet Ashton, a writer made famous for witty and humorous columns intended to distract London's citizens during World War II. It's 1946 and the war is now over, leaving Juliet at a loss of what to do and write about.

She receives a letter from a member of Gurensey's Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Through his letters and letters of other members of the society, you learn of Guernsey's fate during the war while it was occupied by German soldiers.

Written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, this is a great book to read while on vacation or traveling.

Random sidenote: I've never been in a typical book club. I've been in "long-distance" online book chats, where friends from school have read the same books and then discussed them in e-mail or on Facebook and the like, but I've never been in a stereotypical, monthly bookclub. I've never really been interested in most of the reading selections of the ones I've seen, but maybe I should try again ... Not only would it help my broaden my horizons a bit, but maybe I would read more than graphic novels and YA, then too!