Litsy

Pollyanna | Eleanor H Porter

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent—Pollyanna discussion—4 of 4

👒 Did you see any similarities here to L.M. Montgomery‘s books?
👒 Is there anything else from Pollyanna that you‘d like to discuss?
👒 Any favorite scenes or quotes?

rubyslippersreads, CogsOfEncouragement, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

BarbaraJean I see a lot of similarities with AoGG—the orphan taken in by a grouchy guardian who didn‘t expect her and doesn‘t want her. Like Anne, Pollyanna loves to talk—she chatters away the whole ride back from the train station—and she‘s expecting a very different welcome than she receives. Pollyanna also fits right in with Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. All three books are stories of endearing, cheerful young orphans taken in by strict guardians ⬇ 6h

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) …who subsequently soften and open up due to the bright and cheerful child in their life. And yet, unlike RoSF, Pollyanna didn‘t feel derivative. (I realize RoSF was published first, then Anne, then Pollyanna—but reading RoSF, I felt like LMM read it, said “I can do this better,” and wrote Anne. 😂) Pollyanna has LOTS of similarities to Anne, but she‘s her own unique person with her own unique influence on the people in her life. 6h

BarbaraJean One of the things I struggled with throughout the book was the way it seemed to often base gladness on comparison. With the initial story of the game, the gladness comes from not needing the crutches. An attitude of “I'm glad I'm not like that person over there who needs crutches“ just didn't land well with me. The way the story plays out is more complex and nuanced than that, but there's still something there that bothers me! 5h

CogsOfEncouragement I see the similarity that lessons are being taught. It is the same with Little Women and probably countless other books. The authors are holding us all to a higher standard of being other-centered.

2h

11 likes4 comments

BarbaraJean

Pollyanna | Eleanor H Porter

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent—Pollyanna discussion—3 of 4

👒 Pollyanna comes to have such a strong influence on so many people in her town—which of these did you find most meaningful?
👒 Were there any that felt unrealistic?

rubyslippersreads, CogsOfEncouragement, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

CogsOfEncouragement No, I actually thought that because of her age, and having not a bit of guile in her, people would allow her to influence them. Especially when she made good assumptions about what people were doing with their time and money. That of course they were generous, other-centered people. Her comments helped them see that it wouldn't be that hard to actually be the way Pollyanna assumed they were. 2h

11 likes1 comment

BarbaraJean

Pollyanna | Eleanor H Porter

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent—Pollyanna discussion—2 of 4

😊 The term “Pollyanna” has come to mean someone who pretends everything is fine, someone who almost ignores reality in order to put a positive spin on things. Do you find that to be a fair characterization of Pollyanna, or an exaggeration?
😊 Do you LIKE Pollyanna, or do you think you‘d find her eternal optimism tiresome?

rubyslippersreads, CogsOfEncouragement, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

BarbaraJean I was pleasantly surprised that Pollyanna DIDN'T feel sugary-sweet and unrealistic. The moments when we see her grief over her father, and her concern over the real needs and hurts around her give the needed balance (and nuance) to her optimism. But I have to admit, there were moments when Aunt Polly got aggravated at Pollyanna's continual chatter and I understood exactly where she was coming from. 😂 6h

CogsOfEncouragement I adore Pollyanna. She is a child, and childlike. I feel she recognized the whole reason for the game is because life is hard, Pollyanna was not pretending all was sweetness and light. I'm not saying the definition is a bad one - I use this definition often actually - when I fail to see someone's true motivation for example. When I project good intentions onto someone who doesn't deserve it, I say that I was being too Pollyanna. 2h

13 likes2 comments

BarbaraJean

Pollyanna | Eleanor H Porter

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent—Pollyanna discussion—1 of 4

👒What did you think of Pollyanna‘s “glad game”?
👒How did you handle disappointments and difficult situations as a child?
👒Can you see the “glad game” being a helpful way to respond to difficulties as an adult?

rubyslippersreads, CogsOfEncouragement, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

BarbaraJean At first, I found the glad game a little avoidant! Until the scenes where Pollyanna sobs in grief over her father and over being left all alone in the attic...and then I felt reassured that the book wasn't going to end up as wholly unrealistic toxic positivity. I didn't have the kind of hardships and grief Pollyanna confronted as a child, and I think I handled difficulties via emotional avoidance or just gritting my teeth and carrying on. ⬇ 6h

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) It's funny looking back now--I grew up in England (American family, though) and so the “carry on“ response pretty much tracks 😂 I see the glad game as a much healthier response emotionally, which is interesting since it initially landed with me as avoidant and unrealistic! 5h

CogsOfEncouragement I had a fairly easy childhood. I did find ways to look on the bright side of most things and encouraged others to do so too. I don't think that I used platitudes though, and I think that is key. 2h

9 likes3 comments

rubyslippersreads

Beautiful Joe's Paradise: A Sequel to Beautiful Joe | Marshall Saunders

Sadly, I no longer have my childhood copy of Beautiful Joe (those Whitman books were cute, but just didn‘t hold up with age). However, I do have the sequel. 🐶

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

BarbaraJean

Leftcoastzen Really nice cover ! Love the old ones 4d

BarbaraJean 💜Love this! 4d

LeahBergen Johnny approves this post. 😆 4d

55 likes3 comments

LitsyEvents

Beautiful Joe: An Autobiography | Marshall Saunders

repost for @BarbaraJean

Hello, Kindred Spirits!

Here‘s the schedule for the next few months of the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead—including a couple of #LMMAdjacent books, Vol. 5 of the #LMMJournals, and for #LMMReread, the beginning of the Emily books.

I‘ll include the tag list for each book in the comments below. All are welcome—let me know if you want to be added to (or removed from!) any of the tag lists.

25 likes

BarbaraJean

Beautiful Joe: An Autobiography | Marshall Saunders

Hello, Kindred Spirits!

Here‘s the schedule for the next few months of the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead—including a couple of #LMMAdjacent books, Vol. 5 of the #LMMJournals, and for #LMMReread, the beginning of the Emily books.

I‘ll include the tag list for each book in the comments below. All are welcome—let me know if you want to be added to (or removed from!) any of the tag lists.

LitsyEvents

BarbaraJean Beautiful Joe: @TheAromaofBooks, @rubyslippersreads, @julieclair, @lauraisntwilder, @JenLovesJT47

Beautiful Joe: An Autobiography

BarbaraJean Journals: @TheAromaofBooks, @lauraisntwilder, @JenLovesJT47 5d

BarbaraJean Emily of New Moon: @kwmg40, @TheAromaofBooks, @rubyslippersreads, @JenLovesJT47

Emily of New Moon

See All 10 Comments

BarbaraJean Story of an African Farm: @TheAromaofBooks, @julieclair, @lauraisntwilder

The story of an African farm: a novel

TheAromaofBooks I bought this volume of journals before we moved and now I can't find it!! Three weeks to do some serious crate rummaging 😂 5d

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Oh nooooo! Hope you unearth it quickly! 5d

lauraisntwilder I don't think I'm going to end up reading Beautiful Joe. I'll be traveling right then and I already have my books for the trip picked out! 😄 Yes to all the others though, including Emily of New Moon, if you could add me to that one? I love Emily. Thank you!! 4d

julieclair I‘m going to bow out of Beautiful Joe. I didn‘t realize part of the story was about animal abuse, and don‘t think I‘m up for that right now. 💙 9h

BarbaraJean @julieclair Oof—I understand! I‘ll tag you back in when we get to Story of an African Farm. 9h

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Got it! I‘ll tag you for everything except Beautiful Joe. 9h

24 likes10 comments

BarbaraJean

Pollyanna | Eleanor H Porter

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - Pollyanna Chapters 1-16

A little check-in for the first half of Pollyanna!
👒 Is this your first time reading Pollyanna, or is this a re-read?
👒 How's your reading going so far?
👒 What stands out to you from the first half of the book?

rubyslippersreads, CogsOfEncouragement, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

BarbaraJean This is my first time reading Pollyanna, and I‘m finding it delightful! I had a hard time stopping halfway through 😆 I thought I might find her “glad game” a little cloying, but in context, it‘s not at all like that. I love how she‘s bringing new perspective to everyone around her just by being herself. 1w

CogsOfEncouragement I saw the movie a couple times as a child. This is my first read. I also had to make myself stop at the halfway mark because it is so fun to be in her world. I had an opportunity to play the glad game with a sweet friend who broke a finger this week. 1w

rubyslippersreads I‘ve read this so many times (most recently about a year ago), that I‘m not rereading, but I‘m enjoying the comments. One of the things that most stands out for me is remembering my mother always saying that an unattractive dress looked like it came from the missionary barrel. 😂 1w

lauraisntwilder I've never read it before, but I've seen the Haley Mills movie several times and as a kid I loved the made-for-TV adaptation called Polly starring Keshia Knight Pulliam. The book is so cute! I also had to stop myself from going past the halfway point. I love how exasperated Aunt Polly gets and how sweetly Pollyanna charms everyone. 1w

24 likes4 comments

LitsyEvents

Rilla of Ingleside: A Virago Modern Classic | L. M. Montgomery

Repost for @BarbaraJean

Calling all Kindred Spirits! We‘ll be continuing the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead with an #LMMReread of Rilla of Ingleside, then an #LMMAdjacent title: Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter (a contemporary of LMM and a fellow author who published with the nefarious L.C. Page Co.).

See original post at https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2859954

31 likes

BarbaraJean

Rilla of Ingleside: A Virago Modern Classic | L. M. Montgomery

Calling all Kindred Spirits! We‘ll be continuing the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead with an #LMMReread of Rilla of Ingleside, then an #LMMAdjacent title: Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter (a contemporary of LMM and a fellow author who published with the nefarious L.C. Page Co.). The schedule is above—all are welcome! Please comment if you‘d like to be tagged for either or both books.

rubyslippersreads, Daisey, LeahBergen, JenlovesJT47, CogsOfEncouragement, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, Roary47, LitsyEvents, julieclair

CogsOfEncouragement I‘ll skip a reread of Rilla, but look forward to reading Pollyanna for the first time. I watched the 1960 movie starring Hayley Mills a couple times as a kid and absolutely loved it. 1mo

BarbaraJean @CogsOfEncouragement I‘ve never read Pollyanna, either! I‘m looking forward to my first read, too. 1mo

CSeydel I‘ve read Pollyanna, but although I‘ve owned Rilla of Ingleside since the 80s (and kept it through how many moves) — I‘ve actually never read it! Maybe I‘ll join you guys 4w

See All 9 Comments

Daisey It‘s been so long since I reread Rilla; I‘ll try to fit that one in May! 4w

TheAromaofBooks I am definitely in for rereading both of these. Rilla is possibly my favorite LMM book. (Okay, maybe not; it's actually kind of impossible to choose 😂) I love Pollyanna as well, although in some ways the Hayley Mills version ruined the book for me because it's so hard to see the characters as anything other than the way they were cast in that book, despite them not being completely accurate. 😆 4w

rubyslippersreads I‘d be glad if you‘d tag me for Pollyanna. 😄 4w

rubyslippersreads @TheAromaofBooks I ❤️ the Hayley Mills movie, though. 4w

julieclair Please tag me for Pollyanna. Can‘t believe I‘ve never read it! 4w

TheAromaofBooks @rubyslippersreads - I love the movie, too - but usually I can separate movie/book when they aren't particularly alike and just have them be two different stories in my mind. But for some reason the individuals from that movie INSIST on being the imagined book-characters in my mind 😂 It's not as bad in the first book, but in later books Pollyanna and Jimmy get married, and trying to reconcile Haley marrying Kevin Corcoran has been a struggle 😆 4w

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