When not hearing buzz about The Lace Reader, the other book everyone is talking about (and I am about to get my hands on) is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. This epistolary novel tells the story of a group of people who begin to call themselves "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" because they need an excuse for breaking the curfew set by the Germans occupying their island during WWII. Juliet Ashton is living in England as the war ends when she receives a letter from a member of the society who has found her address in one of her old books that has made its way to Guernsey. As their correspondence progresses, Juliet is drawn into an eccentric world of charming and funny people, from pig farmers to phrenologists, who are all lovers of literature.

I love epistolary novels, and whenever I hear about Guernsey I think of another novel of letters that I devoured, Helene Hanff's 84 Charing Cross Road. This one sounds wonderful and I can't wait to read it. It goes on sale next Tuesday, July 29th, and you can read an early excerpt here. Here is the reading group guide and here is what others (including book club favorite Elizabeth Gilbert) are saying about it.

"I agree that Anne is an amazing heroine and applaud her receiving so much coverage in Newsweek, and I also agree that there are many heroines from classic YA literature who should get more respect (most notably Maud Hart Lovelace's intelligent and independent aspiring writer Betsy Ray of the Betsy-Tacy series). But I strongly disagree that "it's rare to find a best seller with a strong heroine anymore." One look at the New York Times children's bestseller list from the past five or so years will reveal the following fantastic females: Louise Rennison's hilarious and indefatigable Georgia Nicolson who was first introduced in Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging; Ann Brashares' fast friends in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series (which is popular enough to garner its second feature film adaptation next month); Meg Cabot's strong and smart Mia Thermopolis from The Princess Diaries (also a successful film franchise) as well as her Allie Finkle from Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls; Cornelia Funke's Meggie from Inkheart; Gail Carson Levine's intrepid Ella Enchanted; and brave Liesel Meminger from Mark Zusak's The Book Thief, to name just a few."

Those of you who signed on to participate will have already received an email reminder about our book club conversation this Wednesday night with Victoria, but the call is open to anyone who has read Stone Creek or is interested in discussing this compelling novel!

Set your reminder for the show here and return to that same link to listen to the show live on Wed at 7 pm EST. You can call in to the show to ask ask a question at this number: (347) 835-6149. As people call in, I'll identify them by the last four digits of your phone number. If I say your phone number, remember to turn down the volume on your computer when you ask your question. If you can't call in, but have questions for Victoria, please put them in the comments to this post, or you can send in questions while you're listening to the show via the Chat function on the show's page. But if you plan to do this, I recommend you register on the site beforehand. Make sure you enter your questions via "Chat" and not "Comments" so that I'll see them during the live show.

If you're not sure what to ask, but want to participate, check out the reading group guide to the book as well as a Q&A with Victoria from the back of the book, for inspiration. Hope to hear from some of you on Wednesday night!

We had a great discussion of Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth, which all of us really liked and the fact that it was stories didn't slow us down as I had feared.(For more on how to discuss short stories, read this thoughtful piece from short story author Christopher Meeks over on the blog SheisTooFondofBooks). We remarked on how Lahiri's stories and depictions of human interaction reflect such universal feelings and relationships. While she's writing specifically about Indians and their immigration experience, when it comes down to each story, all of us found so much to identify with. We have some members who are not native to the US and it's always so interesting to hear their reaction to stories like Lahiri's about people who move to America and keep so much of their cultural identity and traditions intact.

We voted for our next selection and I offered up 6 choices rather than our usual 5. We had to go through a few rounds of voting to finally narrow it down to our winner. The contestants were (and forgive me, I know they're all from one particular house, but work was crazy this week and my husband was out of town and it was all I could do to remember to have books on hand):
Marisa de los Santos' Belong to Me
Delaune Michel's The Safety of Secrets
Debra Dean's The Madonnas of Leningrad
Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Dalia Sofer's The Septembers of Shiraz
Masha Hamilton's The Camel Bookmobile

The winner was The Septembers of Shiraz and I'm so excited to read Sofer's debut novel set in Iran after the revolution. You may recall that there's an online discussion of Shiraz going on right now at EverydayIWritetheBook so we'll be sure to check out those comments as well before we meet in August.

Here are resources for The Septembers of Shiraz:
The PS section in which Sofer talks about writing Shiraz
Browse inside the book
Reading Group Guide

Those of you who listened to my book club show with Laurie Viera Rigler, author of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, may remember that when she was asked which authors and books she enjoyed, she mentioned Ellen Baker's Keeping the House. Says Rigler "I loved Keeping the House. It's a beautiful, moving novel that is tremendously relevant for our times. It's a multi-generational story that spans two World Wars and post-WWII, and it's about family secrets and what war does to us. I found myself completely engaged in the lives of the various characters." That recommendation is good enough for me and Keeping the House is out in paperback today.

And as if that weren't enough enticement, Baker is currently offering book clubs who adopt Keeping the House in August, September or October the chance to win two dozen Lacy Raisin Wafers to be shipped to your house in time for your meeting! Cookie details here. Baker is also available to call in to reading groups, time permitting, and you can make that request when you enter the cookie contest.

Read the first chapter of Keeping the House here, find discussion questions here and learn more about Baker's inspiration for the story here.

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
We'll Always Have Paris by John Baxter
The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by Thad Carhart
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Liberty: The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France by Lucy Moore
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle

If not, you soon will. The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry, was a self-published reading group sensation when it came out about a year ago and later this month it comes out in hardcover. Barry was at ALA this past weekend and got to speak to Virginia Stanley on Blog Talk Radio about her novel which is set in Salem, MA and tells the story of a family of women who can read the future in a pattern of lace. Told from the perspective of self-proclaimed unreliable narrator Towner Whitney, the novel begins with her return home to Salem and the disappearance of two women. Events are set into motion which will reveal the truth about the death of Towner's twin sister years earlier. Listen to Barry talk about her captivating novel below.

The first ten people to comment on the interview will receive a gorgeous advance reader's edition of The Lace Reader, which is not on sale until 7/29. And be sure to check out The Lace Reader website, which has more background information on lace reading, the novel and Barry's blog.

Since the response has been so great, the giveaway is still on, comment away!

As those of you who listened to my most recent book club show with Laurie Viera Rigler know, my next show, scheduled for July 23rd at 7 pm EST is with Victoria Lustbader. Lustbader is the author of Stone Creek, a novel many of you had the opportunity to read a bit of and commented on last month. In Stone Creek, Lustbader tells the story of two wounded people searching for love, and finding it in an unexpected place. Lily is happily married but finds herself newly unhappy with the decision she and her husband made years earlier to not have children. Danny is grieving for the sudden tragic death of his wife while caring for his 4-year old son. When Lily and Danny meet, the connection between them is palpable. Stone Creek is a moving meditation on love and loss and how love can be found with more than one person. As such, there is a lot to discuss! I look forward to talking with Victoria and with many of you about the book. To find out more, visit Victoria's website, check out the reading group guide and browse inside the book.

Set your reminder for the show here. The first 10 people to comment on this post that they'd like to participate in the show will receive a copy of Stone Creek.