“If your Aunt Olivia was to up and get married what would your Uncle Roger do for a housekeeper?” asked Peter.

“Oh, but Aunt Olivia will never be married now,” said Felicity. “Why, she‘ll be twenty-nine next January.”

“Well, o‘course that‘s pretty old,” admitted Peter, “but she might find some one who wouldn‘t mind that, seeing she‘s so pretty.”

🙄
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Every day we are learning
How to live with essence, not ease.
How to move with haste, never hate.
How to leave this pain that is beyond us
Behind us.
Just like a skill or any art,
We cannot possess hope without practicing it.
It is the most fundamental craft we demand of ourselves.

While the first three Abhorsen books are my favorites, this was a strong prequel—set several hundred years before the events of the main trilogy. Clariel was a fascinating character, and it was frustrating to see her caught in the middle of events caused by the neglect of others. I enjoyed seeing the Old Kingdom at an earlier time, with such differences in the royal family as well as the Abhorsens. Overall, a really interesting origin story!

I read this in November, as may be apparent from the fall-themed pic I took at the time. 😜

I loved this second Harper Hall book. It continues Menolly‘s story as she arrives at the Harper Hall and begins training as an apprentice. It has a similar emotional depth as the first book, as Menolly faces prejudice & difficulty fitting in, and struggles to recognize her own value even as she is encouraged and drawn out by new-found mentors & friends. ⤵️

Feelin‘ a little called out today…

I love this challenge from Austin Channing Brown to actually read the work of MLK. Because while I‘ve taught his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and his “I Have a Dream” speech, and one of my regular editing clients is an MLK scholar, I can‘t say that I‘ve read much beyond those two main works and all the quotes I hunt down come MLK Day each year. Any recs from those who‘ve spent more time with MLK‘s writing?

“People are made of stories. Our memories are not the impartial accumulation of every second we‘ve lived; they‘re the narrative that we assembled out of selected moments.”

Still finding these stories so fascinating and thought-provoking!

#NewYearWhoDis @Blaire @monalyisha

This is a need-to-hug-this-book selection for me, just as much as Cerulean Sea, although they‘re very different books. It grapples with grief & loss and coming to terms with death through an initially very unlikable character. It's sad & sweet and goes a bit idealistic deus-ex-machina in the end, but overall it beautifully explores an interestingly-imagined afterlife.

Catching up on much-belated reviews today… I finished this one in November. 😳

There is such a place as fairyland— but only children can find the way to it… Only a few, who remain children at heart, can ever find that fair, lost path again; and blessed are they above mortals… The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and story-tellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland.

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

It may be halfway through January, but I finally got around to posting my “best of” reading list from 2021, if you want to check it out on my blog. 😊

https://commonplacehope.wordpress.com/2022/01/15/favorite-books-of-2021/

FINALLY starting this for #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead!! I‘ve gotten a small handle on my excess ebook situation (so many holds at once, and only so many hours I can screen-read!)—so I‘m just diving in tonight.

Who else has started their reading of The Story Girl? What do you think so far?

“…for every truly heinous act, there are multiple good acts to compensate. It‘s why evil despots are ultimately defeated, and why a truly awful reality TV show can never go on forever.”

“Homing snails were one of Wizard Moobin‘s recent discoveries. He had found that all snails have the capacity to do over one hundred miles per hour and find a location with pinpoint accuracy, but didn‘t because they were horribly lazy and couldn‘t be bothered.”

Troll Wars were like Batman movies: both were repeated at regular intervals, featured expensive hardware, and were broadly predictable.

“…through the act of reading my words, the patterns that form your thoughts become an imitation of the patterns that once formed mine. And in that way I live again, through you.”

#NYWD2022 #NewYearWhoDis

“Shall this leave us bitter?
Or better?

Grieve.

Then choose.”

——
Not sure why Litsy doesn‘t have the right book/title available… this is from her new book, Call Us What We Carry. 💙

“If our lives are tales that Allah tells, then we are the audience as well as the players, and it is by living these tales that we receive their lessons.”

I‘m really enjoying these stories—Chiang is such a fantastic, fascinating writer.

#NewYearWhoDis #NYWD2022

Here‘s my too-ambitious January TBR!
☀️Klara for #NewYearWhoDis
🎉Wintering for #BookSpin & #NewYearWhoDis
📚Story Girl for #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
🐺Elatsoe for my IRL book group
🪆Dollmaker for #MGBuddyRead
⛪️Theology book + Dream of God for EfM
🚲Code Name Verity for #YABuddyRead
🪄Magician‘s Land for #DoubleSpin
🫁Exhalation for #NewYearWhoDis
Plus some poetry & other in-progress reads—I probably won‘t finish them all, but will enjoy trying!

#BookSpin day is the best day! Here‘s my first #BookSpinBingo board of 2022. My #BookSpin pick is from my #NewYearWhoDis list, and my #DoubleSpin will finish out a series, so I‘m excited about both! Hoping for a bingo this month—lots of possibilities, because I‘m way too optimistic about my January reading. 😁

I can‘t believe I forgot to post a review of this… the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead pick for November. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I liked Chronicles of Avonlea so much more than this collection of short stories. There were a few stories I loved (The Materializing of Cecil, The Brother Who Failed), but the blatant racism in the last one (Tannis of the Flats) unfortunately overshadowed those. Also, the repeated themes wore a little thin by the end of this volume.

I love Buechner‘s writing—his use of language has a poetry to it that makes me slow down to savor each sentence. Here, he frames his discussion as a charge to the preacher, exploring elements of tragedy, comedy, and fairy tale within the Biblical story. I love the progression of his text, as he writes of how the tragedy must come before the comedy, the mystery before the answer. A beautiful little book—my November #DoubleSpin!

Let [the preacher] use words which do not only try to give answers to the questions that we ask or ought to ask but which help us to hear the questions that we do not have words for asking and to hear the silence that those questions rise out of and the silence that is the answer to those questions.

“Before the Gospel is a word, it is silence… It is life with the sound turned off so that for a moment or two you can experience it not in terms of the words you make it bearable by but for the unutterable mystery that it is.”

I don‘t have a stack yet for #NewYearWhoDis, since I‘m waiting for several library holds to make their way to me (Wintering and Klara & the Sun are “In Transit,” and I‘m in line for several others). But look what I unwrapped among my Christmas book gifts from my husband! So this is where I‘m going to start on my list from @Blaire —really excited to dive in.

After a hiatus in December, #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead will pick up again in January with The Story Girl! Feel free to read along at your own pace throughout the month and we‘ll discuss on the 29th.

All are welcome—feel free to join in if you‘d like! I‘ve tagged those who expressed interest, but if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be, please comment and let me know!

Here‘s my #BookSpin list for January! I‘ve got January book club picks for my IRL book group, #MGBuddyRead and #YABuddyRead, and #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead. Then a few library holds that are on their way, including six from my #NewYearWhoDis list from @Blaire and closing out the list with some options from my physical TBR shelves. This has been one of my favorite challenges in 2021, and I‘m really looking forward to continuing in the new year. 😊

“In the coming of Christ, the veil is lifted—lifted not only from the world but from our hearts. In Christ we encounter not only what Chesterton called the ‘buried sunrise of wonder,‘ but also the long-veiled image of God, in all His beauty, truth, and goodness. That hidden image is suddenly revealed through Christ, deep within ourselves, and in all others whom He sends to meet us—in whom He comes to meet us.”

This book was adapted from a series of lectures—a sort of defense of the imagination as a vital source of understanding. Guite examines Christian Scripture and art (poetry, paintings, and more) as he explores the role of the imagination for the Christian artist. There were so many excellent passages throughout—the scholarship and wisdom of this volume was inspiring. This was my November #BookSpin (catching up on those reviews!)

“I firmly believe—indeed, it is the core of my Christian hope—that the veil of our mourning will be lifted; that the dark glass through which we presently see will be brightened; that the persecutions and hatreds that seem so rife in our world are not the core, not the deepest truth about the world, but are only a veil or shadow, covering something better.”

“I‘m thinking of starting a Society of Gentleman Scoundrels.”
“You‘re millennia too late. It already exists, and is called the patriarchy.”

“Cecilia had tried to be tempestuous for him, but it always gave her a headache... Even reading Wuthering Heights had proven a trial. She‘d kept wanting to edit it.”

😂🤣 Me too, Cecilia. Me too.

“It is violence that best overcomes hate, vengeance that most certainly heals injury, and a good cup of tea that soothes the most anguished soul.” Thus ran the motto of the Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels.

Finally catching up on a couple months of reviews… 😬 This was hilarious and tons of fun—nothing serious, just a madcap romp with lady pirates, flying houses, several outlandish assassination plots, tons of witty literary references, and a love story to boot. The audiobook was delightful; just the escape I needed for my commute!

I can‘t believe I‘ve been so MIA on Litsy lately!😫 Between family commitments, my daily Advent writing practice, the scramble to prep for Christmas travel, vacation with the distractions of visiting family… Litsy & even reading took a back seat. I have a couple months of Litsy reviews to write & still haven‘t started our buddy read of Marilla, @JenlovesJT47 ! But I‘m planning on reading it by year end! I‘ve made a little bingo progress, though…

The #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead is taking a break in December, but we‘ll pick up again in the new year with The Story Girl & The Golden Road. I‘ve tagged those who were interested, but all are welcome—comment if you‘d like to be tagged!

Both of these have roughly 30 chapters—we could continue chapter-a-day, but it seems most of us have a hard time keeping to daily chapters! How about one book per month, with a discussion at the end of the month?

“I am simply a ‘book drunkard.‘ Books have the same irresistible temptation for me that liquor has for its devotee. I cannot withstand them.”
—L.M. Montgomery

Not sure where this LMM quote is from, but I love it, and it‘s a perfect way to say “Happy Birthday, L.M. Montgomery!”‘here on Litsy. 🎉📚🎂🥳

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: Chronicles/Further Chronicles of Avonlea discussion:

What do you think of LMM‘s short stories in general?

Have you read any of her short stories before?

Would you seek out more of her short fiction, or do you prefer her novels?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: Chronicles/Further Chronicles discussion:
Several stories have problematic themes & content. How do you respond when a work reflects attitudes of its time such as racist stereotypes & terms that are (at best) problematic through a modern lens?
Do you skim/overlook the problem content, looking for something worthwhile in the rest of the work? Or do you skip the work completely?
What, if any, value is there in such works?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: Chronicles/Further Chronicles of Avonlea discussion:

Most collections of short stories will have at least a few misses.
Which stories did you dislike in Chronicles?
Which did you dislike in Further Chronicles?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: Chronicles/Further Chronicles of Avonlea discussion:

What did you think of the reappearance of Anne, Diana, and other characters from the Anne series?

Did the inclusion of these characters work for you or was it distracting?

Starting out our #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead with a couple basic intro questions: What were your favorite stories or favorite moments from Chronicles?
What were your favorite stories or moments in Further Chronicles?

December #BookSpin list! I have a “clear the decks” approach, with lots of series I‘d like to make progress in/finish (plus my usual poetry & book club picks). I usually try to weight the list toward TBRs on my physical shelves, but I‘ll be out of town the last half of the month, so I have maybe half the list as eBooks I can grab from the library. I‘ll see which series the BookSpin fairy picks for me…and whether I‘ll get an elusive #BookSpinBingo!

I enjoyed seeing the Anne & Diana story (and its Miss Lavendar name-drop!), even though Anne & Diana felt like little more than name-drops themselves. But I loved “The Brother Who Failed”… it might be my favorite in this collection. 💜 #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

I‘m *almost* caught up with my story-a-day reading, which means this discussion must be coming soon! 😆 Join us on Sunday to discuss Chronicles of Avonlea and Further Chronicles of Avonlea! I‘ll post some questions mid-day Pacific Time; feel free to jump in when you‘re able. AND… be thinking about whether you‘d like to continue with more #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead-ing. I‘d love to read more L.M. Montgomery together if people are interested.

“One can be happy in eternal solitude. A book, a cup of tea, and no company: that was Cecilia‘s idea of heaven. Having spent the past week surrounded by people and thwarted at every turn in her efforts to locate a library, she was now feeling as if she had endured an upper circle of Hell.”

“…part of what he saw was his own shame and horror, the sight of his own folly, the judgment one can imagine he found even harder to bear than God‘s, which was his own judgment on himself, because whereas God is merciful, we are none of us very good at showing mercy on ourselves.”

I can‘t wait to dig into this #NewYearWhoDis list from @Blaire in January! About half were already on my TBR—some I don‘t even remember adding to my Goodreads TBR, so I‘m glad for the excuse to actually pick them up! I loved Ted Chiang‘s Stories of Your Life so I‘ve been wanting to read Exhalation, and I put Crying in H Mart on my Christmas list, so I may start there… but I‘ll see where my mood (and my library holds) take me in January. 😁

This was a lovely #MGBuddyRead pick. 12-year-old Edie begins to explore her past when she finds a box of letters & photos in her attic and realizes there may be more to discover about her heritage than she knew. I liked the portrayal of the parents & Edie‘s struggle to ask for answers. There was a friendship thread that needed more resolution, but overall I was really impressed by how the author handled the difficult realities of Native adoption.

Belated review, since I‘m now several stories into Further Chronicles! I hadn‘t realized just how much I would enjoy these tales set in and around Avonlea, sprinkled with little references to Anne or other characters from the Anne series. These light, sweet, and often humorous stories were a nice little reading dessert to dip into and indulge in during a busy couple of weeks. #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

I enjoyed this 2nd Lord Peter Wimsey mystery just as much as the first, but for different reasons. The dialogue felt wittier, and the character descriptions at the beginning were🔥 But one too many false trails made the solution feel like more of a stretch than an “aha!” Even so, it was a satisfying classic “manor house” murder mystery & I‘ll keep on with the series. Also, how great is this battered old hand-me-down copy from my friend‘s grandma?!

Today‘s story was a sweet tale of reconciliation, but I‘m a little tired of this repeated motif of the person who plans to forgive eventually… but not yet. “Of course I wouldn‘t forgive him the first time, but he was too stubborn to ask for forgiveness a second time, and I was too proud to go back on my word, so instead we just pined after each other for twenty years…” 🙄

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead