The Guersey Literary and Potato Peel Society

The weather was beautiful this weekend, but we haven't had much of a chance to enjoy it. I woke up in miserable pain yesterday, and Jesse's been trying to get caught up around the house. When Grandma went into the nursing home, she gave us her wingback chair and an entertainment center, so yesterday was spent rearranging the living room. Today, I'm still resting up in bed with Molly. She's running a fever of over 102 with aches, chills, and a runny nose. I'm not sure if she has the flu or if her UTI is back. The last round antibiotics didn't seem to work. The appointment with the urologist isn't until the 23rd, but I'm going to call first thing tomorrow in hopes of getting her in a little earlier. Please say a little prayer for her today.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is a delightfully engaging book about the island of Guernsey in 1946. The entire book is told through correspondence between Juliet Ashton, a writer working on a story about the German occupation in Guersey during WWII, the members of the eponymous society, her agent, and her erstwhile boyfriend. Each letters sparkles with the writer's personality from Juliet's world-weary writer to Isola's gruff affection to Dawsey's sweet, unassuming observations of the world around him. The story flows quite easily without the extraneous detail of a novel told in the normal format. We may not see every scene and those we do see are only from one perspective, but the authors build suspense and romance in equal measures. When the truth about Juliet's feelings are finally exposed, I couldn't help but breathe with a little catch in my throat. This book reminded me of the joy I find in reading. Not a word was wasted, and every page was a wonder.

Tomorrow starts off the new book contest!