Litsy

pick

This book had a slow start for me. The first 1/3 of the book was fine, but I could take it or leave it. However, just wait because then it starts to get really funny. Laugh out loud funny. It‘s written like a bunch of short stories about Dawn‘s life. She gives you a clear idea of her character throughout the book so the traumatic events that happen end up making you laugh. She just has a hilarious way of looking at her life. I‘d recommend!

SarahBookInterrupted See what the others had to say on the Book Interrupted podcast episode. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6xyCeTb4ewolIOgx5WkuYj?si=q_-AhmXbQXKT2-EArCHzv... 22h

33 likes1 comment

janeycanuck

Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing: A Play | Tomson Highway

I would love to see this performed live! (because I'm not really a fan of reading plays...)

29 likes

Blueberry

Three Day Road | Joseph Boyden

#Weekendreads

38 likes1 stack add

rubyslippersreads

Emily of New Moon: A Virago Modern Classic | L. M. Montgomery

I‘m thankful to L. M. Montgomery for all of her books, but especially for my very favorite book of all time, Emily of New Moon.

Thanks for the tag @Eggs. Tagging anyone who wants to play!

#SundayFunday

BookmarkTavern

BookmarkTavern An absolutely lovely author to pick, although I‘ve never read this one! Thanks for posting! 3d

Eggs Love L. M. Montgomery❤️❤️ 3d

39 likes1 stack add2 comments

lauraisntwilder

Three Day Road | Joseph Boyden

pick

Another #OhCanada pick I never would've heard about otherwise. I found both of the dual narratives interesting, which isn't always the case. I haven't read many books about WWI and I appreciated the perspective of an indigenous Canadian.

Jess861 I love this cover! So glad you enjoyed it! 4d

23 likes1 comment

Ruthiella

Three Day Road | Joseph Boyden

#weekendreads

📕Finish up Three Day Road for #OhCanada

📗Continue The Woods in Winter for #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

📘Continue Nevada for #OffMyShelf “orange cover”

📙Maybe finish Civil to Strangers for #10beforetheEnd

rachelsbrittain

43 likes

Jess861

Three Day Road (Revised) | Joseph Boyden

This post contains spoilers

show me

Thoughts on the book? Thoughts on the themes? Thoughts on the author? Just thoughts in general?

Will you read more by this author?

Sorry for such a quick little post for the discussion at the end but I'm battling the flu and a cold right now and this is about as much thought as my head can put into anything right now 😆!

#OhCanada #Canada #CanadianAuthors #BookClub #BuddyRead #Discussion

Jess861 @lauraisntwilder @KathyWheeler @Ruthiella @CarolynM @LapReader @kwmg40 @Readergrrl @JenlovesJT47 @Tamra @PurpleyPumpkin @Kitta @DogMomIrene @Blueberry @BiblioLitten @JuniperWilde @Teresereading @mcctrish @willaful @Singout 5d

mcctrish I am so glad you kicked my butt to finally read this - I will totally read more JB. It should be required reading imo. The glimpse into what life was like for indigenous people, women especially, and the trauma of war 5d

Jess861 @mcctrish This turned into The Bird Family trilogy if you liked it. Through Black Spruce is the second book in the trilogy. 5d

See All 11 Comments

Ruthiella I‘m glad to finally read Boyden. I don‘t think I will continue with the trilogy, however. There‘s something about the writing style that doesn‘t grab me. But I appreciate this portrayal of the indigenous Canadian experience of WWI. Hope you feel better soon! ❤️ (edited) 5d

Jess861 @Ruthiella Sometimes writing styles are just hard to get into! Glad you didn't mind the book! Thanks so much...I look forward to not feeling like a bag of bricks has hit my head 😆 5d

lauraisntwilder I hope you're on the mend soon! This was a good one. 4d

Jess861 @lauraisntwilder Thanks so much! It's what happens with young kids - always sick, lol 4d

Blueberry I'm still reading. I realized I had already read the third on the series. Now I'll have to read the second. I do like his writing. 3d

Jess861 @Blueberry Glad you're enjoying it! It is definitely a solid book to get through even though it's not a huge page count (I found so anyways) 3d

kwmg40 I hope you are recovering. I started this book but got bogged down in the trench scenes and decided to put it aside for a while. I'll probably get back to it eventually. I've not read Boyden's other books but I've seen the movie adaptation of Through Black Spruce. I thought it was good, though it had gotten mixed reviews. 2d

Jess861 @kwmg40 Totally get it - I think that's what I meant about a solid book up above. Sometimes it's good to put a read aside for a bit! 1d

9 likes11 comments

TheAromaofBooks

The Blue Castle | L. M. Montgomery

pick

I reread this one on my birthday, and realized that this may actually be my all-time favorite book.

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead @BarbaraJean

TheAromaofBooks #HauntedShelf #ScreamTeam @ImperfectCJ
#WickedWords - Revolution @AsYouWish
#PumpkabooHunt @PuddleJumper
#ISpyBingo #BookSpinBingo #BirthdayBashReadathon 7d

BarbaraJean The BEST way to spend a birthday!!! 📚🥳📚 Also: that view is gorgeous!! 7d

wildwoodreads Gorgeous! 7d

See All 7 Comments

TheAromaofBooks Forgot to tag @Bookwormjillk!!! #OneSnacktoRuleThemAll #AllThingsApple 😁 7d

Bookwormjillk 🍎🍎🍎 7d

HeyT This one is definitely in my top ten of all time! 7d

Singout Wow, maybe I should try this again since I haven‘t read it since the late 70s. 7d

60 likes1 stack add7 comments

kwmg40

The Blue Castle | L. M. Montgomery

pick

This felt very different from the other L. M. Montgomery books I've read -- a very sharp critique of societal norms in an entertaining story with glorious descriptions of the Muskoka region in Ontario.

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread
#HauntedShelf #ScreamTeam
#OneSnacktoRuleThemAll #AllThingsApple
#BookSpinBingo
#ISpyBingo (initials in author's name)
#PumpkabooHunt (medium)

kwmg40 #GottaCatchEmAllSpooky (gentle)
#GottaCatchEmAll (Goodra: ‘it‘s always the quiet ones‘ trope)
@ImperfectCJ @Bookwormjillk @TheAromaofBooks @PuddleJumper @BarbaraJean 1w

Bookwormjillk 🍎🍎🍎 1w

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 1w

PuddleJumper 🧡🖤🧡 1w

42 likes4 comments

BarbaraJean

The Blue Castle | L. M. Montgomery

Valancy strikes me as a particularly subversive heroine, and so many of her actions feel very progressive for her time—yet the ending of The Blue Castle leaves Valancy in a very traditional, conventional role.

How did the ending land with you?
Does it feel conventional? Predictable?

#LMMReread #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

rubyslippersreads, DrSabrinaMoldenReads, JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks, Sparklemn, julieclair

JenlovesJT47 I like that her goals, while conventional, are also relatable, and she found the perfect person to complement her. I love that she doesn‘t play by society‘s rules anymore and is happy as a lark! 2w

BarbaraJean For me, I think this is a case of the journey mattering more than the destination. Valancy decides to live her life on her own terms, rather than according to others‘ expectations. The fact that in the end, she‘s in a situation that measures up to society‘s expectations doesn‘t matter, because it‘s not the expectations that mattered to her—it‘s her own. I do think the ending is predictable, but I don‘t care because I love the book so much! ⬇ 2w

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) I wonder how much Valancy embodies what LMM *wanted* to do & say, but felt too constrained by convention to actually live out. The freedom Valancy feels to flaunt convention & live unburdened by expectations is liberating to me, and I have a feeling it was a bit of wish-fulfillment for LMM. It feels like LMM let loose a little here, freeing her character from the worry of what others will think—a freedom it seems LMM couldn‘t attain. 2w

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rubyslippersreads @BarbaraJean I agree that Valancy can do and say what LMM (especially as a minister‘s wife) couldn‘t. Valancy could also have the romantic, passionate love story that LMM sadly didn‘t. 2w

TheAromaofBooks Valancy's ending is conventional in the sense that she ended up married, but not remotely so when you consider WHOM she married. To me, an actual conventional ending would be Valancy marrying Edward Beck and becoming a stepmother/drudge. Instead, she went out and found romance on her own terms, ending up with someone who would take her around the world and continue to broaden her horizons instead of keeping her confined to the kitchen. So the ⬇ 2w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) ending is predictable, but I think it is still in line with the rest of Valancy's journey. And Valancy herself says at the very beginning that she does want to be married, to have her own house, her own husband, and even her own “sweet, little fat babies“ - so I love that she decided to go out and find her own fate. 2w

TheAromaofBooks Also, I wrote my comment on the other post about this being LMM's dream book before I read your comment here - we are on the same track! 😂 LMM allowed herself to be tied down by all THE RULES of society, and I think she found real joy in creating a character who was able to shed those fetters and sneeze whenever she wanted to. 2w

rubyslippersreads Maybe Olive should end up with Edward Beck. 😂 2w

lauraisntwilder I'm going to go a little off topic, but your framing of this question in terms of heroines of the day and the mention of the Rubio bio reminded me of Mazo de la Roche. This one feels so similar in tone to Jalna, but I didn't put that together until just now. Jalna came out the next year! And it totally steals Mr. Harrison's foul mouthed bird. No wonder LMM didn't like her! 2w

lauraisntwilder Just makes me wonder what other books she could've written if she hadn't been married to a pastor and been shoe-horned into only writing for children. 2w

kwmg40 I think most readers want happy endings in LMM's books and this one does it to excess -- the heroine ends up illness-free, married to the man she loves, and incredibly wealthy too. So to me, it wasn't very realistic, but as others had mentioned, it was the journey to that point that mattered. 2w

rubyslippersreads @lauraisntwilder This makes me want to reread the Jalna books. Was it Adeline who had the parrot? 1w

lauraisntwilder @rubyslippersreads Yes, Adeline has Boney, the parrot. I've only read one of them, the first (in publication order). One day I'll get around to the others! 1w

rubyslippersreads @lauraisntwilder I read most of the series when I was a teenager, because my mom loved them, but I don‘t think we could ever find a copy of the first one. 1w

julieclair I didn‘t get to read this one in time for the discussion. 🙁 1w

BarbaraJean @JenLovesJT47 @TheAromaofBooks I agree—what makes Valancy‘s story so compelling is that she goes after what she wants. Even though it‘s a “conventional” happy-ever-after ending, it feels so empowering because she chooses her own third path. In her family‘s view, she had two acceptable choices: fade into the old maid role, or marry whoever will condescend to have her. The irony of her unconventional choice is how it ends up both fulfilling ⬇ 1w

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) ...Valancy‘s dream and satisfying her family because of Barney‘s money! 🙄 The final exposure of hypocrisy... 1w

BarbaraJean @rubyslippersreads Yes, I think there was wish-fulfillment for LMM in the romance here, too. @TheAromaofBooks Great minds think alike! I kind of want an inspirational picture/sign that says “The greatest happiness is to sneeze when you want to.”

@lauraisntwilder @rubyslippersreads I‘ve never read any Mazo de la Roche! Maybe we should put Jalna into the #LMMAdjacent reads for next year. 1w

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder I SO wish she‘d been able to write freely, without worries over conventions and expectations. In her journals, she comments more than once about how she would write something differently if it weren‘t for _____. I would love to read more along the lines of Blue Castle. And I‘m so curious how she would have written Emily differently. 1w

rubyslippersreads @BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder I would love to add Jalna to the #LMMAdjacent reads. They all seem to be available on fadedpage.com and the first book in the series is

The Building of Jalna

(edited) 1w

BarbaraJean @julieclair Oh, that‘s a shame! Well, the discussion will still be here if you do have time to read it in the coming weeks! Do you still want to join in for Ladies of Missalonghi? 7d

julieclair @BarbaraJean I probably won‘t get to read Missalonghi in time either, but please tag me just in case. Both of these are books I have wanted to read for a long time. 6d

BarbaraJean @julieclair 👍 If you only have time for one, read Blue Castle. So far, Missalonghi is basically discount Blue Castle 😆 6d

29 likes23 comments

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