<p>^ This coming Monday, the 15th. The idea was to give everyone time to beg/borrow/steal a copy of the book and read it.</p>
<p>If the two weeks seemed too long, we could start the July book discussion on July 10th instead of July 15th. We’ll have to take a straw poll later this month to see how the timing worked out for everyone.</p>
<p>Are we supposed to have the whole book read by the 15th or just up to a certain point?</p>
<p>^ the whole book, although no detentions for incomplete work will be issued–this time. :)</p>
<p>Of course, if you haven’t read the book you would just wait until you are done to open the thread. It’s such a good read that it only takes a couple of sittings to go through it. Sleep and housework are much overrated!</p>
<p>12th June, 2009</p>
<p>Members of the CC Summer Book Club
Le Caf</p>
<p>Mary,
have you read Galileo’s Daughter? It is based on letters from her to him… none of his replies exist… I loved that book…</p>
<p>My sister just passed that book along to me! It’s sitting on my dresser, at the top of my absolutely-must-read-soon stack (which never seems to get any shorter).</p>
<p>Mary - enjoyed your post #45- clever!</p>
<p>Bumping this thread to page 1 since today is 6/15! I’m finding it a little hard to post from my iPod Touch, so may wait until I have access to a laptop.</p>
<p>Here are the discussion questions printed in the back of my book–and probably most of your copies as well. We can use them as a springboard, if needed, or just start talkin.'</p>
<p>[ReadingGroupGuides.com</a> - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows](<a href=“http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_G/guernsey_literary_pie_society1.asp]ReadingGroupGuides.com”>The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society | ReadingGroupGuides.com)</p>
<p>Since I’m a diehard romantic, I’ll go straight to #4 and ask a related question. Why is the strong silent type such a persistent and appealing image for the literary leading man?</p>
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<p>I don’t think I was reading very carefully at first because for the longest time I pictured Dawsey as an old man.</p>
<p>^ That’s so funny! Because after I read his first letter, I thought he was an adolescent boy! I wonder if we were supposed to be fooled initially, and then come to understand him (and the other residents) more fully, as Juliet did.</p>
<p>I also thought Dawsey was an elderly gentleman; maybe it was the tone of his letters to Juliet…I just kept picturing who would play the characters in a movie:</p>
<p>Dawsey: Sean Connery is my pick</p>
<p>In ref to q4, I think that the strong, silent type is such an appealing image because of the mystery; you never know how it’s going to turn out with that type of literary image; the author can really take liberties with the story…</p>
<p>^ Yes, and there’s less chance of the hero turning off a reader by saying the wrong thing, because he says so little at all. By being silent, he can be all things to all readers. </p>
<p>If the movie were being made 60 years ago, I would cast Gary Cooper as Dawsey.</p>
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<p>EXACTLY what I was thinking!</p>
<p>If we are allowed to mix generations, may I have Rupert Everett as Sidney?</p>
<p>^ Perfect!</p>
<p>My mind is going blank on who would play the flashy American suitor…help me out…</p>
<p>How about Aaron Eckhart? I can’t stand him. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I think we’re supposed to like the character at least a little bit, so maybe I should come up with someone more tolerable (to me).</p>
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<p>I’m not familiar with Aaron Eckhart, but I agree that we need to like him initially…at first be blown away by his looks and charm, then start to be a bit suspicious, then dislike him…I can’t think of any of the actors of old for the part because in most of the old movies, characters were either Bad or Good. If a handsome guy was meant to be the villian, we could tell in the first scene.</p>
<p>Maybe an in his prime Ryan O’Neal or William Hurt?</p>
<p>i found it a little off putting to read a book entirely of letters. I was a little hesitant because I thought it might be difficult to keep track, but it actually became intriguing to follow the letters. I found it interesting to note that there is an art to correspondence and we have lost that with the age of phones, email and texting.</p>