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Read-n-Bloom
Between Heaven and the Real World: My Story | Ken Abraham, Steven Curtis Chapman
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Pickpick

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wonderful book and story from Steven Curtis Chapman! Loved it! So full of wisdom and insight into our Lord and how good and holy he is! Very emotional as well.

#LitsyReads #ChristianBooks #Read2025 #ReadYourKindle #ReadYourEbooks #nonfiction

review
lauraisntwilder
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Pickpick

Book review catch-up post 5 of 5:

This is the fourth volume of LM Montgomery's journals and by now I really feel like I know her, warts and all. She was not a perfect person, but she had a wonderful sense of humor and, in this volume especially, a difficult life. It was hard to hear of the pain she endured at the loss of her closest friend and the onset of her husband's mental illness. Three more volumes remain and life doesn't get any easier...

review
TheEllieMo
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Pickpick

An interesting skip through Daltrey‘s life from school years, through the formation and progression on the Who, as seen through Daltrey‘s eyes, to his life today. I feel the need to read Pete Townshend‘s memoir now, to get a balanced view.

Book 32/60 Page 9,849/18,000 #Read2025 @DieAReader

DieAReader 🎉Excellent! 2d
23 likes1 comment
blurb
BarbaraJean
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What sections or themes from this volume of the journals stand out to you?
Are there sections or quotes that you particularly enjoyed or resonated with?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals

lauraisntwilder I have been using colored tabs throughout my reading of LMM's journals, using green to note especially pretty observations of the natural world. I realize LMM has left the island, but she goes on multiple vacations in this volume, & still I only used one green tab in this book. Instead of a favorite part, I'm most conscious of a change in her world view. Even before Frede died & Ewan had his first attack, her years of severe anxiety changed her. 2d
18 likes1 comment
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BarbaraJean
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During this time, LMM began copying over her earlier journals. Having read those earlier journals and reading this journal now—do you think she ended up doing what she said she would, and copying them absolutely faithfully?

If you undertook the same task—copying out early journals now that you‘ve become a famous writer—how would you handle it?

Would you edit or revise along the way? Why or why not?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals

BarbaraJean I said this earlier when @TheAromaofBooks asked similar questions--I think she intended to, and started out copying them faithfully, but as time went on, I think she made some edits & excisions. As she became conscious of a future audience for her journals, I think she definitely left some stuff out (especially in the Herman Laird sections!). Maybe that's me projecting, because I DEFINITELY would edit/leave stuff out from my journal-writing days! 2d
lauraisntwilder I think she probably did edit and even add things. However, I think she must've copied quite a lot verbatim. Her writing style changed so much over the years. Her youthful voice falls away and I think, even for her, that would be hard to replicate so gradually. But hindsight must've colored her reading and made her want to emphasize or diminish certain subjects. Herman, yes, but also Edwin and Frede, in different ways. 2d
17 likes2 comments
blurb
BarbaraJean
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In a couple of journal entries in this volume, LMM gives extensive descriptions of herself, her likes, and her views on various subjects, notably her religious views.

Did her beliefs or her view of herself surprise you?
What about her likes?
How did these sections affect the view you have of who LMM was?
#LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

lauraisntwilder I wasn't surprised by anything, but it must've been so hard to be a minister's wife with her beliefs. I don't know that I could've relinquished my kids to Sunday School teachers I thought were stupid. In fact, I know I couldn't have - I actually changed churches, leaving the church I grew up in that my parents & sister still attend, because I didn't trust who was going to teach my kid. (There was no drama & we don't live there now anyway!) 2d
16 likes1 comment
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BarbaraJean
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On January 31, 1920, LMM lists and comments on several quotations she‘d recorded earlier. I thought this was such a great view into her thoughts on writing and life in general.

Which of those comments stood out to you?
Are there any books listed there that you‘ve read or would like to read?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals

18 likes1 comment
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BarbaraJean
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In this volume, we see an end to WWI, but LMM records some profound struggles, from Ewan‘s illness to Frede‘s death. We see legal battles with Page and small mentions revealing her status as an author: speaking engagements, reviews, letters from fans. And we see her as a mother, writing about Chester & Stuart.

What influence do you think these years had on LMM‘s writing? Do you see echoes of this time in Rainbow Valley or in later books?

BarbaraJean I think these years brought a maturity to LMM's writing--I see a deepening in her writing a bit in Rainbow Valley, but more in Rilla--deeper themes that seem to emerge from this time of such struggle in her life. Rilla especially, to me, reads like a more mature writer, as LMM explores the role of women during the war. And I see such an echo of LMM's obsession over the war news in the way the women on the “home front“ followed the war news. ⬇ 2d
BarbaraJean (Cont'd) I also feel like there's more of a consciousness in her journals that she's now an established writer and her journals are not just for her, but also for posterity. There's an awareness that others may read what she writes that I didn't sense in the early journals. She definitely uses her journal as a confidant, but sometimes even straight up says she's leaving out details because her future grandchildren or others would be shocked! (edited) 2d
lauraisntwilder Rilla definitely shows the influence of WWI, but I think the Emily books show signs of LMM's trauma. They're darker books, in general, than the Anne books. PEI, so beautifully described in the Anne books, is almost magical in the Emily books. I don't think I ever realized before that Dean has some similarities to Ewan. Emily feels trapped in her relationship with Dean, someone she once loved and admired, or thought she did, but now he's a burden. 2d
15 likes4 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
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I had to find out what the deal was with these magical yeast cakes (and can I still get them, because I totally would love to have my 20-year-old energy back 😂) Found this fun article - https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-healing-power-of-compressed-...

So is the renewed energy and vigor LMM experienced entirely a placebo effect? Or were the B vitamins really that helpful? Either way it's fun to see how humans always look ⬇

TheSpineView 20 year old... I would settle for 40! 😂 5d
Suet624 Great article! 5d
See All 9 Comments
Cuilin Fabulous article, thanks for sharing. 5d
BarbaraJean What a fantastic article!! This part: “…when I mentioned the cakes to my husband‘s 91-year-old grandmother, her face lit up. ‘Ooh, I love yeast cakes!‘ she said, before taking a nibble. ‘The texture is so nice.‘ Encouraged, I then spent the weekend trying to press yeast cakes on her. Eventually she turned to me. ‘You know, Catherine,‘ she said, ‘sometimes people say things they don‘t entirely mean.‘” 😂😂 5d
BarbaraJean I love knowing that LMM was just as susceptible to advertising and getting caught up in a health craze as the rest of us!! All her talk of “vitamines” was so interesting. I wonder if she got Ewan to try yeast cakes?! (edited) 5d
tpixie @BarbaraJean funny quote 22h
tpixie @TheAromaofBooks thanks for the link! 22h
tpixie If you look at the difference between women‘s vitamins and men‘s vitamins women‘s vitamins have calcium in men‘s vitamins have B vitamins…. I guess for their “Energy“ 22h
42 likes9 comments
quote
BarbaraJean
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“There isn't a single interesting person in this village—not one who makes you feel better just because of a chat. I really never saw such a collection of stupid, uninteresting people. …When I am feeling normal I suffer them gladly and find some amusement in their very stupidity but when I'm below par I'd like to blow them all up with gunpowder.”

😂 As I find so often, Maud‘s “below par” reaction to certain other people is thoroughly relatable.

31 likes2 comments