There
couldn’t have been a better book to begin my 50 at 50 Project, where I read
fifty books recommended to me by fifty different people, than The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie
Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. My goals for the 50 at 50
Project are to read books that I wouldn’t have otherwise, and to engage people
in a conversation about books that they enjoy, and both of these goals are
major themes in TGLAPPPS.
My
wife and I met at a book group, which started as a group of people talking
almost exclusively about books, and grew to incorporate more social elements,
including food and friendship. Reading and talking about challenging books was
a great way to get past the small talk and really know how and what people
thought. In fact, we got to know each other very deeply, but skipped right past
some of the biographical details that often seem essential. One person had been
attending the group for over a year before we ever learned that she had a
daughter. I remember telling people, after I’d been a part of the group for a
couple of years, “I don’t even know for sure how many children John has, but I
know what he would say in response to this passage from Nietzsche.”
