The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Authors: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Pages: 275
Yearly Count: 52

A novel told through letters, from this person to that, back and forth. I had never read anything written like this before, and while I had a huge learning curve initially to remember who was who and who was writing to whom and why, I LOVED The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I know, isn't that a mouthload of a title!? But it makes you wonderfully curious, right? It did me, and I am so happy I filled my craving to read this novel.

In January of 1946, Juliet, an author in London, begins to correspond with the society's members through a fun fluke, by which one member gets a hold of her address. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is formed of an eclectic, group of down-to-reality people who decided to have a Literary society during the recent German occupation as a cover up at first- but that only lasted a short day before they all came to love literature fully, even if it was in their own individual way!

I think this will be one we hear of for a long time, it is very cleaver, witty, funny, and beautifully precocious. I came to love the society of people, admire them for the difficulties they endured during the German occupation, while growing to support eachother and form a tight group. I enjoyed the writing, and novel in the form of letters was so entirely new that I was so thankful I picked this one up! It completely shook me of my recent "I am overwhelmed by what I am reading" issue. Ya gotta grab this one! :) Enjoy.

None of us had any experience with literary societies, so we made our own rules: we took turns speaking about the books we'd read. t he star, we tried to be calm and objective, but that soon fell away, and the purpose of the speakers was to goad the listeners into wanting to read the same book themselves. Once two members had read the same book, they could argue, which was our great delight (p. 51).

Ha, ha!! I just have to laugh looking at that quote....is that what are book blogging society is like!?!?! I love that, it is such a wonderful quote and I can fully relate. I always want people to read the books that I have read and then we can discuss them :)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Author Annie Barrows Website
And here are two trailers:





Have you read and reviewed it, give me your link! (pretty please?)

The Septembers of Shiraz

Title: The Septembers of Shiraz
Author: Dalia Sofer
Pages: 338
Yearly Count: 47

I have already told you that I am Iran obsessed, right? Not just Iran, but also Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka...well, maybe just internationally obsessed. But this is the 4 book I have read from/ about Iran this year! I can't get enough, just can't. Okay on to the book!

After the Iranian revolution, the jewel dealer Isaac Amin is taken, arrested and does not know why other than that he is a Jew, with a family connection to Israel. Even though it would seems so, this is not a book of simply a prisoner wrongly accused. Isaac narrates some chapters and the others are narrated by the other members of his family, his wife, his young daughter and his son who is trying to make it in America. I felt that the interweaving of the different voices really made the novel. It broke up the prison scenes and showed life at the same time.

This was a great one. I loved reading it, and I loved thinking about the life of the people who lived in it. The writing is excellent, and I enjoyed the style as well. I have read that other bloggers thought the book emotionless, as if all the book were told in the same tone. I do not agree, I actually relied on the steady words of the narrators, on the calm tone of the pages. I felt that it was a voice of hope, that life will go on, things will change and suffering will be had, and yet there is a steady part in it all, a resiliency. I loved the voice of this novel.
I highly recommend The Septembers of Shiraz, uber-powerful book of resiliency in the midst of insanity. I wouldn't be surprised it something big happens with this one (ie a prize, a movie deal....you know something cool). enjoy.

Make sure to enter my GIVEAWAY of BELONGING!!

Did you review this too? Give me your link to post here :)
Also reviewed by:
Softdrink at Fizzy Thoughts

Persepolis and Persepolis 2

Title: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Author: Marjane Satrapi
Published: Pantheon Books, New York
Pages: 153
Yearly Count: 28

The beginning of a story, a story of one little girl and what surrounds her. She is an Iranian, a Persian growing up in time of political unrest, societal insecurities and confusion of religion and law. Marjane conveys through the eyes of a child, what she felt, what she had to hold in and what happened when she didn't. To see all the horrors through the eyes of a little girl make them more real, more vivid and even more horrible.

This graphic novel was amazing to read, this was my first graphic novel experience and I loved the drawings to go along with the writing. Both the storyline and the art tied together to make the work a complete whole, and completely a five star read. I highly recommend it, and enjoyed learning more of the nation of Iran and its struggles. Not only is it about the nation, but it is mostly about one family and their interactions and how each political and religious decision affects them. Immediately when I finished the first book I grabbed up the sequel: Persepolis 2: The Story of Return.

Title: Persepolis 2: The Story of Return
Author: Marjane Satrapi
Publisher: Pantheon Books, New York
Pages: 187
Yearly Count: 29

Persepolis 2 shows the confusion of a child-now-teen who had to live in complete strictness and severity. Marjane heads to Germany and is on her own. She will live through such solitude and a sense of abandonment. Because of these feelings she turns to fillers, things and activities that will take the place, but fillers never work. She finds herself alone, embarrassed and someone she doesn't even know or recognize anymore, life must improve. This second half to me was a search for herself, Marjane had lived in order and control in Iran, and then moved to Germany where she was free to make choices...what she became made her fearful.

I enjoyed the second of the Persepolis books, but it seemed a little too introspective to me. I liked the first better because I loved learning about what was going on in Iran and how it affected Marjane, in Persepolis 2 Marjane takes the priority and her sufferings and depressions. It was good, because I cared about her and what became of her, but I would have enjoyed more about the situation when she returned to Iran. At the end of the book, it almost seemed like there would be another book after it. I looked everywhere and I don't think that there is, but it ended in a strange spot to me. I would definitely recommend it, but not as hard-core whole-heartedly as the first.

Links to other Bloggers reviews:

Marg from ReadingAdventures: Persepolis and Persepolis 2
Raidergirl3 from an adventure in reading: Persepolis and Persepolis 2
tinylittlelibrarian from tiny little reading room: Persepolis

If you have read either of these books let me know and I will include a link to your review at the end of this review.

the creative family by Amanda Blake Soule

*edit!: I completely forgot to give you all her blog, she does a pretty much daily blog that you will love...the pictures are incredible: soule mama Title the creative family
Author: Amanda Blake Soule
Pages: 212
Rated: 5/5
Yearly Count: 13



This book is pure, unadulterated creative dynamite! I wanted to review this book knowing that I would enjoy it, but I had no idea to what extent it would challenge my family and I. Amanda and the rest of the Soule family do an excellent job in this book of inspiring creativity, of living artfully and of helping other families reach their creative potential as well. Last night, after reading a little over half of the book throughout the day, I could not sleep for hours (and I usually have no problem) but my mind was stewing, in hard-core overdrive imagining all the fun things we can do together as a family, thinking of all the neat projects that my two little boys are old enough to do now that are in this book!


Some of the exciting projects include little hands learning to felt, sew, make stuffed art, knit, and embroider. Other projects that stood out to me were family drawing time, making traditions, handmade holidays, art placemats, and "craftivisim" . If you have thought about the level of creativity in your house, and desire it to ebb and flow out of all of you and yours, The Creative Family by Amanda Blake will be a sweet dream that can be your new reality, an amazing place that after you have entered you'll know you just gotta stay. The best thing is that kids are drawn to create and it need not be something you are apprehensive about, take it from Soule, she believes that, " as human beings, we are all born with the ability, the desire, the passion, and the drive to be creative. We may become anxious about "teaching" creativity to our children, but there is really no need for us to teach. They know how to be creative. The know it with every ounce of their being- it isn't conscious or rational. It is simply who they are. Until somethings stands in their way [...]they will be creative" (p. 13).

Consider me inspired: Yesterday I set up an inspiration wire (p. 21), and several times I noticed my little one checking out his art on the wall with intense pride. I went out and found some things that our art cabinet (dresser)(p. 25) was in need of, and I was dying to do the projects in the book. Today, after reading the section on letting your kids use good quality things I (must admit reluctantly) let my four-year-old paint with my paint brushes...the results were just beautiful, let me tell you that next time I will not hesitate, he can use my brush! This weekend we are going to do the freezer-paper stenciling (p. 74) after I find the shirts we need, and because our "inspiration wire" is already way too full I am going to put together some sturdy art clips (p. 83) up at some point in the near future. The project that I am incredibly excited about though, and have already been eyeing materials for is the incredible "Banging Wall" (p. 197) I cannot wait to get that up in our backyard! Those are the projects that have inspired me, since yesterday...and there are many more in this book waiting to be used as well.

One of my favourite aspects of this book is the desire to bless others with your art, for whom you want to express love or care for. Here is an especially great quote on just that, Soule says, " Living a creative live is made all the more fulfilling and rewarding when we are creating with, for or because of others. Much creative drive is certainly internally driven, but there is such benefit to creating beyond ourselves, beyond our family, and beyond our homes, for our community and the world around us. Connecting with and creating with others can be a powerful and inspiring act, as well as a wonderful gift for our children, teaching them how to connect and share their own passions with others" (p. 191). It is beautiful to allow art to not only influence your family, but to impact those around you as well. Kids and parents alike learn life lessons from such acts.

This is one of those books that come around very much too infrequently that you would like to buy 100 of and give one to all your friends because you know they would love it too...but then you do the calculations and realize that would not go over too well with family budgeting. No, seriously I will buy this book for several of my close friends who I know will love it just as much as me, and to all the rest of my friends who would also love it just as much I will give it the highest recommendations possible. All I can say, if you believe in creativity, or would like to start...buy this book and you will want all your friends to buy it too!

The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule
Available on April 1st

Franny and Zooey JD Salinger

Title: Franny and Zooey
Author: JD Salinger
Yearly Count: 4
Rating: 4.5/5
Pages: 202

Challenges This book is in:
My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge #1
Eponymous Challenge #1
Novella Challenge #1



I highly enjoyed this book, I enjoyed it so much that after reading it I did not have enough of Salinger so I went over to the public library and immediately borrowed Nine Stories and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour , also by JD Salinger!
These stories were initially published in the NY Times, separately. They both involve Franny, who is eccentric and somewhat overwhelmed...really even overwhelming! However she is a blast to read about and the transitions she goes through from when the book starts to when it ends makes it comepletely worth the emotional wreck that this family is.

It is almost like I got what I did despite the fact that the book talks about a group of wonderbread kids who have life so easy that they try and make it complicated. I realised that I did have a hard time tolerating their fainting spells, and when they insulted their mamma and called her fat and such. I began to see them as more spoiled and less actually practising what they knew.

It seems that Salinger could have chosen to use these wealthy, upper class, wonderbreads because of the impact it could have on the reader. It is easier to take something from a preacher who you can see does not have it all together either, you can relate to him...and maybe that is why the author chose to do it that way. Maybe he was mocking the whole idea, as in these are they only type of people who can afford to mope around and recite little prayers....who knows what he meant to do...I do know what I got from it though. But the way the book is written I think almost every reader would get something slightly different. If I were you I'd give this one a try, it is really good.

Also reviewed by:
pussreboots Franny and Zooey

JD Salinger-Rated!

I have recently finished three of JD Salinger's books, and here they are with their ratings:
*Nine Stories 3.5/5
*Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters 4.5/5
*Franny and Zooey 5/5

I really enjoyed all three, but I think I overdid it on Salinger stuff in a row.

I recommend them all, some folk seem to not like that style of writing though...it is pretty precocious, just like his characters. It drew me in though, I didn't even have to work at it...it just happened.

Here is what I have to say about Franny and Zooey which is my favourite of the three books:

I enjoyed the book and the characters and all, but that was completely secondary to what I got out of the book. It is almost like I got what I did despite the fact that the book talks about a group of wonderbread kids who have life so easy that they try and make it complicated. I realised that I did have a hard time tolerating their fainting spells, and when they insulted their mamma and called her fat and such. I began to see them as more spoiled and less actually practising what they knew. So, like I said it is almost as if the donkey was speaking for me...like God used Zooey despite who he was, not because of who he was. I would argue that God does that with us all to a certain extent.

It seems that Salinger could have chosen to use these wealthy, upper class, wonderbreads because of the impact it could have on the reader. It is easier to take something from a preacher who you can see does not have it all together either, you can relate to him...and maybe that is why the author chose to do it that way. Maybe he was mocking the whole idea, as in these are they only type of people who can afford to mope around and recite little prayers....who knows what he meant to do...I do know what I got from it though. No matter what he meant, God spoke to me, even if it was through a talking donkey.