Litsy

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years, 1922-1925 | Lucy Maud Montgomery

“I don't know whether I shall *ever* become sensible enough *not* to go to see screen versions of my favorite books. I am afraid I won't because I have been disappointed often enough to cure me of the foolishness if I were curable… I would resolve never to go to see another book-film if I thought I could keep it but I know I cannot. I will always go to them when occasion offers and always be sorry I did.”

#LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead ⤵️

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

BarbaraJean One of the things I enjoy most about reading LMM‘s journals is how thoroughly relatable she is as a reader—I love reading her thoughts on what she‘s reading, and this quote on film adaptations of favorite books is SO true! 2d

TheAromaofBooks This made me laugh, too! Apparently this has been true since the invention of movies! 😂 1d

lauraisntwilder Yes! This had to have been even worse then than it is now, since film has progressed by leaps and bounds since then. She had such an active imagination (I'm thinking, specifically, of her day alone at the lake envisioning a vacation with all her favorite people) that I think her perceptions of how a character looks and sounds must have felt completely real. 1d

Daisey This is a great and relatable quote! 1d

26 likes4 comments

BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years, 1922-1925 | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals
Volume 5: Preface—Aug. 29, 1923

✍🏻What stood out to you from our past two weeks of reading Volume 5 in LMM‘s journals?
✍🏻What themes in LMM‘s thought do you see that recall previous journals? Do you see any themes newly emerging in this volume?
✍🏻What are you most enjoying about LMM‘s journals?

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

BarbaraJean The Pickering lawsuit naturally recalls earlier (and ongoing!) lawsuits with the Pages. It‘s so interesting to me that this prolonged legal wrangling was such a part of LMM‘s life! Pickering was a scoundrel and I really enjoyed reading how although he unfairly won his suit, he very much lost in the court of public opinion and never got his hands on LMM‘s cash. There‘s also so much foreshadowing that stood out to me here. ⤵️ (edited) 2d

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) @TheAromaofBooks mentioned LMM‘s comments about Chester last week, and I noticed so many more similar comments this week as well. The number of times she wonders about how her boys will be when they grow up, whether one of them will break her heart 🥺 Also foreshadowing: I was perhaps disproportionately interested in the couple of places she comments on suicide (May 10, 1922–p. 32 and Jan. 2, 1923–p. 107) 2d

TheAromaofBooks Yes on the suicide - I had marked those passages as well! I know we can never know for sure, but I do genuinely believe that she did commit suicide in the end, so her saying things like, “I just have to be here for as long as my children need me“ etc felt ominous and very sad. There were several mentions of things like, “I may also have a child who breaks my heart someday“ that really make me wonder how much trouble she was already having with ⬇ 1d

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TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) Chester. The Pickering lawsuit was fascinating and frustrating! He didn't get the money, but the amount of emotional and mental stress LMM went through - !!! Although I do think that ties back in part to her being SO sensitive about public opinion. There were several times through these passages where her innate snobbery came through as well, things like “he was marrying someone far below him“ despite not having anything specifically ⬇ 1d

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) wrong with the bride - just the “wrong“ family. Her bittersweet visit to the Island was both happy and yet also hard to read. The main takeaway from these two weeks for me was just how lonely, lonely, lonely she was. She didn't have anyone she felt like she could truly trust or even truly laugh with, and it's SO sad. 1d

lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks The Pickering lawsuit stands out, of course, and I also noted those passages about suicide, but to your point about her snobbery -- I couldn't believe it when she maligned one of Pickering's witnesses for being a "home child." 1d

17 likes6 comments

BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years, 1922-1925 | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Quick #LMMJournals check-in! How‘s your journal-reading going this week? What are your thoughts on this section?

I‘m a bit behind (2 simultaneous Chunkster buddy reads, plus other reads😆), but I‘m enjoying being back into LMM‘s life. I was looking forward to the Muskoka section since it inspired the setting of Blue Castle, but I was a little disappointed! And like LMM, I‘m on edge about the Pickering lawsuit. #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks The Pickering lawsuit is STRESSING ME OUT! What a sleaze! One really random thing that struck me was on pg 10 where she is talking about being worried about Chester possibly leaving home for school. “He will need home surroundings and restraints for several years more.“ This makes me wonder if she is already having issues with his behavior, even at this still relatively young age. 1w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Oof, yes—I noticed that, and a few other passing references to Chester that seem to indicate her growing awareness of his behavioral issues. When she talks about how little Ewan does to “train” the boys, and how Lily just nags them both all the time—no wonder she felt things with Chester so strongly when she felt unsupported in raising her boys. It makes me so sad, knowing where things go with Chester! 1w

lauraisntwilder I'm behind, big surprise! ? Loving being back "with" Maud though. Ewan certainly doesn't come across well so far and I agree about Chester. Every time she mentions him, I cringe. @TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean 1w

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder That section where she talked about the times Ewan got so annoyed about her being recognized as an author?! 🤬 1w

TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean - that was SO heartbreaking! 1w

28 likes5 comments

BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years, 1922-1925 | Lucy Maud Montgomery

“Perhaps a hundred years from now my descendants may read over this diary and regard it as an interesting heir-loom. …I would like it to be published in full without omission, save for this very paragraph I have just written. Cut it out, descendants!”

Speaking of complete journals vs. selected journals… 😂 I wonder if this paragraph was omitted in the selected journals?
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks I honestly was confused about why she would want that specific paragraph cut out anyway 😂 2w

27 likes1 comment

BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years, 1922-1925 | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals

We‘ll be starting Volume 5 of LMM‘s journals this week! Schedule is above. As usual, I‘ll post a check-in on Saturdays.

(And, Emily of New Moon is coming up next for our re-reads! We‘ll start reading Emily on June 22.)

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

BarbaraJean @JenlovesJT47 Are you still interested in joining in for the journal reading? I don‘t want to bother you with tags if not—just let me know. As always, no pressure 😁 2w

TheAromaofBooks Is it weird that I'm kind of excited about starting the journals again?? 😂 2w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Not weird!! Or if it's weird, I'm weird, too! 2w

TheAromaofBooks She's just so daggone readable, even in her journals! 2w

19 likes4 comments

BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years, 1930-1933 | L M Montgomery

Every so often I‘ll look for info on the publication of the final volume of L.M. Montgomery‘s Complete Journals. We‘re moving along with #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals, and I have this nagging worry they won‘t publish the last volume—in time for our buddy read, or at all! I found an “Ask Us” option on the publisher‘s website, so I asked! It took a couple weeks, but I got this reply today. So—probably not in buddy-read time, but someday!

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Oh my gosh, I didn't realize that the journals didn't go all the way! 😳 So sad!! 3w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks When we started, I assumed the last volume would be forthcoming soon, since volume 6 was published in 2017 and volume 7 in 2019. I was naively optimistic! 😬 I'm not sure what to do when we get to the end of vol. 7. I guess we could switch over to the selected journals, which are all published, but I really prefer reading the complete ones (the selected ones don't have her pictures included!). 3w

TheAromaofBooks Yes, and as we've seen, sometimes the selections seem to want to... well, follow an agenda sounds strong because I don't think anyone has a secret plan to rewrite LMM's life lol But I definitely feel like I have gotten different vibes from LMM's complete journals than I did from her biographies that quoted her journals, if that makes sense. 3w

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BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Oh, I absolutely agree! You‘re right, agenda is too strong a word, but it IS interpretation for sure. Just the process of selecting what stays and what goes imposes someone else‘s filter and interpretation on LMM‘s words (even if it‘s just the boring WWI parts!). I want to be able to read all of it and decide for myself what‘s important—rather than have somebody else cutting out what they think isn‘t important! 3w

lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean I'm looking forward to getting back into the journals, but I'd never paid attention to the dates to realize they weren't all available! I agree, the selected journals wouldn't be the same, but could be better than nothing? That's the worst one to not have the whole story though... 2w

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks If we switch to the selected after the complete run out, date-wise we'd land partway through the 2nd to last selected volume, which is kind of annoying. But I looked at future Kindred Spirits books (re-reads, journals, adjacents) and honestly think it'll be the end of 2026 before we get to the last (as-yet-unpublished) volume of the complete journals! So I'm not worrying about it just yet. Or at least not much 😂 2w

TheAromaofBooks We do seem to have plenty to keep us busy 😂 2w

26 likes7 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

1mo

BarbaraJean Journals: @TheAromaofBooks, @lauraisntwilder, @JenLovesJT47 1mo

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

Emily of New Moon

1mo

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

The story of an African farm: a novel

1mo

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 😂 1mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Oh nooooo! Hope you unearth it quickly! 1mo

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!! 1mo

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. 💙 1mo

BarbaraJean @julieclair Oof—I understand! I‘ll tag you back in when we get to Story of an African Farm. 1mo

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Got it! I‘ll tag you for everything except Beautiful Joe. 1mo

julieclair @BarbaraJean Thanks! 😘 1mo

24 likes11 comments

BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years: 1918-1921 | Jen Rubio L.M. Montgomery

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

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

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. 2mo

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder That is fascinating! I hadn't noticed it while reading, but yes, there are far fewer nature descriptions in this volume. And her overall view of life does seem to have changed. Her exuberance--the heights that seem to balance her lows--is missing here. It does seem to be a gradual change, growing from those years of anxiety, but it's there. 2mo

BarbaraJean What I most enjoyed was what I guess I'd call the more philosophical entries. She seems to spend more time than she did in previous journals discussing her views on religion, life, literature, writing, etc. And she's such a fascinating personality that those sections were super interesting to read. I love her stories and her observations/commentary on various happenings, but hearing her thoughts in depth was my favorite aspect of this volume. 2mo

18 likes3 comments

BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years: 1918-1921 | Jen Rubio L.M. Montgomery

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

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

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! 2mo

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. 2mo

TheAromaofBooks I feel like the temptation would have been too great! We all edit our own memories/stories/etc and I can't imagine copying out my teenage diaries and not changing just a teeny bit here and there to make myself look not QUITE so dumb 😂 I don't think she just wholesale rewrote passages, but I just can't believe that she didn't remove or rearrange some sections to tone down some aspects of her past. @lauraisntwilder 2mo

17 likes3 comments

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