The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Ann Barrows

Hooray! Everyone enjoyed this book! Not everyone was able to finish it, with the holidays taking up much of their time. The snow storm that was supposed to keep people homebound actually ended up creating a lot of impromptu gatherings for locals who changed their Christmas travel plans. While not quite reaching predicted snow totals, it was certainly a white Christmas this year! Thankfully it was also a safe and happy one for all of our members.

The Random House discussion guide has fun questions for this book. The paperback copies include the questions, which is very handy! Some other topics we enjoyed talking about were:

* Our perspective on WWII as Americans - family members who fought, travel experiences after the war, and current attitudes about WWII.

* While we all struggled to recall the literary tastes of the characters, we enjoyed comparing our own and considering what our taste in books tells about us.

* We admired the character of Elizabeth and touched on whether or not we would be able to put ourselves at risk to help another as she did. We related her experience to the recent attempted bombing on an airplane in Detroit which was prevented by alert passengers who restrained the terrorist. The question was, "Would you be the one to jump on the terrorist if given the opportunity?" Most of us agreed that we wouldn't have the reflexes or the observational skills to be that person and we discussed the background experiences and skills that the brave individual would need to have.

* One amusing conversation revolved around Sidney's sexual orientation as it related to various characters in the book.

* Finally, is Dawsey a good match for Juliet? Why or why not?

Our hostess did a great job with food for this book. She made a pork loin and baked rolls to go with it! She included brie on 'biscuits' as a reminder that the biscuits they received as rations in the book were actually what we could consider crackers. And for an amazing dessert she brought out some yummy teas and chocolate! Other additions to the menu included Southwestern Chicken soup, crab dip with crackers, humus with carrots and peppers, and meat and cheese. There were also some delicious little pastries filled with brie that I'm not enough of a gourmet to describe, I'm sorry. But the moral of the story is that we enjoyed great food and drink as usual. I shouldn't forget the Martha Stewart punch made by our hostess either. I'll say it again... I really need to get people to submit recipes for this site. Happy reading and eating! :)

WLT: A Radio Romance by Garrison Keillor

What did our members have to say about WLT? If you're planning to listen to it on tape during a long car trip, be aware that some of the subject matter may be uncomfortable depending on the mix of people you have in the vehicle. One reviewer used the word "bawdy," which is apt here. We have many Garrison Keillor fans among our members, some who have gone to see him live. This was not their favorite work of his. In fact, no one really cared for it and we did not have much to discuss. I would be happy to add more comments from other book club members that they would care to pass on. Personally, I did not finish it. I did not connect with any of the characters and had no motivation to read very far into the book.

We had some very lively conversations about school politics, standardized testing, female circumcision, the current wars, and other topics of personal interest. We never have any lack of conversation even if we do not find inspiration in the book.

We always find inspiration in food, whether it's from the book, or in this case from the holidays. Desserts were Christmas cookies and pound cake. There was hot wild rice soup and hot buttered rum for the cold weather. Some carrots and humus and cheese and crackers made us feel a little bit healthy. Red wine is healthy, too, correct?