Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
#LMMReread
blurb
BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
post image

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

Do you agree with LMM that this is the best book she‘s written (thus far in her life)?

What criteria do you use when considering what is a “best book”? For you, is “best” different from “favorite”?

BarbaraJean I have a *really* hard time with determining what is a “best book.“ For me, “favorite“ and “best“ are very different things. I can appreciate a book's literary excellence and still not like it, and I can absolutely LOVE a book that I know isn't very well-written. So even though I asked this question, it's hard to answer! 😆 I do think EoNM is a better book than AoGG, but I don't know if I'd say it's better than Rilla. 2w
lauraisntwilder EoNM is my favorite, but I think AoGG is probably her best to this point, from a literary standpoint. Marilla, Matthew, and Rachel are all so well and clearly defined. Jimmy is, but Elizabeth and Laura don't feel quite as real. I love them, but they're very similar to other sets of sisters in LMM's work. 2w
TheAromaofBooks I think I have to agree with @lauraisntwilder that AoGG seems like a more well-rounded book to me. It's also possible, though, that I feel that way because I've read AoGG a thousand times and EoNM twice 😂 I definitely don't think Emily is better than Rilla - I really think Rilla may be LMM's best book. I do think LMM connected far more with Emily as a reflection of herself than she did with Anne, who was entirely imaginary, and I can see why ⬇ 2w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) LMM would consider this her most pleasurable book to write. I think she enjoyed slipping in some autobiographical tones. She's also more confident as a writer at this point than she was when AoGG was written. 2w
BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks I see that with AoGG being a more well-rounded book than EoNM. I think I love Emily so much because there is so much depth and richness to Emily herself. We don't have nearly as much of Anne's inner life as we do Emily's—the tradeoff there is the deeper characterization Laura points out in AoGG, of Marilla, Matthew, Rachel, and others. With Rilla, it's kind of the best of both in its characterization. 2d
35 likes5 comments
blurb
BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
post image

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread Emily of New Moon
As I was reading, I had a couple ideas I thought would be great for discussion questions. I was going to get up & note them down, but I was lazy and told myself of course I‘d remember. Well. I forgot. So. General discussion post! (I do have a couple of other questions I‘ll post separately)
What are your thoughts on Emily of New Moon? What themes, characters, scenes, or quotes stand out to you?

lauraisntwilder I was struck by how much Emily wants to obey Aunt Elizabeth. She is amazingly loyal and sweet. 2w
TheAromaofBooks @lauraisntwilder - I was thinking about that, too! Especially since there are times that Laura encourages Emily to basically go behind Elizabeth's back, but Emily instead does try to stay true to what Elizabeth wants her to do. 2w
TheAromaofBooks There was one line towards the end of the book where the aunts and uncles are talking about whether or not Emily should go to Queens, and Elizabeth says something like, “No Murray has to work for her living“ and the uncle says, “Well she's only half Murray“ And I was honestly so confused - aren't they ALL only half Murray!? 😂 2w
BarbaraJean I'm so sorry it took me so long to get back to this discussion! @lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks YES, Emily is so well-intentioned and doesn't want to go behind Elizabeth's back like Laura so often suggests she do! Even when she does disobey. There are almost always extenuating circumstances. So often she unintentionally interprets the rules differently from how the adults intended! 2d
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks 😂 😂 😂 I hadn't even thought of that, but it's absolutely true!! Just another example of how the Murrays never accepted Emily's father or her parents' marriage. 😢 (edited) 2d
35 likes5 comments
quote
BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
post image

“The happiest countries, like the happiest women, have no history,” said Dean.

“…like all female creatures, you form your opinions by your feelings.”

Every time I read this, I discover more reasons to hate Dean Priest. #LMMReread #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Trashcanman I‘ve never met a wise man, if so it‘s a woman. 3w
TheAromaofBooks On top of being a total creep, he's sooooo condescending 3w
kwmg40 He definitely comes across as a creep! 3w
rubyslippersreads 😡🤢 3w
lauraisntwilder The. Worst. 3w
42 likes5 comments
blurb
BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
post image

Goodness, I love Father Cassidy so much. I wish we had more of him than we get!!

How is your reading coming along this week, Kindred Spirits? What are your favorite parts in this week‘s chapters? #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

JenlovesJT47 Thank you for reminding me!! I absolutely love this trilogy but have only read it once. Will try my hardest to get to it this week but I‘m so behind on everything. 😭 3w
JenlovesJT47 And I love Emily, she‘s so feisty. 3w
kwmg40 I love the interaction with Father Cassidy too! 3w
See All 8 Comments
BarbaraJean @JenlovesJT47 I get it! No pressure, I know how busy things can get and how the self-assigned reading piles up 😆 3w
BarbaraJean @kwmg40 He's such a delight! And I wish he could be more part of Emily's life. She needs more adults like this! 3w
TheAromaofBooks Father Cassidy - finally a good adult!!

One thing that struck me this week was how much of this book is actually from Emily's first-person POV. Compared to the Anne books, where we don't get anything from Anne's direct POV (except in Windy Poplars, which hadn't been published at this point). However, this mixture of journals and narration does remind me of the format of Rilla. I really appreciate how, despite writing a story about another ⬇
3w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) orphan girl, LMM has created a character completely different from Anne. Imaginative and creative, yes, but Emily is really just so so different from Anne in so many ways, beyond just her circumstances. Even at this young age (younger than we meet Anne) she's ambitious and goal-oriented vs Anne who did love learning and studying, but also at some level seemed to do it for the joy of learning more than because she had a specific career ⬇ 3w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) in mind. While Emily does sometimes get in a bit of a temper, she also tends to keep things in more until she can “write it out“ vs Anne's temper flashes and chatterbox tendencies. All that to say, even though I don't really objectively like this book - it's just too sad for me to really like it - I do appreciate LMM's incredible skill in character creation. 3w
38 likes8 comments
blurb
BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
post image

Hello, Kindred Spirits! Just a quick check-in on how your reading is going this week!

How are you enjoying Emily of New Moon so far?
What stands out to you from this week's chapters?

I‘m loving Emily and her world, as always. Emily is a delight and Cousin Jimmy is such a gift to her grieving spirit. I love seeing the parallels between Emily‘s writing and LMM‘s writing. And I want to shake Aunt Elizabeth. 😡

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

rubyslippersreads While you‘re shaking Aunt Elizabeth, give Ellen Greene a smack for me. 😠 1mo
JenlovesJT47 Have you watched the show? They picked the perfect person to play Aunt Elizabeth. 💚💚💚 1mo
kwmg40 This is a reread for me, and I‘m enjoying it very much so far. 1mo
See All 11 Comments
BarbaraJean @rubyslippersreads Yes! And I'll also throw in a slap for Miss Brownell. @JenlovesJT47 I haven't yet! I think I'll wait to finish this re-read. Glad to know they cast her well! @kwmg40 💜 💜 1mo
rubyslippersreads @BarbaraJean Miss Brownell! 😡 1mo
rubyslippersreads @BarbaraJean And let‘s not forget Aunt Ruth. 1mo
BarbaraJean @rubyslippersreads So many people to slap. 1mo
TheAromaofBooks Urgh, this book is so frustrating because it feels like basically every adult in Emily's life is ignorant, mean-spirited and/or too weak to stick up for her. Aunt Elizabeth shouldn't be allowed within 100 years of a child; was there ever someone with less understanding?! However, it's been SO interesting to pick up on parallels to LMM's childhood. I also recognized a few of the New Moon stories as belonging to her family (especially how their ⬇ 1mo
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) family ended up on PEI). Unpopular opinion, I'm really not that fond of Aunt Laura, either. She's obviously better than the others, but the way she just passively lets things happen to Emily, and then encourages Emily to just disobey behind Aunt Elizabeth's back! It drives me a little crazy. 1mo
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Every time I read this I discover I've forgotten just how bad 90% of the adults are. The way Elizabeth gets all snippy and lecture-y when Emily is crying, the night of her father's funeral?!?! 😡😡😡

I get where you're coming from with Aunt Laura. I'm SO glad Emily has Laura and Jimmy who actually love her and make her feel loved, but just encouraging Emily to sneak around behind Elizabeth's back is NOT the way to handle things.
1mo
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks And YES, I'm loving recognizing some of the New Moon stories from LMM's family lore! “Here I Stay“ is such a great tale, especially knowing it actually happened! 1mo
23 likes11 comments
blurb
BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
post image

Juxtapositions like these are one of the reasons I‘m so enjoying reading LMM‘s journals alongside a re-read of her books!

Top: quote from Aug. 4, 1923 — just weeks before Emily of New Moon was published
Bottom: quote from chapter 1 in Emily of New Moon

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread #LMMJournals

JenlovesJT47 💚💚💚 1mo
TheAromaofBooks I am really interested to see what connections we find between Emily and LMM (and later - Pat and LMM) 1mo
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I am SO interested to read the journals alongside Pat! I remember you really not liking the Pat books--do you think you'll re-read this time? 1mo
TheAromaofBooks I still have never read Mistress Pat, but I probably will reread Pat of Silver Bush despite saying I wasn't going to read it again ever 😂 1mo
34 likes4 comments
blurb
BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
post image

I was really excited about re-reading Emily of New Moon by listening to this audiobook narrated by Megan Follows. Until I saw it‘s abridged. 😭 Maybe I‘ll read it in print and then go back afterwards to listen and see what they cut out. #LMMReread #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

TheBookHippie Oh dear. 1mo
lauraisntwilder ☹️ I see no reason for this book to have been abridged. 1mo
BarbaraJean @TheBookHippie I‘m SO disappointed! @lauraisntwilder Right?!? How could Megan Follows be part of this kind of travesty?! 1mo
See All 6 Comments
TheBookHippie @BarbaraJean it makes no sense. 1mo
willaful Good grief! It's hardly a super long book! 1mo
BarbaraJean @willaful I was thinking it was longer than Anne by about 100 pages, but I just looked it up, and at least in the Bantam paperbacks, it's all of 30 pages longer than Anne. 🙄 1mo
32 likes6 comments
blurb
LitsyEvents
Emily of New Moon | L M Montgomery
post image

Repost for @BarbaraJean

Tomorrow begins the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead of Emily of New Moon! @BarbaraJean will post weekly check-ins and will discuss the book in full on Saturday, July 1. Schedule is above. All are welcome - please comment and tag @BarbaraJean if you were not tagged in her original post and would like to be tagged in future.
#LMMReread

blurb
BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
post image

Tomorrow begins the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead of Emily of New Moon! I‘ll post weekly check-ins, and we‘ll discuss the book in full on Saturday, July 12. Schedule is above. All are welcome—please comment if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be!

#LMMReread #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

rubyslippersreads I‘m not sure if I‘ll reread (I bet I‘ve read it at least 50 times 😁), but I‘ll definitely chime in with comments. 1mo
TheBookHippie I adore this read! Enjoy!!! 1mo
JenlovesJT47 I read this a couple of years ago and loved it, sounds like a great time for a reread! P.S. Has anyone ever watched the show Emily of New Moon? It‘s pretty good. Got the whole series for $10 awhile back. 🩷 1mo
See All 10 Comments
willaful Oh, I haven't read this in so long. I think I'd like to join in! 1mo
BarbaraJean @willaful Yay! I‘ll tag you! 1mo
BarbaraJean @JenlovesJT47 I have an Emily of New Moon series saved in my Hoopla favorites but haven‘t watched it yet—maybe I need to do that this summer! 1mo
TheAromaofBooks When I read Emily the first time I found the series depressing and said I wasn't going to read them again - but I honestly can't resist rereading them within the context of everything we've been learning about LMM, so I guess I'm in again! 😂 1mo
rubyslippersreads @willaful I‘m jealous of you getting to read it for the first time. 1mo
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Hahaha! The Emily books really are much darker than Anne… but I do love them. I‘m glad you‘re in for a re-read—I‘m enjoying this chronological buddy read so much!! 1mo
TheAromaofBooks I am, too! I was not expecting rereading these within LMM's life-context to make such a difference but it really is! 1mo
31 likes10 comments
blurb
BarbaraJean
post image

I have this blog where I don't post as often as I'd like. But here are some reflections on a scene from Rilla of Ingleside, with a little Pollyanna thrown in. #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead-ers may be interested. Also: it‘s Christian-y. 🙂

https://commonplacehope.wordpress.com/2025/05/30/burning-coals/

#LMMReread #LMMAdjacent