Litsy

Anne of the Island | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Repost for @BarbaraJean

I‘m having so much fun reading LMM‘s Christmas stories! We‘ll finish those on Christmas Eve, then pick up our regular buddy reading starting 12/29. Above is our #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead schedule through mid-February, including two for #LMMReread, the last bit of Vol. 3 for #LMMJournals, and #LMMAdjacent read: The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett.

See original post at https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2819444

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BarbaraJean

Anne of the Island | Lucy Maud Montgomery

I‘m having so much fun reading LMM‘s Christmas stories! We‘ll finish those on Christmas Eve, then pick up our regular buddy reading starting 12/29. Above is our #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead schedule through mid-February, including two for #LMMReread, the last bit of Vol. 3 for #LMMJournals, and #LMMAdjacent read: The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett. Let me know if you‘d like to be tagged for any or all of the above. All are welcome! ⬇

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

BarbaraJean I have a list of potential adjacent reads that I need to review, and I‘m planning to post a poll with some of those options sometime in January. In the meantime, let me know if there are any books LMM has mentioned that caught your eye. I‘d love to add in more adjacent reads! 7h

julieclair Please tag me for Anne of the Island and The Country of the Pointed Firs. 🙂 Thank you for the thoughtful way you host this challenge! 🩵💙🩵 6h

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BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years 1911-1917 | Jen Rubio

#LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

I didn‘t realize until @TheKidUpstairs mentioned it a few days ago: 2024 is the 150th anniversary of LMM‘s birth. At that point, I remembered LMM‘s birthday was in November, but I didn‘t remember the date and thought I‘d missed the day. And then I read this last night and realized it‘s TODAY! Happy 150th Birthday, L.M. Montgomery! 🎂🎉In celebration, share in the comments something you love about LMM‘s books!

AvidReader25, rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Daisey, LeahBergen, JenlovesJT47, CogsOfEncouragement, Prairiegirl_reading, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, sblbooks, TheAromaofBooks, Roary47, julieclair

BarbaraJean For me, I love the kinship that I feel with so many of her characters (Anne, Emily, Valancy…), and how deftly she can draw a character with just a few sentences of description or dialogue. And, how much comfort and laughter I find in her books! 3w

TheBookHippie I love Anne- but Emily, for me, is a kindred spirit. 3w

JenlovesJT47 Same age as I am now! 👵🏻 I am way behind on reading the journals but I hope to get to them soon. Looking forward to reading the Christmas stories! 💚 3w

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jewright I loved that Anne was smart but had a temper. She was so real to me when I read her as a child. I read every single one of her books and loved them all. Rilla of Ingleside is my favorite book of all time. 3w

CSeydel 🎂🎉 3w

LeahBergen Happy Birthday, Maud! I love her for showing ten-year-old Canadian me that Canada had a “classic” children‘s author, too! I‘d only read British or American classics up to that point. 3w

TheAromaofBooks I just so admire her knack for capturing human nature. So many of her stories feel timeless because she connects readers to universal experiences. I grew up on LMM and have read and reread her books so many times. I don't know what I would do without them!! 3w

lauraisntwilder Her humor is so perfect. I feel like she perfected the art of "laughing with" someone, rather than at them. She could make the ridiculousness of a situation so clear, but it feels good natured rather than cruel. 3w

BarbaraJean @TheBookHippie Yes!! I love the Anne books, but Emily is so much more relatable for me. @JenlovesJT47 Glad to have you along for the Christmas stories! They're a lot easier to keep up with or hop in and out as you're able! 3w

BarbaraJean @jewright Yes, I love how real Anne feels. And Rilla is one of LMM's best—I love the view it gives of the “home front“ of WWI, while showing Rilla's growth in maturity. @LeahBergen I love that!! I think LMM would be so pleased to know that her works have continued to be read so widely, and are considered classics. 3w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks She is definitely a master at characterization! I've loved reading her observations in her journals—she had such a keen eye for what made people tick, and knew how to convey that. @lauraisntwilder Yes! And I think so much of that “laughing with“ feel comes from how she's also able to laugh at herself. That really comes across in her journals. 3w

julieclair I love the overall hopeful, cozy, homely tone of her books. 3w

AvidReader25 I love the theme of found family. Her characters are often orphans or have strict, cold families. I love that they often end up closest to the people they choose. 💙 2w

43 likes13 comments

BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years 1911-1917 | Jen Rubio

#LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead discussion: July 14, 1913 - Mar. 12, 1916

“How I love my old journal and what a part of my life it has become. It satisfies some need in my nature. It seems like a personal confidant in whom I can repose absolute trust.”

There was a LOT in this week‘s section: from the heartbreak of the loss of her child and the WWI years to Stuart‘s birth. What parts did you find particularly interesting or meaningful?

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

JenlovesJT47 This is how I feel about journaling. 💚 3w

TheAromaofBooks This was SUCH an interesting section! I found it interesting how invested LMM was in WWI when, at some level, it was somewhat distant from her - she doesn't seem to really have anyone close to her serving as a soldier, for instance. I LOVE Rilla of Ingleside, so it was also interesting to see real-life backdrop/feelings for that future story.

Losing the baby was just sooo heartbreaking! And her being so miserable when she's pregnant but still ⬇ 3w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) having to do so much made ME feel tired!

One thing that struck me about this section - most of the biographies we've read have really acted like LMM didn't even like her husband, barely tolerated him, found him to be a bore, etc. But multiple times in this section, LMM mentions being glad that he's there, being sad that he's leaving, missing him while he's gone, etc. While I never get an impression of genuine kindred-spirit-ism-ness ⬇ 3w

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TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) between them, it also doesn't feel like their marriage is as unequal or as miserable as I feel like it was implied in other books we've read. I do think later in life both of their mental health issues caused a lot of breakdown in their relationship, but here in these middle years it feels like while they may not have a lot of passion that they do still share friendship, companionship, and an ability to work together. 3w

TheAromaofBooks I'm really looking forward to rereading Anne of the Island. It's another favorite of mine. And you know, ol' Publisher Page was a total jerk, plus a thief, but... I do think we have him to thank for more Anne books sooo 😂 3w

BarbaraJean @JenLovesJT47 Yes! You can see this reflected in her journal as well—it's such a needed outlet for her. @TheAromaofBooks The way she writes about Ewan in this volume surprised me, too! You can see there was a compatibility there & her decision to marry him makes more sense. It makes me frustrated at the various biographies that seem to characterize her marriage based only on the later years—which were awful, but it's not like it was ALL terrible! 3w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks On the other hand,there was a passage in this section where she talked about the only perfect happiness being in the arms of someone she loves with all her heart. She then universalizes it as “every woman's real idea of happiness“ but it broke my heart a little to see her express happiness in that way. She didn't say it right out, but it was pretty clear she didn't feel she had that in Ewan. ⬇ 3w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I'm really looking forward to Anne of the Island, too!! It'll be next up for us in January! It's so strange to read that LMM didn't think much of it. It's always been one of my favorites—probably because I love getting to finally see the culmination of the Anne/Gilbert romance. 3w

TheAromaofBooks I get the feeling from the journals that Maud didn't, for lack of a better word, trust passion. That if you feel all the physical attraction and butterflies and yearning, then there must be something wrong. I think she chose Ewan almost because she DIDN'T feel those things for him, which meant that he was a safe, simple, practical choice. I think she feared the part of her that had such dramatic emotional swings from high to low and wanted ⬇ 3w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) someone who could help her to find balance and stability. But I think she had no idea that Ewan actually also suffered from similar swings, so in the end she missed out on the joys of the highs while still ending up with someone who made the lows worse, and that genuinely is so sad and lonely. But through this section especially I do feel like they were at least friends who were able to work together comfortably, so it made me feel like ⬇ 3w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) her marriage wasn't just 100% disaster 100% of the time, which is honestly the impression I got from the biographies. In this section, I feel like she's actually pretty content. Her journals obviously have her aggravations and frustrations with everyday annoyances, but she also talks about loving her home, being glad to return there, the joys of being in charge of her own household, etc. 3w

TheAromaofBooks Also, her losing the baby really made me think about House of Dreams and how incredibly emotional that section has always been and how she must have pulled from her own experiences and feelings. SO sad. 3w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I think that's right, especially given how she talks about Herman. With him, she'd experienced passion without compatibility and I think it scared her. I think you're right that she wanted someone who would give her contentment & stability. And he does at first! I've been pleasantly surprised that she is so content through this whole volume. Marriage and motherhood do bring her what she hoped for, at least for a time. ⬇ 3w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks It was interesting that in this section, she longed for home in Leaskdale while visiting PEI! That trip had terrible weather, and she noticed changes in the people & the place, but for LMM to prefer Leaskdale to Cavendish spoke VOLUMES about her contentment in her new life. Yes, the loss of her baby was heartbreaking! House of Dreams echoes that experience so strongly. The parallels in her life & work add so much to the re-reads! 3w

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BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years 1911-1917 | Jen Rubio

“What a pity it is so hard to be both good and interesting. I am not good—but I *am* interesting!”

#LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

TheKidUpstairs Great quote! Leaskdale is just down the road from me, the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario runs a lovely museum there, and they have speakers come throughout the summer for talks and afternoon tea events. Just last week Megan Follows was there for a celebration of LM Montgomery's 150th :) 4w

JenlovesJT47 💚💚💚 4w

BarbaraJean @TheKidUpstairs Oh, how lovely!! What a treat to have that so close! I discovered a few days ago that I‘d completely missed that it was just LMM‘s 150th! An egregious oversight in the midst of this deep dive buddy read into LMM‘s life and works 🤦🏻‍♀️ 3w

38 likes3 comments

BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years 1911-1917 | Jen Rubio

A reminder for the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead-ers who are following along with the #LMMJournals: this coming week (Nov. 24-30) we‘ll be picking up the journals again for just one week, before we dive into LMM‘s Christmas stories.

On Saturday 11/30, we‘ll discuss July 14, 1913 - March 12, 1916 from Volume 3 of LMM‘s Complete Journals. Looking forward to it!

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

28 likes

BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years 1911-1917 | Jen Rubio

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals

We‘re back into LMM‘s journals this week, starting volume 3 with LMM‘s honeymoon travels, setting up the manse in Leaskdale, and reflections on new motherhood. I‘m behind on this week‘s reading—so just a general check-in this week, posted early because tomorrow is packed! 😊

How are you doing with this week‘s reading?
What have you noticed? Are there sections, quotes, or themes that stood out to you?

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks I am almost done reading this section, so I'll pop back in. Also, just confirming, we aren't reading the Chronicles as a group, right? I may still read through them because I'm kind of interested in how they fit into her overall publishing progression arc haha 1mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Yes, I decided not to include Chronicles this time around—I wasn‘t super interested in re-reading, and they pop up in the journal so close to Golden Road that logistically it also worked better to leave them out! I‘d love to hear your thoughts if you do read through them at this point, though! 1mo

lauraisntwilder I'm behind, too, but I'm enjoying being back in Maud's world again. She made me laugh when she talked about her new dining room, with "only one window which gives a view of several ugly back yards including our own." I also loved the irony of her traveling to places she loved from books/poems and being annoyed when they were packed with tourists. Who goes to PEI and doesn't go to the Anne sights? Would you even go there otherwise?? 1mo

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TheAromaofBooks Like @lauraisntwilder I was glad to be back to reading Maud's thoughts again. Her honeymoon sounds like quite the whirlwind! You have to wonder if she had any thoughts about Ewan vs. MacMillan when she met M in person. And was M's fiancee really as bad as Maud portrayed her, or was she being a little catty/dog-in-the-manger-ish?? On the other hand, it sounds like Maud was physically so uncomfortable from her cystitis, who can blame her for being⬇ 1mo

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) a little grumpy?? How horrible to have a problem at a time when there were no antibiotics or anything that could actually help her problem. It just sounds miserable, especially while traveling!

It's been fun to read about her setting up house and of course the arrival of Chester. But it's also kind of hard to read about her being soooo in love with her baby knowing that he's going to absolutely literally destroy her life later 😢 1mo

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks I've been enjoying Maud's voice again as well! I had to laugh at her comments about literary sites being crowded with tourists. I think she would be aghast at how AoGG sites are such a tourist attraction now! I feel for her annoyance, because who wouldn't want those gorgeous sights to themselves, for reflection & full immersion in the experience? It's a shame when the experience is diminished by the crowds, but ⬇ 1mo

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) ...also just a little entitled to be so indignant that others also want to experience those same sights. @TheAromaofBooks Her descriptions of MacMillan's fiancee were really funny! I didn't get the sense that she was being catty (who knows, though!), but I did feel like her skills in writing a quick, vivid character sketch were on full display there! The passages where she gushes about her love for Chester were SO bittersweet to read. ⬇ 1mo

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) The note on the May 6, 1913 entry really got me. “My own dear little son! What a blessing you are to me! Will you always be so?“ and then the later added note: “Oh, dear God! 1937!“ 😭 Another passage that struck me was in the June 29, 1913 entry, when she talks about truth and not having the courage to tell it because she's a slave to old conventions and rules. That rings so true about her struggles with conventions and appearances. 1mo

TheAromaofBooks Yes on the conventions thing!! Because I definitely feel like a lot of her life choices were made because of “what would people say“ and “upholding the family name“ instead of what she actually wants from life. And that entry about Chester!!!!! 😢 1mo

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BarbaraJean

The Golden Road | L. M. Montgomery

For those following along with #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread or #LMMJournals, in November we‘re starting Vol. 3 of the Complete Journals and also reading The Golden Road.

Then in December we‘ll read LMM‘s Christmas stories! I‘ll assemble a #KindredSpiritsChristmas story-a-day schedule for us to read these cozy holiday stories together. All are welcome—if you‘d like to join in just for December, let me know and I‘ll add you to the tag list!

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

Seabreeze_Reader Enjoy your reading. 🙂Unfortunately I won't have time in my schedule to join in. 2mo

BarbaraJean @Seabreeze_Reader Thank you! Maybe we‘ll catch you another time 😊 2mo

TheAromaofBooks I actually read the “Haunted“ short story this week! Still plowing my way through Seven Gables 😅 My copy of the journals should be here this weekend. I'm looking forward/also somewhat apprehensive to read about LMM's early marriage years and leaving PEI. Are the Christmas stories going to a specific book of collected stories, or just random ones from here and there? 2mo

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BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Seven Gables turned out to be quite a slog! 😬 I‘ll see how this volume of the journals feels—I‘m a bit apprehensive as well! There are more of LMM‘s books to break things up with at this point, though, and I‘m going to go through the notes and jot down adjacent titles to work into the schedule also. The Christmas stories are random—I have a list compiled from a few different Christmas collections (minus that weird Red Room one!) 2mo

Roary47 The golden road looks enchanting. I‘m going to read the first book really quick to be on track. 🥰 2mo

TheAromaofBooks Yeah, The Red Room, randomly depressing and not remotely Christmasy haha That story was a disappointment! 😂 2mo

julieclair @TheAromaofBooks I actually read the haunted story too! I‘m so proud of us! 😀 2mo

julieclair I will skip the journals, but join in for The Golden Road. And December sounds delightful! 2mo

BarbaraJean @Roary47 Yay! Glad to have you join in, and I hope you enjoy both books! 😊 2mo

BarbaraJean @julieclair Looking forward to reading Golden Road and Christmas stories with you! And good job reading the ghost story—LMM loved ghost stories, but it sounds like it‘s not in any of our wheelhouses, so good job to all of us! 2mo

Daisey I‘d like to try to join in for the Christmas stories. Please add me to that list. 2mo

BarbaraJean @Daisey Will do! Glad to have you along for the Christmas stories! 2mo

CogsOfEncouragement Christmas story-a-day sounds delightful, please count me in. 1mo

BarbaraJean @CogsOfEncouragement I've added you to the tag list! Glad to have you along! 1mo

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LitsyEvents

Elizabeth and Her German Garden | Elizabeth Von Arnim

Here's the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead schedule for October & November! We've got three #LMMAdjacent reads in October, then in November, we'll start Volume 3 of the complete #LMMJournals, with an #LMMReread of The Golden Road in the middle. I have separate tag lists for each, so (if you haven't already) let me know if you'd like to be tagged for any of the above! Discussions are on Saturdays, and all are welcome.

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BarbaraJean

Elizabeth and Her German Garden | Elizabeth Von Arnim

Here‘s the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead schedule for October & November! We‘ve got three #LMMAdjacent reads in October, then in November, we‘ll start Volume 3 of the complete #LMMJournals, with an #LMMReread of The Golden Road in the middle. I have separate tag lists for each, so (if you haven‘t already) let me know if you‘d like to be tagged for any of the above! Discussions are on Saturdays, and all are welcome.

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

TheAromaofBooks I\'m looking forward to starting Elizabeth and Her German Garden today. I was surprised to find it as a Penguin English Library Edition - maybe more popular in Britain than here? I heartily disliked the only other Hawthorne I\'ve read (The Scarlet Letter) so I\'m interested to see if I like Seven Gables any better 😂 3mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks My county library system has exactly ONE print copy of Elizabeth, which I\'ve put on hold because I\'m SUPER interested to get hold of it: the library catalog says it was published in 1913! I\'ve also only read Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne—I thought it was interesting, but not amazing—so I\'m also interested to see what I think of Seven Gables. The main criticism I\'ve seen is that it\'s not scary enough (which is a plus in my book!) 3mo

TheAromaofBooks The pretty Penguin edition was only $11 on Blackwell\'s website, so I splurged 😂 https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Elizabeth-and-Her-German-Garden-by-Eli... 3mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks The Penguin one is such a pretty edition! All the ebook covers on Hoopla are either generic or just terrible. 😂 3mo

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