kindredspiritsbuddyread

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

My sister is probably going to stop her metastatic breast cancer treatments. She has a little less than a month to change her mind (I don't think she will) and, at that point, they'll either start another trial drug (if she does change her mind) or start hospice. I'm struggling to have the focus to read or even watch TV. I've been trying to catch up on this #kindredspiritsbuddyread and Maud really does feel like a kindred spirit sometimes. 🩵🩷💚

TheBookHippie I‘m so very sorry. 🩶 4d

Chrissyreadit I am so sorry. This sounds incredibly hard. 💔 4d

Bookwormjillk I‘m so sorry 4d

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Jas16 I am so sorry. Keeping you both in my thoughts. 4d

merelybookish How devastating! Be gentle with yourself! 4d

Librarybelle I‘m so sorry. Keeping you and your sister in my thoughts. 4d

rubyslippersreads I‘m so sorry. Sending you both good thoughts. 4d

Ruthiella So sorry to hear that. ❤️ 4d

BookNAround I‘m so sorry you, your sister, and your family are facing this hard decision. 4d

BarbaraJean Oh, I‘m so sorry, Laura! 💔 What a difficult time for you both. I‘ll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. What a gift to find comfort in LMM‘s journals.💜 1d

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BarbaraJean

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

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead I‘ve enjoyed being back in the #LMMJournals this week. Legal woes, Ewan‘s mental health, and grief over Aunt Annie—but this section was also full of cats, gardening, and reading. (I still don‘t think I‘m interested in reading Bulwer-Lytton‘s Zanoni, but every time LMM mentions it I kind of want to! She‘s wearing me down!)

What stood out to you in your journal-reading this week? (Other than the above author deaths 😂)

BarbaraJean I was again fascinated by LMM's reliance on interpreting her dreams as signs/premonitions. And how often they seem to line up with what actually happens! I was also struck by her skill with characterization: her descriptions of people are often hilarious and just so vivid. The “dreadful bore“ of a woman who was so afraid of the narrow stairs in her church, but was saved by her “habit of constant prayer“! I've met people JUST like that. 5d

lauraisntwilder Oh my goodness, I'm so far behind! I love reading these journals, but I absolutely cannot read more than about 10 pages at a time. It's very odd, since I genuinely enjoy them. I just can't plow through. In a way, it's nice, like they're something to savor? But anyway, I have a plan to get caught up. 5d

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder I know what you mean—they‘re lovely but not exactly binge-read material! I try to parcel it out with ~20 pages/day, then I can skip a couple of days in a week and still stay on track. But I can imagine it‘s really hard to catch up when you get behind! 5d

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BarbaraJean

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

Back into the #LMMJournals today! Whenever I‘m reading these, I keep an eye out for mentions of what LMM is reading, partly because I love reading her thoughts about books, but I also look for good #LMMAdjacent picks. However, I don‘t think I‘ll add Les Mis to our list… 😂 (I‘m with LMM here, it was a wonder but I don‘t think I need to re-read it!)
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks I saw Les Mis when I was reading yesterday and was like, that is one buddy read I would skip 😂 1w

lauraisntwilder I've never read it, but I don't think I'd get through it fast enough for a buddy read! 1w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks So not a candidate for #RandomClassics? 😂 @lauraisntwilder I read Les Mis with a Litsy buddy read, but I didn‘t manage to finish it until a month after the buddy read was over 🥴 1w

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LitsyEvents

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

repost for @BarbaraJean

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead So, I had talked about us reading the 400-ish-page-long novel-in-verse Aurora Leigh after we read Emily Climbs. Ultimately I decided I have enough on my plate and am not that ambitious right now. 😂 BUT, after seeing references to “The Alhambra“ in Emily of New Moon (+ LMM has talked about it in her journals), I thought that might be a fun one to add. Who's in?

#BuddyRead

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BarbaraJean

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

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead So, I had talked about us reading the 400-ish-page-long novel-in-verse Aurora Leigh after we read Emily Climbs. A couple of you were game to try but had trepidations. Ultimately I decided I have enough on my plate and am not that ambitious right now. 😂 BUT, after seeing references to “The Alhambra“ in Emily of New Moon (+ LMM has talked about it in her journals), I thought that might be a fun one to add. Who's in?

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks, @lauraisntwilder, @CogsOfEncouragement, @rubyslippersreads, @kwmg40, @julieclair, @Daisey, @LeahBergen, @Roary47, @JenLovesJT47 2w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks, @julieclair, @kwmg40, @JenLovesJT47, @lauraisntwilder - I have you on my tag list for Emily Climbs. Sarah and Laura, I'll also tag you for the journals. 2w

julieclair I‘m going to skip Emily Climbs because I‘ve got lots of travel ahead. But I‘m in for TheAlhambra. So exotic! 2w

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BarbaraJean @julieclair Yay! I‘m looking forward to it! 1w

TheAromaofBooks Yes!! I am somehow rereading Emily Climbs, despite saying I never would 😂 and have actually never really read anything by Irving, so I'm down for it!! 1w

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Re-reading these in the context of her journals is just so fascinating!! I read Rip Van Winkle in high school, but I think that‘s all I‘ve read by Irving. I was always curious about “The Alhambra” when it was mentioned in the Emily books but I never sought it out or realized it was by Irving! 1w

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BarbaraJean

Story of an African Farm | Olive Schreiner

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - African Farm discussion 5/5:

LMM references this book several times in her journals:
Vol. 1—Oct. 7, 1897, p. 38
Vol. 2—March 6, 1901, p. 9
Vol. 4—Jan. 31, 1920, pp. 240-41
Vol. 5—Oct. 29, 1925, p. 420

What do you think LMM appreciated about this book? Where do you see influences on her writing?

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

BarbaraJean I‘ve thought several of our adjacent reads were a bust—but not this one. I‘m so glad we included this even though there was a lot about it that was frustrating. I could see LMM being influenced by the spiritual and religious views here—so many of the ideas reflect her views as articulated in her journals. And I noticed so many passages that echoed her writing. A couple quotes below ⬇ (edited) 2w

BarbaraJean “I once heard an old man say, that he never saw intellect help a woman so much as a pretty ankle; and it was the truth.”
—Lyndall in African Farm (Part 2, Chapter 4 “Lyndall“)

“Emily, you remember that. You have brains—hide them. Your ankles will do more for you than your brains ever will.”
—Aunt Nancy Priest in Emily of New Moon (Chapter 25) 2w

BarbaraJean This sounds SO like Anne:
“I will tell you... where I could pray. If there were a wall of rock on the edge of a world, and one rock stretched out far, far into space, and I stood alone upon it, alone, with stars above me, and stars below me—I would not say anything; but the feeling would be prayer.“
—Waldo, in African Farm (Part 2, Ch. 6 “A Boer-Wedding“) 2w

BarbaraJean Last one…there are SO many! @TheAromaofBooks @lauraisntwilder This is almost EXACTLY what we were musing about re: EoNM a few weeks ago—the soul/brain/body forms of love. In LMM‘s journal on Jan. 31, 1920, she quotes a passage from African Farm: “who knows whether there is no love that holds all—friendship, passion, worship?” Then she discusses different forms of love:
“Yes, I think there must be a love which embraces them all but it is rarer ⬇ 2w

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) …than a blue diamond. Most of us have to content ourselves with far less. I have loved different men in vastly different ways but I have never loved any man with the whole force of my nature—with passion and friendship and worship. They have all been present repeatedly but never altogether in any of my loves. Perhaps it is as well, for such a love, in spite of its rapture and wonder and happiness, would make a woman an absolute slave…” 2w

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BarbaraJean

Story of an African Farm | Olive Schreiner

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - African Farm discussion 4/5:

How did this work for you as a story, with so many philosophical or religious digressions? Would you have preferred the book to be one or the other—philosophy or story? Or did it work for you as is?

Published in 1883, this has been called an early feminist classic. What ideas (feminist or otherwise) did you find to be progressive for their time?

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

BarbaraJean The story felt really uneven to me, partly because of how different Parts 1 & 2 were from each other, but also because the philosophizing felt forced. I wish the author had done more to integrate the ideas into the narrative more naturally, rather than putting in long monologues from Lyndall, Waldo, Waldo's stranger, and others. The ideas in those monologues were integral to those characters, but the way they were presented was awkward. 2w

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) That said, Waldo's ideas on religion & personal faith, and Lyndall's ideas (and choices) felt super progressive for the time (probably what LMM refers to when she says the book “made a tremendous sensation“). The fact that any moralizing on those ideas was put into Tant' Sannie's mouth, and clearly presented as wrong-headed, also felt ahead of its time (but it aligned with what we've seen in LMM's journals when she critiques religion). 2w

julieclair This didn‘t really feel like a story at all to me, but rather as a series of narrative vignettes interspersed with philosophical essays. It was much too disjointed for me. 2w

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julieclair Lyndall‘s feminist attitudes and beliefs were obviously progressive for the time, but so were Tant Sannie‘s, with her multiple husbands. 2w

lauraisntwilder I never managed to get around to this one. I sort of hate summer for how busy and hectic it is. Maybe I'll read it one day! 🤞 2w

BarbaraJean @julieclair I felt the same—it was too disjointed. I spent a lot of time wondering how she could have conveyed the same ideas more naturally within the story instead of using long monologues like she did. @lauraisntwilder Someday! 😁 It was such a mixed bag for me—really uneven—but it was fascinating to read it with LMM‘s journals as a backdrop. 1w

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BarbaraJean

Story of an African Farm | Olive Schreiner

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - Story of an African Farm discussion 3/5:

Did you find the ending satisfying?
Do you think it offers resolution for the main characters and the questions they struggle with?
Did it offer resolution for you?

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

BarbaraJean I was so conflicted about the ending. I had a really hard time with Lyndall's fate. It all felt so bleak and hopeless, then somehow Waldo's reflections at the end made it work for me. For me, it did feel like there was resolution for Waldo and Em, but I don't see a resolution that resolves the questions Lyndall (and her story) raises. 2w

julieclair The ending just made me sad. I agree that Waldo and Em did find resolution, but still, the overarching feeling was one of sadness, I thought. For Lyndall, I‘m not sure resolution was even possible for her, being so far ahead of her time. I don‘t think that the society she lived in could have supported resolution for her in any way. 2w

BarbaraJean @julieclair I think you‘re right, that there couldn‘t have been resolution for Lyndall. I really wanted it to work, for her to get out and make her own way in the world (become a successful actress!), but the narrative is far too realistic for that. 1w

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BarbaraJean

Story of an African Farm | Olive Schreiner

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - discussion 2/5:
Part One focuses on Bonaparte‘s sojourn at the farm and Waldo, Lyndall, and Em together as children. Part Two focuses on the three as young adults making their way separate from one another.

How do the children‘s experiences in Part One shape their lives in Part Two?
Do you see other connections between Parts One & Two?
Did the two parts feel like a cohesive narrative to you? Why/why not?

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

BarbaraJean The two parts felt disjointed at first, but looking back, I think Part 1 lays out the seeds of who the children become in Part 2. It's Bonaparte that made the book NOT feel cohesive to me! The whole Bonaparte thing felt out of place, other than providing some drama against which the children could demonstrate who they were (observant but passive & compliant Em, opinionated Lyndall struggling against constraints, Waldo trying to learn & grow). 2w

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BarbaraJean

Story of an African Farm | Olive Schreiner

This book was not at ALL what I expected! Let‘s discuss!

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - Story of an African Farm discussion 1/5:

What impact does the setting (the African Farm of the title) have on the story? How did you feel about the characterization and treatment of native people throughout the book?

What roles do the adults (Tant‘ Sannie, Otto, Bonaparte) play in the children‘s growth (whether positively or negatively)?

lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

rubyslippersreads I completely missed this one but, depending on the comments, may go back and catch up. 2w

BarbaraJean @rubyslippersreads Would love to hear your thoughts if you end up going back to read it! 2w

julieclair Tha characterization of the natives really disturbed me. Even setting aside the outdated language, the whites seemed to regard the natives almost like they would a piece of furniture. There to perform a function and otherwise beneath their notice. 2w

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BarbaraJean I was struck by how little impact the African setting had on the story. It could almost be any remote area with a harsh climate. Other than the fact that the characters are so isolated, the setting didn't seem to have a lot of impact. I thought there would be more overt racism than there is, so I kind of took it in stride that the native characters are kind of just bit players, often referred to with outdated terms that are now seen as racist. ⬇ 2w

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) I did find Lyndall's progressive feminist views ironic against the backdrop of casual racism and colonialism. When she says: “…if I might but be one of those born in the future; then, perhaps, to be born a woman will not be to be born branded.” (Part 2, Ch. 4)—I doubt she sees the connection between her “branding“ as a woman and the racism & colonialism that “brand,“ repress and confine the native South Africans. 2w

julieclair The setting on the African farm, with its isolation, served to make every human relationship more intense. And the pastoral setting left lots of time in the day for thinking, dreaming and philosophizing. 2w

julieclair Otto was a lovely role model of a good, kind, faith-filled man. I can‘t even discuss that despicable Bonaparte. Tant Sante wasn‘t a great influence, either. 2w

BarbaraJean @julieclair I was expecting more overt racism, so the characterization of native characters hit differently with me. It bothered me, but to some extent it was a relief that active, malicious actions or egregious stereotypes were absent. But as you said, the absence of notice is itself disturbing. I love your comments on the setting. The isolation really does intensify things, and the philosophizing makes more sense when I think of it that way. 2w

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