I’d like you to meet my mom, Barb. I asked her to write a quick blog post for us about her recent book club pick because I couldn’t have said it better myself.

What to do when it’s your turn to pick the book for Book Club and you haven’t a clue? You call your daughter who’s in publishing. She, in turn, polls her colleagues for recommendations. The result….The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society With trepidation I present my choice to the group. “Oh,” say several of the members, “I’ve heard about that book. It’s supposed to be good”.

After thirteen years of being in this Book Club, I’ve heard that before. It usually leads to the hardship of trying to finish a novel that’s “supposed to be” good. Well, this book was a problem for the group…because everyone loved it! Why is that a problem? If everyone loves the book there’s not much room for controversy and lively debate which is the essence of our book club. Luckily Jessica sent me a link to the Reading Group Guide - lots of interesting questions and extra content in there. Thus we dug deep to keep the discussion going.

We agreed the writing style was breezy and gentle. We thought we could actually imagine the author’s voice. The story contained fascinating historical information which leads to a tangent of discussions. Who knew the people on the Island of Guernsey were prisoners of war in their homes during WWII? There were so many colourful characters that each member could find at least one character with whom they could travel through the book.

Read this book when you want an engaging read. It’s great for a rainy day or a day at the beach. Recommend this book and you’ll be the darling of your friends/book club.

-Barb

I hope you all like Guernsey as much as my Mom did! If you want a taste you can read from the book here.