The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

My mother's book group read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and she loaned it to me when she was done. Quirky title (and I always want to say SWEET Potato Peel Pie for some reason) but a fun book. It's not heavy and it's not great, but it's quite good and enjoyable to read. I don't know, sometimes I just want to have fun reading and enjoy the characters and enjoy the happy ending! ;)

The plot: A woman who wrote a book published during World War 2 gets a letter from a stranger. The letter has nothing to do with the book she wrote but instead is written because her name and address were inscribed on a book about Charles Lamb which she sold and ended up on Guernsey Island. Guernsey was occupied by the Germans during WW2 and through various letters, Juliet gets to know some of the inhabitants and a bit of their story. Intrigued, she decides to go visit, thinking maybe there will be something there to inspire a second book.

The characters are fun and mostly light. Don't expect too much nastiness about the Nazis, but just enough to remind you of the darker things you already know.

For a fun read, this is great. It made me want to hop on a plane and go to Guernsey... or barring that some other small charming island somewhere.

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

This is just a lovely book. It's got it all: interesting characters, beautiful evocative writing, and a nice set of story lines. It's Erica Bauermeister's first novel and I certainly hope there is another underway.

Lillian owns a popular restaurant and on Monday nights hold a cooking class there. There are few written recipes. Instead, she teaches people how to explore food and open their senses to the art of cooking. Each of the students has their own reason for attending class and brings their own story. What Lillian teaches is as much about life as it is about cooking, of course.

It's a delightful book to read, one you won't want to rush through but linger over and enjoy.