**THIS** is how you do book club

Actually, the subject line is inaccurate.  We decided as of last week that we are now a Literary Society.  Yes, capitalized and everything.  G asked if we could be a society made up of only two people and I was all, hush, no one asked you.  Luckily for him, we are reading a book about marriage next.  I'm sure he's biding his time and secretly planning to highlight key passages for me.

Imagine my great surprise and delight at being wined and dined during our Society meeting!  By Chef Campo himself!  (Check out the chef jacket and everything.  It was like totally legit.)

We ooh'd and ahh'd over the food, and occasionally one of us would mention something in passing about the book (more on that at the end of this post - it's a good one!). 

For starters, we had homemade guacamole served with lime-and-salt coated jicama.  They were the perfect "chip" to enjoy outside; light, crispy and refreshing, served alongside tortilla chips and fresh salsa.

A GARNISH!  Let's take a moment to appreciate the magnitude of this.

Then - THEN THEN THEN! - we had shrimp cocktail, Mexican style.  The sauce is actually more like a fresh tomato gazpacho, mixed with herbs, other vegetables, and a heavy serving of avocado (um, yes to the please).  I had never eaten this before and let me tell you I am hooked.  As in, hooked on shrimpies works for me!

When dessert rolled around I was practically prostrate on the deck (picture a beached whale), muttering praises to the chef.  Book?  What book?

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So, yeah, the book:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Lesson #1:  Do not judge a book by its title.  Repeat, do not judge.

When I first saw this, I was like, no.  The title reeks of southern down-home chick lit gone wrong:  Maybell and the Great Quilt Heist of 2008!  Nooooooo.

But I was wrong.  Really, really wrong.  This book is actually a series of letters between a London writer, Juliet, and the inhabitants of a London colony on the English Channel Island of Guernsey.  The book takes place just a few years after WWII, at a time when the islanders are just starting to reconnect with mainlanders and are still inquiring about one of their own, a pivotal character named Elizabeth.

The dialogue is witty, the characters are endearing, their stories are uplifting (and heartbreaking, and real), and the plot is addictive.  I had such low expectations for this book and then I couldn't put it down.  You will find yourself rooting for the characters and for love.  All types of love, even love for a good book.  Maybe that should have been in the title somewhere...