The Help

Our book club recently read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It is a very thought provoking, well written first novel.

Skeeter Pelhan is ahead of her time; she is over 6 feet tall, a college graduate and she wants to be a writer. A sympathetic publisher charges Skeeter with submitting something different, something that hasn't been done before. So she writes the stories of several black women who work as maids for white women, in Mississippi, during the 60's. I don't know about you but the words, "Mississippi during the 60's" always send a chill through me. The stories that unfold are sad, funny, outrageous and dangerous for those who tell them.

LeAnne

If you want the wits scared out of you, read One Second After by William Forstchen. It's not about things that go bump in the night, it's about technology our enemies currently have that can truly end our way of life. One Second After takes place in Black Mountain, N.C., a town not much different than Hillsdale. An EMP (electromagnetic pulse) is set off over the United States which short circuits everything that has a circuit. It wipes out every source of power and communication. Within weeks the country reverts to medieval levels of survival, each town dependent on the resources and citizens trapped within.

Although it is a work of fiction (well written, by the way) it is based on very disturbing facts. If Y2K made you nervous this book will send you over the edge.

LeAnne

LeAnne's summer reading recommendation

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer takes place on the island of Guernsey at the end of WWII. The island is located in the English Channel and was occupied by the German army during the war. The unconventional islanders and their interaction with the occupying soldiers make the book hard to put down. A great read for the beach or hammock.