The Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is book one of two that I have read recently written in a letter format. Mary Ann Shaffer introduces us to Juliet Ashton, a writer who lived during the blitz on London during World War II. During the war, she wrote positive stories to support the war effort. But reality is much darker and more difficult than what she had written. She wanted to write a real story about the war. Juliet is introduced to a cast of characters on the island of Guernsey. These people lived through the occupation by the Germans.

The story is a series of letters between Juliet and her publisher and the people on Guernsey. I liked the letter format for storytelling. The characters are revealed in layers and you can grow to like them in the same way you get to know people in real life. I liked the story and finished it rather quickly. The book was recommended highly by a reader's group in my town. When some online friends also recommended the book highly, I went ahead and picked it up. They may have over-hyped the book because I found the book a bit predictable. But doesn't that always happen when people get excited about a book? It didn't move me in the same way and certainly not in the way I expected. The book is still worth reading and I am glad to be introduced to the island of Guernsey.

Book Rating: 4 stars

The complete idiot's guide to journaling

I picked up The Complete Idiot's Guide to Journaling just to see what the author, Joan Neubauer, had to say on the topic. On the surface, journaling is a rather simple notion - a recording of thoughts or events. I've kept a journal with varying degrees of success over the years. This book provides a lot of ideas to help inspire you to put pen to paper.

The author describes the art of journaling in various ways. One section is devoted to the whys and hows. Pick a time and place, buy a journal that speaks to you, pick that special pen, etc. Later, she describes different types of journals based on topic - gardening, inner thoughts, craft, design ideas, etc. I have become interested in art journaling, and the author doesn't delve much into it - maybe because artists have unique needs in the type of journaling they do. In any event, this book did inspire me to pick up journaling again.

How to make books

How to Make Books by Esther K. Smith was not what I expected but I ended up liking it anyway. With a title like "How to make books" you would expect a manual consisting of basic how-to information with excellent photos and step by step instructions. After all, this book was published in 2007. Someone needs to do an update with basic how-to instructions like the A. W. Lewis book, an excellent reference but it only has line drawings.

Nope, this book is geared to the book arts where the book becomes the basis of the art. No inherent emphasis on basic technical skills, precision, accuracy, or required tools. There is a general overview of some of those things. Instead the author prefers to explore the artistic side of the craft by utilizing some basic book structures.

Even though I expected one thing and was temporarily disappointed, I ended up liking the author's artistic style. For someone like me, I tend to get hung up on the technical aspects of creating a book. This kind of book helped nudge me into a freer direction, almost giving me permission to just play with paper and book styles. The idea is still a challenge for me, but this book provided plenty of inspiration. (Some of the how-to illustrations still left me scratching my head and could have not been so artsy).

The book itself is an example of what it tries to depict. It has a unique design sense and composition. Should this be a required book on a book artist shelf? I don't know as that is a personal choice. I liked the book, but I probably won't buy it. It is possible to get this book through many public libraries, so that is where I will leave it.

Book rating: 3 stars.