Next Meeting is September 18 at noon at Sharon w/ Rennie

"Shadow of Greenbrier" by Emily Matchar and "The Last of the Moon Girls" by Barbara Davis

May 20 Meeting at Gayle's

on Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tonight we assembled at Gayle's house once again to discuss our book, but unlike those in "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" we were free to assemble and not under any threat.  We are very lucky.
Gayle set up a "lovely" tray of cucumber sandwiches among other English treats.  She made two versions of Potato Peel Pie complete with potato peels.  It was all very good so I'm sure it did not compare to what those on Guernsey had to eat during the war. For dessert we had lemon bars and English Short Bread from a shop in NYC -  all very lovely.
After dinner, Gayle asked several pertinent questions relating to the book and a varied discussion commenced.  Of course topics strayed to illegal aliens, empty nest syndrome and then back to the book to discuss the characters and what is was like during the war to send children away to strangers to protect them.  All liked the book and the epistolary style with the exception of Grace who just couldn't get into it.  And that is what is great about our group, we are not "sheeple".

Next month we will assemble at Pam's House after reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.
Bon Voyage to Ellen who is going on a cruise.

See you all in a month if not sooner,

KAthy G
Please read the Biography of Mary Ann Shaffer born in Martinsburg, WV in Comments above.    (Thanks Sharon)

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Anonymous said...

*Biography*

Mary Ann Shaffer was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 1934. Her career included libraries, bookstores, and publishing, but her life-long dream was to "write a book that someone would like enough to publish." Though she did not live to see it, this dream has been realized in/ The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society/.


She became interested in Guernsey while visiting London in 1980. On a whim, she decided to fly to Guernsey but became stranded there when a thick fog descended and all boats and planes were forbidden to leave the island. As she waited for the fog to lift, warming herself by the heat of the hand-dryer in the men's restroom, she read all the books in the Guernsey airport bookstore, including /Jersey under the Jack-Boot/. Thus began her fascination with the German Occupation of the Channel Islands.


Many years later, when goaded by her book club to write a novel, Mary Ann naturally thought of Guernsey. She chose to write in the epistolary form because, "for some bizarre reason, I thought it would be easier." Several years of work yielded /The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society/, which was greeted with avid enthusiasm, first by her family, then by her writing group, and finally by publishers around the world.


Sadly, Mary Ann's health began to decline shortly thereafter, and she asked her niece, Annie Barrows (author of the /Ivy and Bean/ series for children, as well as /The Magic Half/), to help her finish the book. Mary Ann died in February 2008, knowing that her novel was to be published in English and in translation in many languages throughout the world.

Friday, May 21, 2010 at 12:01:00 AM EDT

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