Welcome to Litsy!

Here's the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead schedule for the next six weeks, with #LMMJournals, #LMMReread and #LMMAdjacent choices. We'll read the last section of Volume 4 of LMM's Complete Journals over the next two weeks, then Rilla of Ingleside, then Pollyanna.

I've tagged the schedule/announcements list for the group, but all are welcome. If you'd like to be tagged for any/all of the above, please comment!

I haven't read many WW1 books, let alone from a teen Canadian girls perspective. In this book Rilla is left at home as her brothers and friends leave to join the fight. The book is half journal and is an insight into her day to day life during the war.

I may still read The Blythes Are Quoted & the Chronicles of Avonlea books at some point, but I think I'm done with Anne for a little while. This one was SO much better than the last 3 books! But there were so many things I wish had been included that weren't. How did things go for Diana during WWI? Or the girls from Anne's Patty's Place days? Davy & Dora aren't even mentioned! It struck me as tragic that Marilla died between books with no fanfare.

Thanks for the tag @Eggs @TheSpineView
1. I'm not sure about “the most“ but I have read this book probably 20 times and it does make me cry every time.
2. This is tough - I read all over the place. Romance, I guess??
3. There are so many that I love and revisit. LM Montgomery is on my mind, though, so at this exact moment I may go with The Blue Castle 😂
#WondrousWednesday
Want to play @eeclayton @Kimberlone @swynn ?

Up until now the books in the Anne series have been great escapist reads into a world where nothing bad can happen. All that changes with this book. Despite the seriousness and darkness of this book, I liked following Rilla and see her grow.

I guess I was more prepared for hardly any Anne in this book

#KinderedSpiritsBuddyRead

A late #BookReport

Finished Invisible Women #SheSaid and read the other ones.

6a: What do you think about this book as the last volume in the Anne series? Is it a good conclusion? Or with its complete focus on Rilla (and so little Anne), do you feel it belongs in the series at all?
6b: Thinking back on the series overall, how does Rilla stack up for you against the other books? Which are your favorite and least favorite books in the series?
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

5a: There are so many memorable characters: Susan, Baby Jims, Little Dog Monday…and of course, Jem & Walter. What stands out to you about these “side” characters? Which were most compelling to you?
5b: How do you feel about the ending—and Rilla‘s romance with Ken overall? From the promise of romance at the dance, to its realization at the end—does the romance provide nice bookends to the novel? Or is it even needed?
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Rilla acknowledges how the war has shaped her: “I expected that these past four years would be the most delightful years of my life and they have been years of war—years of fear and grief and worry—but I humbly hope, of a little growth in strength and character as well.”
4a: What contrasts did you observe between Rilla at the beginning of the book and Rilla at the end?
4b: What do you see as key turning points for her?
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

We‘ve got another orphan storyline in Rilla!
3a: What are your thoughts on 15-year-old Rilla‘s taking on the responsibility of raising a baby?
3b: How did you feel about her initial attitude toward babies (“I don‘t like you & I never will but for all that I‘m going to make a decent, upstanding infant of you” and “If I can‘t love you I mean to be proud of you”)? What did you think of how it changes as she cares for Jims?
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Although the book portrays a range of attitudes toward the war, I found myself cringing a little at the harshness most characters displayed toward any pacifism or reluctance about the war.
2a: How did these passages feel for you, reading the text through your own modern lens?
2b: What do you think patriotism & national pride should look like—especially now, when there may be even more need for nuance in these areas?
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

1a: This is a female-centric look at WWI, written by a contemporary. What do you think of the book‘s portrayal of female roles during wartime, and its characterization of female attitudes toward the war?
1b: Is this a war novel, with its emphasis on the experiences of women on the “home front” rather than soldiers in battle? What makes a war novel?
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

“I shall never be able to get a husband but I am not going to be cheated out of everything and a honeymoon I intend to have.”

Susan is a delight. I love that her idea of a honeymoon is going to stay with her married brother 😂 #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Just a reminder that our last 😱 Anne of Green Gables #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead discussion is on Monday! I've so enjoyed reading with all of you, and am looking forward to discussing Rilla. (AND looking forward to reading Emily with everyone who‘s joining the next chapter of our buddy read!)

Since this falls on a Monday, I'll post questions over my lunch hour. Be looking for our discussion mid-day Pacific Time, and jump in when you are able!

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead-ers: we've been talking about reading more L.M. Montgomery after we finish the Anne series, so I put together a little poll to see what there's most interest in reading next, as well what schedule people might prefer (continue chapter-a-day? switch to one book/month?). If you're interested in continuing on (or joining for the first time!), please follow the link in the comments and send me your feedback!

Here's our final (!) #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead schedule...can't believe we're almost done with the Anne series! It has been such a delight to re-read, and to read along with everyone. Hope you're enjoying it, too! I haven't been great about keeping up with my daily chapters lately, or with posting as much (I keep bingeing & then getting behind), but I have THOUGHTS and I'm looking forward to our discussion on July 19!

I know a few of us had been talking about reading other L. M. Montgomery books after Rilla—but it turns out my edition has a bunch of short stories. Would anyone be interested in reading those? #kindredspiritsbuddyread

“I wonder,” [Rilla] said to herself, “if I am, or am not, engaged to Kenneth Ford.”

I suppose at least Montgomery is aware of how ridiculous this world, where people don‘t tell each other things or say what they mean out loud, can be sometimes 😅

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Finally finished my reread of the Anne of Green Gables books!

This final book is a departure from the rest of the series in several ways so I have a hard time seeing this as an Anne book. But it was nice to revisit and be reminded of how different in tone & content this is.

Here's the next section of our chapter-a-day #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead of Rilla of Ingleside. It feels like this last book is just flying by--but I'm REALLY enjoying it. How's everyone else doing?

This is my second week back in the office since March 2020... and I‘m so happy to be reading Rilla in my old lunch spot in the gorgeous courtyard of my office building! #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Time to play catch-up with the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead!

Shall I read 1940s Rilla or 1920s Rilla? 😄

@BarbaraJean

Last night‘s chapter was kind of stressful. The war stuff is bad enough, but with a newborn baby… I was having flashbacks to when my son was tiny and needed to be fed around the clock 😅 And then as I was falling asleep last night he woke up and screamed and needed comforting which, at 3, he almost never does. #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Have we really come to the last book of our #kindredspirits readalong? What a joy it's been to revisit some and experience others for the first time. Not sure I want to give up a regular fix of LMM, so thinking I might reread some others after this. I remember loving Emily and Jane just as much as (if not more) than Anne ...

I was just adding Rilla of Ingleside to my StoryGraph. I was browsing through various editions to find the actual edition I'm reading... and I found this. (Which is NOT the edition I'm reading.)

Cover design checklist:
Beanie? ✔
Camera? ✔
Blonde model? ✔
Denim shirt worn over a t-shirt? ✔
Absolutely no connection to the content or even the right era for this novel? ✔

Just: no. I can't. 😩 #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

I am SO looking forward to reading Rilla of Ingleside. I remember so little about the book, other than a couple of plot points--and that I loved it. Our #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead chapter-a-day for Rilla starts tomorrow, and the wrap-up discussion will be July 19. Hoping you can all join in for this last book in the series!

My favorite one since Anne of Green Gables. I‘m finally done with this series. I enjoyed the ride even though I think LMM was getting a bit tired there in the middle. #HeyCarrots #CrushTheRush #WinterGames2020 #ReadYourWay #LittenListen #ReadNoseReindeer #LittenListen #BookspinBingo

I love this book so much. The characters are relatable, real, and likeable. I feel like I have grown and matured as Rilla did in the book. When I first read it, in my teens, I only noticed how romantic young love was during a war. How sweet was Una when Walter started to appreciate her, except it was too late. Now, I read it as a mother, and I relate more to Anne and Susan who sacrificed so much. #heycarrots @thegirlwiththelibrarybag @Flingogal

He must go - her beautiful Walter with his beautiful soul and dreams and ideals.

I already have a lump in my throat.

I don't even know where to start the review for this one because I love it so much. It's possibly my favorite in the series, although in many ways it stands on its own, with its focus on Anne's youngest daughter and the war as the backdrop. Montgomery does an absolutely brilliant job writing a war-time book that isn't anywhere close to the war's physical location. The story opens with Rilla, just turned 15 and a smidge spoiled, looking forward ⬇️

"Before this war is over," he said - or something said through his lips -"every man and woman and child in Canada will feel it -you, Mary will feel it -feel it to your heart's core. You will weep tears of blood over it. The Piper has come-and he will pipe until every corner of the world has heard his awful and irresistible music. It will be years before the dance of death is over -years, Mary. And in those years millions of hearts will break.

#WeeklyForecast - Finally finished Entwined and am on to what may be my favorite book in the Anne series. Still plugging away with November's buddy reads. Several of my upcoming books are due at the library and need to be read in the next two weeks, so they are on the priority list!! Still hoping to complete five books by next Sunday for #NovelNovember but we will see how work unwinds this week!!
@Cinfhen @Andrew65

#HeyCarrots

Although this is not my favorite of the series, I felt it left things in a good place. I miss the earlier books where Anne is the focus, but Rilla is my favorite out of the children, so I'm happy to end with her story.

Thanks so much for coming along for the #heycarrots readathon - I‘m a few days late in posting - but if you‘ve made it this far... don‘t stop now!! We‘ve almost made it to the end! Or the end of #heycarrots!

And if you haven‘t started... it‘s never too late to start reading Anne.

😢💔😭 I‘m not crying...
This was a fantastic end to the series. It was interesting to see WWI from a Canadian perspective and how those left at home contributed while the men were fighting.

Thanks @thegirlwiththelibrarybag and @Flingogal for organizing the #heycarrots challenge. It was good to revisit one of my favorite books series. Might need to do it every year 😊

Warning: bragging post ahead (but only if you like vintage LM Montgomery). 😆😆

Look what I found today to add to my collection! It was only a few dollars and I couldn‘t resist. ❤️💙

I think this was my favourite of the Anne novels after the original Anne of Green Gables.
It was neat to read about WWI from the perspective of the family in Canada and a young woman coming of age while brothers and friends fight overseas. The characters were charming and the story felt real.
It made me a bit emotional at times, and proud to think of the Canadian forces & of my family who fought in the wars 🇨🇦
9/10

1. Probably many. The tagged book from the Anne of Green Gables series definitely took a little piece of my heart.💔 still not entirely over it 😂
2. Humbert Humbert😡
3. Mostly stand alone.
Thanks for the tag @squirrelbrain . I‘m tagging @andrew61 and @BarbaraBB

#ThoughtfulThursday

13/2020

Book number 2 of my Skype book club with my mom. Her pick, but it happens to be a favourite of mine. An often untold view of The Great War: the Canadian home front.

Looking forward to the re-read.

Thanks for the tag @wanderinglynn !! #Ispy a book that is purple...ish haha Apparently despite over a thousand covers to peruse, purple was a tough color! 😂

Want to play @robinb @Clwojick @AmyK1 ? Can you find a book that is orange?

Better than the previous one

Book eight in the Anne of Green Gables series and the last few books I haven't enjoyed so much but this one turned it around for me.
My full review can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2623815104?book_show_action=false&from_rev...

This was an unforgettable book that introduced me to WW1. I love this series of books, and loved how connected I felt to all of Anne‘s Family.
Anyone else have books about World War One to recommend in honor of Veterans Day?

1–Made You Up—Zappia
2–Tagged book (Montgomery)
3–Mister Rogers Neighborhood
4–margherita pizza 🍕
#manicmonday #letterm @JoScho

Today‘s focus is sorting which culled books are being traded for credit and which will be donated. I have two LibraryThing catalogs, one where I‘ve added all of the books I‘ve removed from my library over three purges, and the main one that I will hopefully have cleaned up and up to date by the time I‘m fully unpacked and stuff is on shelves. #CueCat is on the job!

This book was a satisfying end to the series, but Rilla is just not as engaging for me as Anne was at that age. I did enjoy seeing her mature, and I love Walter, and Dog Monday made me sob. I will miss Anne after my return to rereading the books after so many years, but this concluding volume did offer me some closure.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Rilla-my-Rilla!! Can it be? My very favorite of the Anne books so far! This one had s but of everything I want in a book. Enter WW1 and the time takes a somber turn in the series. Couldn‘t get enough of this one, and Dog Monday stole all my tears. (Well, almost!)

A lovely end to this delightful collection. I liked it better than book 7 and the feelings around WW1 are still important and relevant now. #readwomen