Hope y'all had a merry Christmas! And that you're ready to get into a new year of great books and fun meetings. I've got a book list for the new year that I'll be posting on the blog soon--I just have one or two more months to iron out.
But for now...here's the plan:
January book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann
Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Discussion led by Amber Westfall
Thu, Jan 21st
7:00pm
Location: Yet to be determined (volunteers?)
This book is only about 250 pages and, according to Amber, a very fast read. The libraries have tons of copies, though you may have to place a hold on it. Here's a customer review from Amazon:
"Set in both London and Guernsey Island, this novel follows author Juliet as she becomes friends with the inhabitants of the island shortly after the end of World
War 2. Told in epistolary style, Juliet learns of the occupied island and its deprivations, as well as the resounding spirit of the people who live there. As she writes, she becomes more and more intrigued with the stories of the people who survived the hard times, and she decides to create a book based on their experiences. In order to gather more information, Juliet moves temporarily to the island and soon finds herself immsersed in the culture and relationships.
"This is absolutely one of the most delightful books I've read all year. The characters are real, the relationships are unique, and Juliet is hysterically funny, as well as warm hearted and genuine. I did have a bit of trouble keeping all the characters straight in the beginning, but once I caught on, I was enthralled. The pages just fly by and while you will learn a little of what happened to Guernsey during World War 2, you will learn much more about love and friendship. Highly recommended!"
February book: Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Discussion led by Margaret Morrison
Wed, Feb 10th
7:00pm
Location: Margaret Morrison's house
Villette is supposed to be the most autobiographical of Bronte's works, moreso than Jane Eyre. The libraries have copies of it but I found you have to search for "Villette" as a keyword and not as the title or for some reason it didn't bring it up. Most copies of it are within a book of her (and sometimes Emily's) complete works. Again, another Amazon customer review:
"It was her last completed book, always in the shadow of Jane Eyre. It was insightful, irreverent, angry, tragic, funny, bizarre, gothic and wonderfully honest. At the time, the novel was harshly criticized by men, even feminist men like George Eliot's lover. But George Eliot herself and Virginia Wolf believed it to be her best work.
"How unusual first of all to have a heroine like Lucy Snowe, not of noble blood, not rich, not charming, not even good-looking as women (esp in the Victorian period) were expected to be. Like the other characters, she is flawed, contradictory and multi-faceted in a way one rarely sees in literature but continually witnesses in real life. Yet she is decidedly brilliant, original and imaginative like no other. Unconventional and delightfully subversive! In many ways, this is a truly modern novel to this day. I've never read a novel that so honestly and unflinchingly captures the plight of a woman-artist making her own way in the world despite the obstacles thrown in her path."
Villette is a little beefier than Guernsey--about 600 pages. So if you're planning on coming to both meetings, I'd go ahead and get Villette and begin working on that since there is only about 3 weeks between them.
I'm really excited about both these books and the ones we have planned through the end of summer. Happy reading and enjoy the rest of your Christmas break!
