kindredspiritsbuddyread

Tales of the Alhambra | Washington Irving

“That book always makes me feel as if I had opened a little door and stepped straight into fairyland.
How I would love to see the Alhambra!”
—from “Salad Days” in Emily Climbs

How are you enjoying your reading of Tales from the Alhambra this week? Is it taking you to fairyland, as it does Emily? #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

julieclair There are moments where it feels like fairy land, but to be honest, it has mostly felt like a slog. The writing and descriptions are beautiful, but there are too many details for me. Although I must admit it has piqued my interest in visiting Grenada and The Alhambra some day. However, I‘m ready for some action! 14h

rubyslippersreads I need to catch up. I‘ve always wanted to read this because of the Emily connection. 14h

julieclair I‘m not sure where I am vs. where we‘re supposed to be. I‘m listening on audio and there are no chapters referenced, either in the narration itself or in the “details” section on Hoopla. I‘m at the part where he has just climbed up to the ramparts to see the view. 25% of book read. 14h

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BarbaraJean @julieclair The first chapter, where they're traveling to Granada, was SUCH a slog. It's picked up a bit more now he's including some of the legends & stories from the past. And SO interesting that yours doesn't have chapter references! I'm reading a digital copy via Hoopla & there are chapter titles but not chapter numbers. Where I left off yesterday, he was talking about how misunderstood Boabdil is and is about to tell about the Abencerrages. ⬇ 14h

BarbaraJean I wonder if the audio just reads the chapter titles into the text. Would it help if I posted a list of the chapter titles tied to the dates for the week? (Although it's not like there are really spoilers to be careful of, probably reading roughly 1/3 each week is close enough for our check-in/discussion purposes!)

@rubyslippersreads Me too! I remember coming across it first in the Emily books & there was a reference to it in the journals, too. 14h

TheAromaofBooks I actually have been enjoying this. The writing is friendly and I like the way that he is so kind to/about everyone. He seems like a person ready to be pleased with what he finds instead of always looking for faults. I loved the chapter where he decided to sleep in the abandoned rooms and then found himself getting creeped out by the ambiance 😂 It's a little dense - I think I'm a chapter behind - but I quite like it. 12h

julieclair @BarbaraJean You‘re sweet to offer, but I think your idea of just listening to 1/3 each week will work out fine. 💙 7h

julieclair @TheAromaofBooks I hadn‘t really thought about how nice he is, but you‘re right! 7h

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LitsyEvents

Tales of the Alhambra | Washington Irving

Repost for @BarbaraJean

Hello, Kindred Spirits! We‘ll begin reading Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving this week. I‘m looking forward to experiencing this book that LMM loved and that she references both in her journals and in the Emily books. Here‘s the schedule—all are welcome! Let me know if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be. #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacents

Original post - https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2900766

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lauraisntwilder

Emily Climbs | L M Montgomery

pick

I finished this reread a little late for #kindredspiritsbuddyread. I still enjoyed it though!

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kwmg40

Emily Climbs | Montgomery Lucy Maud

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I enjoyed this second book in the Emily series, in which Emily has a number of difficult decisions to make while various member of her friends and family try to exert their influence. I'm noticing the many ways in which Emily is different from LMM's more famous character, Anne Shirley!

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread @BarbaraJean

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BarbaraJean

Tales of the Alhambra | Washington Irving

Hello, Kindred Spirits! We‘ll begin reading Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving this week. I‘m looking forward to experiencing this book that LMM loved and that she references both in her journals and in the Emily books. Here‘s the schedule—all are welcome! Let me know if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be. #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacents

TheAromaofBooks, LitsyEvents, julieclair

TheAromaofBooks I just started this morning, and am feeling very smug about having reading Don Quixote last year and understanding some of the references 😂 6d

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks 😂 😂 YES! I felt the same way. I think a not insignificant reason for reading classic literature is so you can feel smug when you understand references to it later. 😆 16h

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BarbaraJean

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

“Of course Emily II isn‘t half as good as New Moon. The second volume of a series, especially if it deals with a very young girl, is the hardest for me to write—because the public and the publisher won‘t allow me to write of a young girl as she really is. One can write of children as they are; so my books of children are always good; but when you come to write of the ‘miss‘ you have to depict a sweet, insipid young thing— ⤵️

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, GingerAntics, TheAromaofBooks

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) …really a child grown older—to whom the basic realities of life and reactions to them are quite unknown. Love must scarcely be hinted at—yet young girls in their early teens often have some very vivid love affairs. A girl of Emily‘s type certainly would. But ‘the public‘… I can‘t afford to damn the public. I must cater to them for awhile yet.” ⤵️ 1w

BarbaraJean Do you agree that Emily Climbs isn‘t “half as good” as New Moon? Do you agree with LMM‘s reasons re: writing constraints for why it may be inferior? How do you think Emily Climbs might have been different if LMM had been able to “damn the public”?
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread 1w

TheAromaofBooks I actually like Emily Climbs better, but maybe that is just because it doesn't feel as sad somehow haha But I do think LMM does a good job of providing us with a character who feels passionate, vibrant, and ambitious, and who is likable without “always being good.“ 6d

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lauraisntwilder I don't think it's any better or worse, but a continuation, very different from the Anne books. AoGG is very self-contained. Emily Climbs feels much more like Emily of New Moon than any of the subsequent Anne books feel like the first. Not that I don't love them! And Emily has love affairs! She's clearly in love with Teddy the entire time and eventually realizes it herself. Not to mention Dean and her two denied proposals. 4d

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks @lauraisntwilder On this re-read, I decided I'm in no place to objectively judge which book is “better“! I remember liking this a LOT better than New Moon the first time I read the series. When I re-read New Moon a few years back, I LOVED it & rated it 5 stars, but wasn't as enamored with this one. This time, I was surprised by my previous 4-star rating & changed it to 5 stars—I honestly think I can't be trusted to be objective! ⬇ 16h

BarbaraJean I AM really curious what this book would have been like if LMM had felt free of public opinion and had written Emily's “love affairs“ as she wanted, as she felt would be true to life for Emily. What would have been different with Teddy? Would I have been horrified by her depiction of Dean (even more than I already am!)? I wonder if my own reasons for seeing it as “inferior“ would be very different from her reasons! 16h

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BarbaraJean

Emily Climbs | L M Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

How do you see Emily‘s writing ambitions manifest & grow throughout Emily Climbs?

Where do you see similarities between Emily & LMM?

What do you think of the choice Emily makes at the end? Do you agree with her decision or were you disappointed? What does the decision say about her sense of self? About her writing ambitions?

Are there any other scenes, themes, quotes, or characters you‘d like to discuss?

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, GingerAntics, TheAromaofBooks

kwmg40 Though this book was published 100 years ago, Emily's decision seems uncannily appropriate for the current times. Without getting into politics, I'll just say that there is a wave of patriotism in Canada right now at a level I've not seen before and many young people are reconsidering their decisions to leave the country for work or study. LMM herself achieved great success staying in Canada and writing about regular small-town people! 6d

TheAromaofBooks I have such mixed feelings about the ending! On a personal level, I completely agree with Emily, that she doesn't have to leave her home to be a success, and that someone from a small town can still write about life just as well as someone out there experiencing the rest of the world or what have you. But as far as whether it is true to the character LMM has created - I'm not as confident. Emily turning down this offer just doesn't seem to 100% ⬇ 6d

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) match the ambitious, Alpine-path-driven Emily we've gotten to know over these two books. I feel like she would have said yes for a season - not forever, but for a year or something, just to gain the experience and hone her craft. 6d

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lauraisntwilder @kwmg40 @TheAromaofBooks I feel like it's that slight patronizing or condescending tone that made all the difference. So far, we've seen Emily thrive in the face of opposition and I think staying at home and being successful anyway would feel like a greater victory for her. 4d

BarbaraJean @kwmg40 I love that! The way LMM's pride in being Canadian peeks out in moments like this is lovely. I love that Mr. Carpenter says she'll go and get “Yankeefied“ 😆 And I think Emily is absolutely right to hold on to her sense of place and identity in the way she does. She's beginning to identify the things that shape her writing and is choosing how she wants to be shaped. ⬇ (edited) 16h

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I have ALWAYS been torn about Emily's decision. It seems like such an amazing opportunity. I always think it wouldn't have changed her that much, she could have held on to her sense of self, etc. And yes, it seems at odds with the ambitious Emily we've seen so far. But on this reading, it landed better with me. I saw it as Emily's real growth in self-knowledge—both in who she is & who she wants to be as a writer. ⬇ 16h

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Yes, exactly—it feels like a greater victory for her to succeed on her own terms. I wonder if she had gone and found success that way, if she'd have always wondered whether her writing was actually good enough to stand on its own (without Miss Royal's connections, without compromising her writing and becoming “Yankeefied“) 16h

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BarbaraJean

Emily Climbs | L M Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread
Emily‘s relationships with her family naturally change here, and the New Moon family members fade a bit into the background. Still, her family continues to (or tries to!) influence her choices.

Where do you see that family influence most strongly in this book?

How are Emily‘s choices shaped by her family—and where do you see her pushing back on that influence as she matures?

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, GingerAntics, TheAromaofBooks

kwmg40 Emily has a very strong sense of obligation to her family, and of course, some of those members don't hesitate in reminding her of her debt to them. I'd like to think that the most influential family member is cousin Jimmy, the one that most others consider “simple“ but whose wisdom Emily recognizes and whose quiet support she appreciates. 6d

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BarbaraJean

Emily Climbs | L M Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread My least-favorite characters here are Dean and Aunt Ruth—for very different reasons.

What do you make of Emily‘s relationship with Dean here? Do you see any redeeming qualities in Dean‘s friendship and influence in Emily‘s life—or is it all just creepy groomer vibes for you?

What (if any) redeeming qualities do you see in Aunt Ruth? For you, does this mitigate the way she treats Emily for most of the novel?

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, GingerAntics, TheAromaofBooks

kwmg40 Had I read this book a couple of decades ago, I probably would have felt differently about Dean, seeing how he challenged Emily intellectually. Now, with changing attitudes in society, and also after having raised two daughters, I'm afraid he just seems creepy to me.

It's the same with respect to Aunt Ruth. All the bullying early on made it difficult for me to see her as any kind of ally to Emily, even with her later kinder actions. 6d

TheAromaofBooks I've really tried to be more attentive to Dean in this read-through, because it doesn't seem like LMM would have written him purposefully as a creepy groomer, so surely she was trying to make him a likable character/genuine romantic possibility? But it's so hard to get past the way that he is starting to manipulate Emily by being dismissive of her writing and using her trust in his opinions to undermine her ambitions for his own benefit. I think ⬇ 6d

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) that originally he does have good influences on Emily in the sense of broadening her mind and helping her to see the world beyond PEI, but like @kwmg40 said, at some point the creepiness outweighs any positives. His possessive attitude towards her since she was literally a small child is just so ick. 6d

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TheAromaofBooks Aunt Ruth is completely obnoxious, but much like Aunt Elizabeth, so much of it stems from her having literally no idea of how to deal with a young person. I think she's very narrow-minded, but I honestly don't think she's purposefully mean-spirited, so I have a little more forgiveness for her than some of the other characters. Her pride in the family name is what motivates her both when she is coming down on Emily and when she is defending her. ⬇ 6d

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) So I feel like in the end, I still don't like her because she doesn't actually love or even like Emily, but I never felt like her motivations in the rules and even accusations of “slyness“ stemmed from a personal dislike of Emily as much as they did from her worry that Emily was going to bring some kind of disgrace on the family name. Secondary thought - we get a hint of Aunt Ruth's teenage scandal - does that make her super sensitive?? 6d

lauraisntwilder @kwmg40 @TheAromaofBooks Dean is gross. There's no getting around it. There's no way to redeem someone who fell in love with a literal child, as he seems to have done in the last book, and then sticks around being weird. Aunt Ruth, however, changed for me on this reading. She's obnoxious, of course, but seems so much like the court of public opinion LMM fought as a child and during the writing of this book, with the Pickering court case. 4d

BarbaraJean @kwmg40 @TheAromaofBooks @lauraisntwilder Yep, Dean didn't feel creepy to me when I read these as a teen, but re-reading them in the past few years I can't get past the creep factor. I keep WANTING to see positive aspects to their relationship—he really does challenge Emily intellectually, he broadens her knowledge of literature and opens her mind to a wider world—but the glimpses of his motivations and possessiveness sour it all. Sarah, I agree ⬇ 16h

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) ...I don't think LMM intended Dean to be creepy, and I do think she intended him as a potential love interest. I think the groomer vibes we're all getting come from that intent. LMM wrote so many short stories with a super inappropriate age difference (I remember one in particular where an orphaned girl was raised by an older man, saw him as a father figure and then it was framed as an idyllic romance when he proposed...!!) ⬇ 16h

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) There's such a HUGE difference in the view of age-gap romances from then to now, that I'm sure LMM didn't intend Dean as creepy. The connections with Emily over literature and beauty were, I think, intended to show he was a kindred spirit and make him likable. My guess is that LMM wove in the possessiveness and manipulation as red flags early on, to suggest that he would figure in Emily's romantic future but wasn't a good match for her. 16h

BarbaraJean @kwmg40 I felt similarly about Aunt Ruth—when she finally defends Emily, it's too little too late. @TheAromaofBooks Absolutely—Aunt Ruth has NO idea how to respond to a young person, especially someone like Emily. It makes me think of how LMM says her grandparents parented her exactly wrong for someone of her temperament—I see that reflected in Aunt Elizabeth in the first book, and Aunt Ruth here. The difference is that Aunt Elizabeth grows! 16h

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder YES about Aunt Ruth and public opinion. So many echoes there to the pressure LMM felt and her horror of “what others would think/say.“ 16h

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BarbaraJean

Emily Climbs | L M Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMRereads - Discussion Qs for Emily Climbs coming in very late in the day!

How do Emily‘s friendships with Ilse, Teddy, and Perry change during their years in Shrewsbury? Thinking about LMM‘s other work, do you see parallels or contrasts between Emily & Anne in their changing friendships from childhood?

What do you see as the significance of Emily‘s “second sight”? Do you see connections with her imagination? ⤵️

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, GingerAntics, TheAromaofBooks

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) …With her writing? With her almost spiritual sense of beauty? 1w

kwmg40 Anne seems to be more loyal and tries to always see the best in her friends. Emily's relationships are more complicated, but consequently, they seem much more realistic to me. 6d

kwmg40 I'm not sure about the significance of the second sight, but I've enjoyed several of LMM's short stories that involve the supernatural, and I love this aspect which brings a little bit of a gothic touch to the story. 6d

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TheAromaofBooks Emily and Ilse are such very different characters from Anne and Diana. Ilse drives me a little crazy - WHY does she tell people about things she and Emily have done and then get surprised when everyone gossips about it?? She's definitely a wilder character than Anne or Diana, so that changes the dynamic between her and Emily a lot. 6d

TheAromaofBooks I think Emily's second sight is such an interesting thing to add to the story, because it doesn't get used much. But from LMM's journals, I definitely think this is something she believed was real/something that could really happen. I like the way that she doesn't have it as something that Emily wants/likes/encourages. That makes it seem more realistic to me. 6d

BarbaraJean @kwmg40 Absolutely—Emily's relationships are much more complex and LMM's writing about those relationships is more nuanced, I think. @TheAromaofBooks YES about Ilse! I was so frustrated at how she kept talking about these things that were sure to incite gossip. It was an interesting contrast with Emily—I don't think Ilse cared about public opinion the way Emily (and the Murrays) did. Emily is a mirror to LMM in that way, I think! ⬇ 17h

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) I also think Ilse and Emily are an interesting reversal to Anne and Diana. Diana is a bit more concerned about propriety (like Emily), while Anne is a bit more oblivious to what others will think (like Ilse). Emily is the imaginative, dreamy one (like Anne), but Ilse has a heedlessness that recalls Anne for me at times. ⬇ 16h

BarbaraJean The second sight is so fascinating to me. @TheAromaofBooks I definitely agree that it echoes LMM's own belief in such things, certainly her own experience of dreams she found prophetic. I liked the layer of Emily's almost frightened reaction to it. @kwmg40 It really does add a touch of the gothic! And Emily's fear/wariness of it emphasizes that gothic feel--it makes it that much more mysterious. 16h

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