Kindredspiritsbuddyread

Anne's House of Dreams | Lucy Maud Montgomery

so-so

This was a reread for #kindredspiritsbuddyread. When I read through the series in 2023, I went in the order the books take place. In publication order, this one joins up with the others a little better. However, I still had the same overall feeling as before. I miss the Avonlea characters and I miss the more determined Anne. The "Dick Moore" storyline makes me uncomfortable. Gilbert and Anne take a backseat to Jim and Cornelia. Just don't love it.

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CogsOfEncouragement

Anne's House of Dreams | Lucy Maud Montgomery

pick

Read this for the second time #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
It has been more than ten years, so all the details were as fresh, surprising, and emotional as the first time. I adore this series. Glad to revisit it.

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BarbaraJean

Anne's House of Dreams | L. M. Montgomery

Hello, Kindred Spirits! The #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead is currently reading Anne‘s House of Dreams for #LMMRereads & we‘ll read The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett for #LMMAdjacent from Feb. 2-15. After that, our schedule is TBD! I have a bunch of potential adjacent reads that I‘ve noted down as I‘ve been reading LMM‘s journals, so I thought I‘d put up a poll to see what others are interested in. The link is in the comments! ⤵️

rubyslippersreads, Daisey, LeahBergen, JenlovesJT47, CogsOfEncouragement, lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks, Roary47, julieclair

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) I‘ve tagged the schedule/announcements list for the buddy read, but all are welcome. If you‘re interested, please vote, and also feel free to add suggestions if there are books you‘re interested in that aren‘t on the voting list. Here‘s the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdxffDRlyb8jkq7hu0lvfq6Mdw8H6B6qGC7RzkM... 2d

BarbaraJean @Mirazzles You‘re welcome to chime in on this poll if you‘d like! And I can tag you for any/all of the buddy read: re-reads, journals, adjacent books—whatever you‘re interested in. There are lots of people who jump in and out for whichever books they‘re interested in or have time for! 2d

julieclair Voted! So many good choices! 1d

BarbaraJean @julieclair Thanks for voting! At this point it looks like Last of the Mohicans will be in our future soon! Several other good ones, too 😊 15h

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BarbaraJean

Anne's House of Dreams | L. M. Montgomery

Hello, #KindredSpirits! Checking in here at the halfway point of Anne‘s House of Dreams:

How is your reading going? What are your thoughts so far?
What stands out to you from the first half of the book?
Any favorite sections or quotes?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

rubyslippersreads, JenlovesJT47, CogsOfEncouragement, lauraisntwilder, monalyisha, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks

CogsOfEncouragement Miss Cordelia is a hoot! Captain Jim is a treasure. Leslie is such a strong woman. This is a reread for me (over ten years between) and I totally forgot about Baby Joyce. 5d

CogsOfEncouragement “Why do you hate the men so, Miss Bryant?”
“Lord, dearie, I don‘t hate them. They aren‘t worth it. I just sort of despise them. 5d

CogsOfEncouragement “Yes, red—to give warmth to that milk-white skin and those shining gray-green eyes of yours. Golden hair wouldn‘t suit you at all, Queen Anne—my Queen Anne—queen of my heart and life and home. “Then you may admire Leslie‘s all you like,” said Anne magnanimously. 5d

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CogsOfEncouragement “When I ponder on them seeds I don‘t find it nowise hard to believe that we‘ve got souls that‘ll live in other worlds. You couldn‘t hardly believe there was life in them tiny things, some no bigger than grains of dust, let alone color and scent, if you hadn‘t seen the miracle, could you?” (Captain Jim, Chapter 18) 5d

TheAromaofBooks I love this book so much! One thing I was thinking on this read through is about how LMM chose to have Anne move away when she married, much as LMM also had to do. The whole part of the story with Joyce is just sooo sad, especially knowing how many of Anne's thoughts are reflections of LMM's own when she lost her baby. But I love the way that that isn't just a throwaway scene to make readers emotional for no reason - the baby's death is also the ⬇ 5d

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) the catalyst for Anne becoming closer to those around her, especially Leslie and Captain Jim. In a way, it feels like her actual induction to adulthood more than anything else that has happened to her, the first true tragedy of her life. Consequently, it gives the story weight and meaning instead of just feeling like it is thrown in there just to make readers cry. 5d

lauraisntwilder This is my second time reading this one. I read it for the first time in 2023, but that time I read Windy Poplars first. I think reading this as book 4, in publication order, makes more sense. I like Windy Poplars, but it's a little strange that Gilbert is so unimportant. 4d

BarbaraJean @CogsOfEncouragement I love Miss Cordelia so much! She's hilarious and so bait-able, but she's just so wholly herself that she's aware she's being baited and doesn't care--she speaks her mind regardless. And such great quotes! That one about the seeds stood out to me, too. ⬇ 4d

BarbaraJean One of the passages that stood out to me this time:
“You'll see your little Joyce again some day.“
“But she won't be my baby,“ said Anne, with trembling lips. “Oh, she may be, as Longfellow says, 'a fair maiden clothed with celestial grace'—but she'll be a stranger to me.“
“God will manage better'n THAT, I believe,“ said Captain Jim.

It reminded me of Anne's conversation with Ruby in Island. I love how LMM digs in to challenge pat answers. 4d

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I hadn't thought about that parallel of LMM moving away after getting married! The parallel with Joyce is so sad and adding in other biographical details it seems Four Winds and Gilbert are likely even more of a reflection of what LMM wished for...both the love story and nearby friends of “the race that knows Joseph.“ I agree that this first real grief for Anne gives the story so much more weight & meaning. I'm impressed (again) ⬇ 4d

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) at how LMM took the events of her life and was able to weave those emotions and longings into her writing. Reading the journals is adding so much to re-reading her fiction. And as much as I love Island, I agree with LMM when she said that she thought this was her best book yet. Both the loss of Joyce and the way it's a catalyst for Anne, as well as Leslie Moore's story arc, make this story much deeper than her previous books. 4d

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Yes, it's fascinating to be reading this one in publication order! I do love Windy Poplars for how it shows Anne finding her own way as a teacher and in Summerside society, but this one follows more naturally after Island when it comes to Anne & Gilbert's relationship. Gilbert's development as a character makes more sense when you go from Green Gables to Avonlea to Island to House of Dreams without the weird Windy Poplars absence. 4d

TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder - I realize that it wouldn't really make much sense narrative-ly to have letters from Gilbert in Windy Poplars, but that was what I always wanted. He's there in a passive sense for Anne to write to, but I always wanted some of those “omitted“ pages to hear more of the dreams and yearnings, to help make Gilbert feel more real. Even having something in her letters be responding to his would have helped. 4d

kwmg40 I'm really enjoying this reread. I don't think I'd appreciated this novel enough when I'd first read it as a teen. BTW, I had to look up the word “catawampus“. I guess it's not so uncommon but maybe its use is regional? 4d

BarbaraJean @kwmg40 I've felt the same about this book--I didn't appreciate it nearly as much when I read it as a teen for the first time. I do think House of Dreams is the point where the Anne series moves out of YA/children's and into adult literature. I found this about the etymology of “catawampus“: https://uselessetymology.com/2017/12/02/the-etymology-of-cattywampus/ Super interesting! 1d

kwmg40 @BarbaraJean Thanks for sharing that interesting article. It seems like such a terrifically useful word that I'm surprised it's not in common usage! 5h

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LitsyEvents

Anne's House of Dreams | L. M. Montgomery

Repost for @BarbaraJean

Next up for the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: Anne‘s House of Dreams for #LMMReread (+ the short story “The Life-Book of Captain Jesse”) and The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett for #LMMAdjacent.

Discussions are on Saturdays and all are welcome! Let me know if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be. (Tag lists for each book are in the comments)

Original post - https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2831188

BarbaraJean Thanks for reposting! 1w

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BarbaraJean

Anne's House of Dreams | L. M. Montgomery

Next up for the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: Anne‘s House of Dreams for #LMMReread (+ the short story “The Life-Book of Captain Jesse”) and The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett for #LMMAdjacent.

Discussions are on Saturdays and all are welcome! Let me know if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be. (Tag lists for each book are in the comments)

LitsyEvents

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks, @lauraisntwilder, @CogsOfEncouragement, @rubyslippersreads, @kwmg40, @JenLovesJT47

Anne's House of Dreams

BarbaraJean @julieclair, @TheAromaofBooks, @lauraisntwilder, @rubyslippersreads, @JenLovesJT47

The Country of the Pointed Firs

monalyisha Ohh, I should do this. I‘m visiting PEI in June & never finished the Anne series. This is the one I need to read next! ALSO, I bought the SOJ while visiting Maine with my friend last summer. We intended to do a buddy read and never followed through. I‘m so bad at commitment, though! 🙈 1w

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TheKidUpstairs @monalyisha where in PEI are you going? It's one of my favourite places to visit! 1w

monalyisha @TheKidUpstairs It‘s sort of a dream trip with my friend…named Megan! We have a cottage booked in Cumberland. Happy to take suggestions and hear about places you love! We‘re still in the planning phase. 1w

TheAromaofBooks @monalyisha - House of Dreams may be my favorite Anne book, although it's very hard to choose. I highly recommend joining us in reading it if you have time!! Super jealous of your PEI trip - that sounds magical!! 1w

BarbaraJean @monalyisha Would it help with commitment if I only tagged you for the end discussion of each book and not the midpoint? 😆 Would love to have you join in if you can! (Like @TheAromaofBooks this is probably my favorite Anne book… and I‘m also super jealous of the PEI trip 😁) 1w

TheKidUpstairs @monalyisha well, clearly she's an awesome person with a name like that 😉🤣 I'll email you some of my fave spots! 1w

monalyisha @TheKidUpstairs Yay! Thank you, Megan! And @BarbaraJean, go ahead and tag me at the mid-point, too. If I haven‘t started reading yet, it‘ll be a reminder to at least think about it. 😉 (edited) 1w

BarbaraJean @monalyisha Haha—will do! 😊 1w

BarbaraJean @Mirazzles These are our current reads! The schedule after 2/15 is TBD—we will probably read another adjacent book and then dive back into the journals with Vol. 4, interspersing the next LMM rereads as they are mentioned in the journals, and any adjacent reads we decide on. I‘ll go tag you in the post with the poll for future LMM adjacent books! 2d

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lauraisntwilder

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years 1911-1917 | Jen Rubio

pick

I fell behind in reading this with #kindredspiritsbuddyread last year, but I caught up this month by reading a few pages every morning. This is the third volume of LMM's journals and I've found them all so interesting. I especially like reading a little a day. It has made LMM feel like a companion.

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BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years 1911-1917 | Jen Rubio

I apologize for not posting this sooner—I don‘t know how it got to be Wednesday and I‘m only just starting this last chunk of volume 3!! How is everyone‘s journal-reading coming along?

I‘ll plan to post questions this weekend—late on Friday if I can, because I have a busy weekend ahead. Looking forward to discussing with all of you. And now I‘ll dive into my reading! #LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

JenlovesJT47, lauraisntwilder, TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks I'm enjoying this section!! I'm intrigued by how obsessed LMM is with the war. It's obvious that she's an anomaly among the somewhat backwater area where she lives, but I wonder if more people in Canada at the time felt as she did, as she's quite obsessive about it. 2w

lauraisntwilder I'm actually on track to finish on time, which is great because I was behind on all the other sections. Not because I wasn't enjoying it, but life got in the way. 2w

lauraisntwilder Oh! I've also ordered a copy of The Watchmen, her poetry collection that she barely mentioned except to say she didn't expect much to come of it. 😜 2w

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BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I am intrigued by her interest in the war, but not as intrigued by reading her updates about war developments (or the footnotes explaining them) 😂 It gives so much personal context for Rilla, though!! Like you, I‘m curious how closely the rest of the population was following events. There must have been lots of people who felt as she did, given the newspaper coverage she talks about. 2w

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Oh yay about catching up! And 😂 about the poetry collection! I realized I actually have it in an ebook collection of LMM‘s works, but her comments don‘t exactly inspire me to read it… 2w

lauraisntwilder @BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I'm definitely not reading all the footnotes. Not just the war ones, either. I'm not finding them very helpful for her personal interests either. She'll mention someone and the footnote will go ahead and tell when they died, which I don't always want to know at the moment I'm reading about them. 2w

TheAromaofBooks @lauraisntwilder @BarbaraJean - I have definitely been skipping the war footnotes! I don't actually need to know all the nitty gritty historical details of what LMM is talking about 😂 2w

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks Well, now I'm gonna skip them, too! 😂 Honestly, I really wish the footnotes were more helpful, or at least consistent. The editors give way too much info sometimes (like death dates and war details), and not enough or irrelevant info at other times (so many times I wish I could get a refresher on who someone is and when LMM has mentioned them before). 2w

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Mirazzles

After Anne: A Novel of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Life | Logan Steiner

I read “Anne of Green Gables” for the first time two years ago, and since then, I‘ve become obsessed with everything Lucy Maud Montgomery and Anne Shirley. 💛

Ruthiella Do you know about #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead hosted by @BarbaraJean ? They are all about Anne and LMM! 2w

Mirazzles @Ruthiella no, I didn‘t know anything about that! Thank you! 🥰 2w

BarbaraJean @Ruthiella Thanks for the tag! @Mirazzles We have several parallel LMM buddy reads right now, reading through her complete journals and interspersing re-reads of her novels and related books (ones she mentions in her journals or books that have been compared to her books, etc.) We‘re finishing up Vol. 3 of the journals this week and start Anne‘s House of Dreams next week. You‘re very welcome to join any part of it that catches your fancy! 2w

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Mirazzles @BarbaraJean that would be nice! How do I join? Just read and comment ? 🥰 2d

BarbaraJean @Mirazzles I have several tag lists and I can add you to any or all! Then you just read and comment as desired! We have discussions on Saturdays and the pace is roughly 100 pages per week. The overall buddy read is #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead and the tags are: #LMMReread, #LMMJournals, and #LMMAdjacent for books related to LMM and her books. I‘ll go tag you for our current schedule and then also the poll I have up for future #LMMAdjacent books! 2d

Mirazzles @BarbaraJean that‘d be awesome! Thanks so much! 🥰 1d

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