#5JoysFriday! Here are a few joys from my week—and you can add a bonus joy of seeing everyone else‘s 5 joys 😊

1. My sister made me this crochet Frog & Toad and they make me smile every time I see them
2. One of my best friends sent me a slew of ridiculous bird names and I can‘t stop laughing at them
3. My husband‘s piano music
4. Leading a reflective Quiet Day retreat on Saturday
5. A breath-of-fresh-air meeting with my spiritual director

“…it was not until 1978 that Native Americans were allowed to practice their religious beliefs, in spite of what the First Amendment to the Constitution had guaranteed to Americans for over 200 years.
In 1978 Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act… for the first time in the 400-year history between Europeans and Native Americans, the religious practices of Native nations were not banned.”

“There isn't a single interesting person in this village—not one who makes you feel better just because of a chat. I really never saw such a collection of stupid, uninteresting people. …When I am feeling normal I suffer them gladly and find some amusement in their very stupidity but when I'm below par I'd like to blow them all up with gunpowder.”

😂 As I find so often, Maud‘s “below par” reaction to certain other people is thoroughly relatable.

I feel
Very much
Like taking
Its unholy perpetrators
By the hair
Of their heads
(If they have any hair)
And dragging them around
The yard
A few times,
And then cutting them
Into small, irregular pieces
And burying them
In the depths of the blue sea
They are without form
And void,
Or at least
The stuff they produce
Is.
They are too lazy
To hunt up rhymes,
And that
Is all
That is the matter with them.

😂😂
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals

“…may not a person such as myself… whose love of beauty amounts to passionate worship, who finds comfort and help and rapture and courage and satisfaction in a wonderful sunset, or starry waters, or a wood-blossom, or the sleek, ineffable curves of a drowsy cat, or the dance & glow of an open fire—may not such a person be as truly religious as one who finds God in some other manifestation of His personality.”
#LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals

I‘ve enjoyed being back into LMM‘s journals this week, even though it can be difficult to read about her struggles with Ewan‘s illness and the lawsuit with Page.

How‘s your reading going? What stood out to you from this week‘s section?

#5JoysFriday:

1. Small joys: wearing my Anne of Green Gables socks while reading LMM‘s journals, and wearing my donut socks with my “ice cream” shoes (brown with pink laces)
2. Larkspur and roses in the garden and on my table
3. A perfect book cover/bookmark pairing
4. FINALLY finishing painting the bathroom, hanging a new cabinet, and replacing the light fixture (the process was not a joy, but being done is)
(Cont‘d ⤵️)

😂😂

I also loved this story from LMM‘s childhood:
“One day when I was very small an aunt asked me if I would go and bring home her turkeys from the shore field. I responded gravely, ‘I am afraid it would excite ridicule.‘”

🦃🤣

#LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

I loved Camp Litsy last year and am so excited for #CampLitsy25!! Here are my nominations… tagged in the comments. Looking forward to a great reading summer!

Here's the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead schedule for the next six weeks, with #LMMJournals, #LMMReread and #LMMAdjacent choices. We'll read the last section of Volume 4 of LMM's Complete Journals over the next two weeks, then Rilla of Ingleside, then Pollyanna.

I've tagged the schedule/announcements list for the group, but all are welcome. If you'd like to be tagged for any/all of the above, please comment!

For our #LMMJournals readers (and those interested in the L.M. Montgomery connection!):

LMM mentions having read the book “in schooldays” and discussing it with Nate Lockhart. What did you notice in the book that might have attracted LMM as a schoolgirl? What characters and incidents do you imagine she might have discussed with Nate so enthusiastically?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - Last of the Mohicans discussion (5/5)

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - Last of the Mohicans Discussion (4/5)

In general, did you like or dislike the book? What did you enjoy or not enjoy?
Do you feel this is a classic that‘s worth reading?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - Last of the Mohicans Discussion (3/5)

What do you think about the way the book portrays its Native characters (and the different tribes they belong to)?
What about the way it portrays the English and French characters?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - Last of the Mohicans Discussion (2/5)
How much knowledge of the French & Indian War/Fort William Henry conflict did you have prior to reading this book? Did you seek out more info?
What do you think of how Cooper dramatized these events?
What responsibility does an author of historical fiction have in representing historical events? What do you think are appropriate or inappropriate changes or exaggerations?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent - The Last of the Mohicans Discussion (1/5)

What expectations did you have going into the book?
How did it compare to your expectations? Was there anything that surprised you?

#5JoysFriday

1. Great weekend visiting friends in Alpine—good conversation, playing board games, eating good food, hanging out on their deck reading together
2. Tasty Thai food with a good friend on Wednesday
3. Good catch-up with former co-workers today, over delicious Greek food
4. These crazy little strawberries (I decided I had one that could walk and one that could talk)
5. This poem: https://onbeing.org/poetry/the-peace-of-wild-things/

“I know we have what might be called an unconventional marriage, what with our jobs and the pressure of work and so on, but I wouldn't be doing my wifely duty if I didn't ask you whether you have been firkydoodling with fast and loose women? No pressure. Answer in your own time.”

😂 “Firkydoodling” is hereby added to my vocabulary.

#OokBOokClub

Posting our check-in for #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent a little early since I‘ll be out of town visiting friends on Saturday & Sunday.

I got caught up this week—and wow, lots of action, lots to talk about. But I‘ll save that for next week‘s end-of-book discussion!

How is everyone‘s reading coming along? What are you enjoying and/or not enjoying in what you‘ve read so far? Which characters are you most curious about?

#5JoysFriday

1. THIS jazz album: https://robrennie.bandcamp.com/album/heading-north (It‘s 7 original songs written by the pianist from my husband‘s big band and combo. And that‘s my husband on sax. I‘m biased, yes—but they‘re fantastic musicians, it sounds amazing, and I‘m SO proud. You can listen at the link above and/or treat yourself to a download!)
2. Birthday date with my husband (movie, sushi, ice cream, and great conversation)
Continued ⤵️

“What I Know of Love When Times Are Dark”

And if you can‘t find a candle,
then light the wick of your wonder.
And if you can‘t find your wonder,
then now might be a good time
to pray. And if you don‘t
know how to pray,
then perhaps you are doing it right.
What do I know of prayer?
Only that every prayer that has saved me
is a prayer that has found me
instead of the other way round—
a prayer that comes through me,
⬇

The story follows a Cameroonian immigrant family—Jende Jonga, his wife Neni, and their son—in ‘07-‘08 NYC. Against the backdrop of the economic crisis and Obama‘s election, we see Jende working for better opportunities for himself and his family, as his future becomes more and more entangled with the family for whom he works as a chauffeur. It‘s a fascinating, nuanced take on the American Dream, with the Jonga family‘s struggles set against ⤵️

This…was not for me. We read this for my IRL book group in March and then watched the movie together—this is a rare case where I liked the movie better!

The whole read kind of low-key annoyed me. Reading about the lavish casual spending of the uber-rich just didn‘t land well with me, especially right now. The characters were largely shallow and/or unlikable—I realize that it was intended as a send-up of a particular segment of society, but… ⤵️

April‘s #DoubleSpin is clear—and is also my #44 pick for #50x50. For my #BookSpin, I get to pick a book published in the 1950s—70s for #192025. Above are the three I‘m thinking about… any recommendations?

#BookSpinBingo wrap-up for March: 12 books, no bingos, no spins completed 😕 I do plan to get to those missed spins in April, though!

Favorites:
💰Making Money
🙏🏼Queering Contemplation
🪦The Woman in White (re-read)
🤖Artificial Condition (re-read)

My birthday is tomorrow, which means my #50x50 reading challenge kicks off tomorrow! I‘m planning to read 50 books from my TBR before my 50th birthday (which is in 2028). I‘m planning to start with one of these:

Raybearer—30: gifted w/in last 5 years
Bird by Bird—9: about writing
Anam Cara—44: related to my vocation
The Library at Night—7: about books/reading

If you‘d like to join in, the link to the StoryGraph challenge is in the comments. ⤵️

Years ago, I came across the poem “The Taxi” by Amy Lowell, and its final line has lived in my brain ever since: “Why should I leave you, / To wound myself upon the sharp edges of the night?” I‘ve meant to read a collection of her poetry ever since, but we all know how the TBR intentions sometimes go. So when it became apparent that in spite of my best intentions in January, I definitely wasn‘t going to get around to reading any (let alone all ⤵️

It‘s been an over-full reading week and I‘m only just now sitting down to read this week‘s section of Last of the Mohicans for #LMMAdjacent #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead. 🙃 How‘s everyone else‘s reading coming along? Are you enjoying the book so far?

#5JoysFriday!

My first three are more treasures unearthed from the garage:
1. Beautiful blue glass vases which I have filled with larkspur from the garden
2. My brother‘s soccer shirt from when he was a kid in the early 80s, featuring the name of their sponsor: “Drugs-N-Such” 🤣
3. My summer library reading program certificates from childhood, one of which proclaims: “The Sizzler Proudly Salutes You”
Continued ⤵️

SEPTEMBER, 1918

This afternoon was the colour of water falling through sunlight;
The trees glittered with the tumbling of leaves;
The sidewalks shone like alleys of dropped maple leaves,
And the houses ran along them laughing out of square, open windows.
Under a tree in the park,
Two little boys, lying flat on their faces,
Were carefully gathering red berries
To put in a pasteboard box.
⤵️

I love the Wayward Children series so much, and this latest book didn‘t disappoint. I ached over Nadya‘s our-world story and loved her underwater portal world (and ached again over the ending). I‘m constantly impressed by how deftly McGuire weaves into her fantasy worlds huge topics like adoption and ableism, in ways that illuminate and universalize the experiences of diverse characters.

This was my 2025 pick for #192025.

Still working my way through belated reviews…this goes back to early February for the #OokBOokClub.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, from the characters to the satire to the fact that it had CHAPTERS.* And the reappearance of characters from The Truth. And golems! There‘s so much more substance to the characters here (I‘m looking at you, Rincewind), which gave more depth to the story overall—and its satire of government was maybe a little too ⤵️

#BookSpin list for April (even though I haven‘t even started my BookSpin or #DoubleSpin from March yet 😬)

Lots of challenge/buddy read picks on this list, with #192025, #ChristiesCapers, #OokBOokClub, and my own #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead and #50x50. But it also stays pretty close to my physical TBR—which is ostensibly my goal with BookSpin! Looking forward to the numbers next week!

Um… you‘d think that by the time the movie tie-in edition was published, they‘d have corrected stuff like this. TBH, I‘ve already been low-key annoyed reading this—reading about the massively rich just doesn‘t land well right now—and dumb errors like this aren‘t helping. Can‘t guarantee I‘ll be in a good mood about this one at book club on Sunday. 😬 At least it‘s a quick read!

Yep.

Another text for my spiritual direction course—this is a gorgeous, interactive book that I had a hard time bringing myself to write in! It explores the basics of spiritual direction from a number of religious traditions—from Christianity and Judaism to Islam and Buddhism. It was instructive to see both the differences and the deep connections between different spiritual traditions when it comes to spiritual guidance. ⤵️

I read this in Jan/Feb for my spiritual direction course, and it was excellent. It both broadened my definition of contemplation and challenged me to see contemplative practices in a new way. Holmes explores contemplative practices of the Black church, bringing in the historical context within which new forms of contemplation necessarily emerged. Viewing community and social activism through the lens of contemplation was illuminating. ⤵️

So, what had happened was…😆

When making our reading schedule, I mistakenly consulted the table of contents for a retold/abridged version of the book, which only had 19 chapters. The actual book has 33 chapters. SO—I have adjusted the schedule accordingly! I divided the remaining number of chapters by 3 weeks, so now the pace is about 9 chapters per week instead of 5 —but it should still be really doable. ⤵️ #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

I enjoyed this unfinished piece of Arthurian poetry by Tolkien, along with the accompanying essays by Christopher Tolkien (that make up most of the book). Overall, though, it was a bit unsatisfying—I wanted a little bit more from all of it (but that‘s my own issue, not an actual problem with the book). “The Poem in Arthurian Tradition” made me want to study the poem in the context of an Arthurian Literature course, to go deeper into the sources ⤵️

Another belated review… this was the #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3 pick for February.

I was excited to read this because I hadn‘t read any of the Tommy & Tuppence books before, and it was such fun—in spite of the more improbable & unrealistic aspects of the plot! Both Tommy & Tuppence annoyed me a little at times, but I did enjoy their youthful energy and banter—as well as seeing Agatha Christie write younger protagonists. ⤵️

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead check-in, 5 chapters in! I‘m reading this Book League of America edition from the 1940s & the print is TINY. 😵‍💫

I‘m having trouble keeping track of the various players & alliances in the conflict, but I‘m interested to see where things go with our travelers. I‘ve also been on edge about how this is going to go as far as racism & stereotypes.

What do you think of our main characters and of the book so far? #LMMAdjacent

#5JoysFriday!

1. Sunday jazz with my husband‘s combo
2. Lunch on St. Patrick‘s Day with dear friends
3. Last-minute cheap tickets to see HP & the Cursed Child at the Pantages in LA
4. Unearthed some “treasures” from the garage—including a little ceramic alien my sister made at age 12
5. Phone call from one of my regular editing clients thanking me for my work—helping him craft a eulogy for a mentor of his 💜

I had so much fun reading this with the #HashtagBrigade, although I still question my judgment in deciding to read both this and Nicholas Nickleby simultaneously. This was a re-read for me, but I remembered little about the twists and turns of the narrative, so the unveiling of the various secrets and plots was still largely a surprise. 😆 Also, I‘m happy to report that my review from August 2011 still holds up! ⤵️

“There are many pleasant fictions of the law in constant operation, but there is not one so pleasant or practically humorous as that which supposes every man to be of equal value in its impartial eye, and the benefits of all laws to be equally attainable by all men, without the smallest reference to the furniture of their pockets.”

#WhattheDickens

Soooo far behind on reviews! The #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead read & discussed this over a month ago. But, my viable excuse for this late review is that I only just finished the four related stories!

This was a slow-paced description of life in a small, coastal Maine town in the late 1800s. The semi-autobiographical slice-of-life plot is narrated through the eyes of a writer boarding there for the summer. Through small vignettes, Jewett‘s writing ⤵️

This was…OK. I‘ve seen the “real world characters enter a fictional world” premise executed better elsewhere, and this felt a bit lacking. Selby & Dan felt under-developed, and their interactions with Hamlet and the play‘s other characters were handled a bit awkwardly (really? Hamlet has few-to-no problems/misunderstandings of modern culture or language?). The book explores concepts of mental health (naturally, encountering Hamlet & Ophelia ⤵️

We start reading The Last of the Mohicans tomorrow! The weekly schedule is above (we‘ll be reading about 5 chapters per week). I‘ll post a check-in on Saturdays, and we‘ll have a wrap-up discussion of the whole book on Saturday, April 12. Looking forward to reading along with all of you!

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

LMM dedicates Rainbow Valley to three young men who were killed in WWI, and the ending of the novel, with its references to the Piper, foreshadows the war to come. Did you notice anything else in the book that echoes or explores these bookend references to the war?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

It was heartbreaking to read the above in LMM‘s journals and to see LMM‘s loss of her cousin and dear friend overshadowing the publication of Rainbow Valley. But I loved hearing the source for both of these Rainbow Valley moments.

What are some of your favorite parts of Rainbow Valley? Favorite episodes or quotes?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

For those who are re-reading the series: How was it reading Rainbow Valley right after House of Dreams instead of after Anne of Ingleside?

Does this book feel like an “Anne” book to you? What do you think of the glimpses we do get of Anne and Gilbert?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

What worked or didn‘t work for you in this book? What did you most enjoy? What did you dislike or find problematic?

We get a bunch of new characters: Anne‘s children and the Meredith family, and various members of the community including the West sisters. Which were your favorites or least favorites? Who would you have liked to read more (or less!) about?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread