The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaver

It's 1946, and as Juliet Ashton sits at her desk in her Chelsea flat, she is stumped. A writer of witty newspaper columns during the war, she can't think of what to write next. Out of the blue, she receives a letter from one Dawsey Adams of Guernsey - by chance he's acquired a book Juliet once owned, and because of their mutual love of books, they begin a correspondence. Dawsey is a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and it's not long before the rest of the members start writing to Juliet.

As letters fly back and forth, Juliet comes to know the extraordinary personalities of the Society and their lives under the German occupation of the island. Entranced by their stories, Juliet decides to visit the island - and unwittingly turns her life upside down.

A moving and gloriously honest tale of post-war friendship, love and books.

The Christmas break can be a challenging time to get a book read. There always seems to be so much more to concentrate on. Thankfully, last month's book was perfectly placed in our reading list to give us all a nice light read for the inevitable end of year mayhem. Shaver's delightful Potato Peel Pie Society was enjoyed by our whole group, on varying levels. There were those of us who found it completely charming and engaging - the perfect holiday read; loved the letter writing as a way of telling the story. We even discussed the probability of being able to use the postal service as a dependable way of communicating. We came to the conclusion that there was a time when the post was considered a most satisfactory form of keeping in touch. My, how times change!

But alas, there were a few of us who found the Guernsey tale just a little too tedious for their liking. They lost track of the many characters and did not find themselves getting involved in the plot (or lack of) at any point. Some also wanted more descriptive passages of the island and its way of life. Most of us knew little of Guernsey before reading this novel, so as a group we do feel that something has been learned and a few members have already carried through with a little more research on this intriguing part of the world. It was also suggested that 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff would be a good book to follow this up with, as it is written in the same 'letter' format, and in some opinions, a better read.

Everything aside, this captivating, light-hearted tale is a must read for those times when all you want is simply an enjoyable book.

Favourites for 2010

What a reading year we had in 2010! We enjoyed some fantastic books during the last year and after a vote by our members the top three titles were separated by only one or two points. The top honours went to Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. We loved his writing style and subtlety of this story.



Next came the classic The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham. We love our classics and this one was popular with all of our group. It drew a few of us to read more of Maugham's books.

And number three, down the ladder by only a few points, was Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin. This contemporary novel challenged us in many ways. It is confronting and emotional to a point where our discussion became totally absorbing and raw, but certainly not to the point that we would shy away from it.

Lower down the scale foundered The Wanting by Richard Flanagan and Tuscan Rose by Belinda Alexandra. Far from our favourites, these books helped to round off a great year of reading. We take pride in the variety of genres that we are willing to try and this year we will continue to challenge ourselves with a mix of classics and newer fiction. 2011 here we come!