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#LMMAdjacent
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LitsyEvents
Rainbow Valley | L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery
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Repost for @BarbaraJean
Next up in the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead our #LMMReread of Rainbow Valley & our #LMMAdjacent read of The Last of the Mohicans. @BarbaraJean will post check ins on Saturdays; full discussion of Rainbow Valley will be March 15 & for Last of the Mohicans it will be on April 12.
All are welcome to join in! Please let @BarbaraJean know if you want to be added to or removed from the tag
list.

BarbaraJean Thanks for re-posting! 3d
29 likes1 comment
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BarbaraJean
Rainbow Valley | L. M. Montgomery
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Next up in the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: our #LMMReread of Rainbow Valley, and our #LMMAdjacent read of The Last of the Mohicans.

I‘ll post check-ins on Saturdays; the full discussion of Rainbow Valley will be March 15, and for Last of the Mohicans it will be on April 12.

All are welcome to join in! I‘ll post my tag lists for each book in the comments. Please let me know if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be (or vice versa!)

Daisey Looking forward to Last of the Mohicans! 4d
julieclair Looking forward to both of these! 4d
TheAromaofBooks Yay!! I'm in for both of these - or at least I've kept them from getting packed 😂 4d
34 likes5 comments
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BarbaraJean
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Bonus info I somehow missed before:
There are four short stories related to Pointed Firs (I guess those are the “and other stories” in some editions!). I haven‘t read them yet, but I‘m planning to track them down to read in the next week or two. If you‘ve read them, or want to check them out & report back, please chime in with your thoughts! The stories are:
"The Foreigner"
"The Queen's Twin"
"A Dunnet Shepherdess"
"William's Wedding"

TheAromaofBooks I ended up purchasing this book - and am very glad I did!! - and does include these stories. I'm definitely planning to read them!! 3w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks It‘s funny, because I intentionally checked out an ebook without “and other stories” because I didn‘t realize they were related and didn‘t intend to read them. And I wanted a correct page count for tracking my reading. Now I‘m gonna have to check out a different copy WITH the stories and adjust my reading trackers 😂 2w
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TheAromaofBooks I actually kind of did the same thing - I looked for an edition without the stories because I thought they were related to EACH OTHER not to the main story 😂 But now I'm glad that I ended up with this one and cannot WAIT to find out how William gets married!! 2w
julieclair I also purposely looked for a copy without the other stories! And I read an e-book, but I think I‘d like to actually own a copy. A vintage copy would be ideal. 1w
BarbaraJean @julieclair I had to order a print copy from the library in order to get one with the stories, but I may end up buying a copy as well! 6d
julieclair Just saw the eBay prices for a vintage copy. 😳 I think a modern copy will have to suffice! 6d
30 likes7 comments
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BarbaraJean
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Which scenes or chapters stand out in your reading? What made them memorable or meaningful?

Is there anything else you‘d like to discuss from your reading of this book, or quotes you‘d like to share?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

julieclair I loved the chapter with the widower who lost his wife 8 years prior. He was such a sweet man… I wanted to reach through the book and hug him! 1w
BarbaraJean @julieclair Yes! I just loved the way he talked about his wife. He reminded me a lot of Captain Jim from House of Dreams, and his “lost Margaret.“ 6d
julieclair Yes! I agree! 6d
30 likes3 comments
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BarbaraJean
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Reading this as an #LMMAdjacent book, I had my eye out for paralells with LMM‘s other work. What similarities or differences do you see between Pointed Firs and Anne‘s House of Dreams (setting, characters, narrative style, etc.)?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

TheAromaofBooks Certain scenes definitely made me think of LMM - especially the big family reunion, or the parts where someone else is telling a story. I expected descriptions of nature and the sea to make me think of her writing, but it was actually the human parts. Jewett does a wonderful job sketching characters through their words and actions, and that part really reminded me of LMM's similar ability. 3w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks The setting felt like it should remind me of Four Winds—there were a lot of surface similarities—but it had a whole different vibe than House of Dreams. I completely agree about the characters. Mrs. Todd especially! The episodic, sketch-like writing style and its lightness on plot actually reminded me more of Lark Rise! LMM‘s more episodic books feel more humorous than this one, but the nostalgia here felt like Lark. 2w
julieclair @BarbaraJean Yes! This totally reminded me of Lark Rise. But I‘ve been wondering why I loved this book and didn‘t really care for Lark Rise. I think it‘s Jewett‘s lyrical writing style that made the difference for me. 1w
BarbaraJean @julieclair Yes, I felt like the writing in Lark (especially in the first book and a half) was very plain and flat. I enjoyed the last book and a half of Lark Rise quite a bit, once there were actual characters and personalities on the page! But the descriptions and the personalities here were delightful throughout. 6d
julieclair I am still struggling through Lark Rise, but am determined to finish… sometime… It‘s good to know the second half picks up a bit. 6d
23 likes5 comments
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BarbaraJean
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#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

Pointed Firs largely focuses on female characters—and only a few of these women are pictured in relation to a male character. Did you notice this emphasis on female experience in the text? Do you read this as a matter of perspective (“write what you know”) or a conscious choice to center female experience?

Which characters were most vivid to you?

julieclair To me, the emphasis on female characters seemed more like a matter of perspective, rather than a conscious choice. But interestingly, that perspective allowed their quiet strength to be emphasized, in the way they just got on with their daily lives in a very matter of fact way. Mrs. Todd‘s mother and the woman who lived alone on the island after she lost her fiancé both stood out to me as especially strong women. 1w
BarbaraJean @julieclair It felt like perspective rather than conscious choice to me as well, but I really liked how central women were to the story. I just loved the story about the woman alone on the island! So beautiful and heartbreaking. There was a real LMM flavor to a lot of these characters as well—Mrs. Todd especially! 6d
julieclair Agreed. I could totally see Mrs. Todd feeling right at home in a LMM novel. 6d
23 likes3 comments
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BarbaraJean
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I‘m sorry this is so late! Busy week + a long class today = late discussion questions! #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

How did you feel about the 1st-person narrator? Did you wonder about her context & who she was? For you, did the lack of info about the narrator contribute to or take away from the story?

Why do you think Jewett chose to tell the story through the perspective of (what I assume is) a semi-autobiographical main character? ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) How would a different narrative perspective affect the story? 3w
JenlovesJT47 I started this a couple of days ago, I‘m going to try very hard to finish it by tomorrow 😬 3w
BarbaraJean @JenlovesJT47 Feel free to jump into the discussion whenever you‘re ready—no rush!! 3w
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TheAromaofBooks I loved this book!! I had no idea what to expect, but this was just a delight. I found the complete lack of background about the narrator to be slightly distracting, but as the story went on we at least got clues - she's a woman, she's younger than Mrs. Todd, she's a writer, she's only here for the summer, etc. I think the first-person narrative is the only way for this story to work. It doesn't really have a plot - the plot is the narrator's ⬇ 3w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) thoughts, basically. Changing it to third person, or even having it be from the perspective of someone else, like Mrs. Todd, would make this an entirely different book, I think. 3w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I don‘t think I would have been as distracted by the lack of context for the narrator if it weren‘t for the first chapter, where she‘s reminiscing about visiting the town as a child. Other than that, she felt like Bev in Story Girl—first person but without lots of commentary or explanation. I‘d be interested to read this from Mrs. Todd‘s perspective—we‘d definitely get more commentary! But yes, it would be a very different book. 2w
julieclair @BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks The lack of background info on the narrator didn‘t bother me at all. Keeping her as a relatively neutral figure allowed all the other characters, and their stories, to shine. 1w
julieclair A book from Mrs. Todd‘s perspective would be quite fun! 1w
21 likes8 comments
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BarbaraJean
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“In the life of each of us, I said to myself, there is a place remote and islanded, and given to endless regret or secret happiness; we are each the uncompanioned hermit and recluse of an hour or a day; we understand our fellows of the cell to whatever age of history they may belong.”

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

julieclair I am loving this book! 3w
Cathythoughts I love this quote ❤️ stacking. 3w
Cathythoughts Couldn‘t we have them both though ? The endless regret AND the secret happiness … 3w
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TheAromaofBooks I am really enjoying this book, other than the nagging annoyance of knowing NOTHING about our narrator 😂 3w
BarbaraJean @julieclair I am enjoying it—it‘s very relaxing! But like @TheAromaofBooks I want to know who the narrator is and why she‘s there for the summer, and… and…and… 😆 3w
BarbaraJean @Cathythoughts 💜For me, I think there are different internal islands—some given to endless regret and some to secret happiness 😊 3w
julieclair @BarbaraJean @Cathythoughts I think most of us have both. 💙 3w
julieclair @TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean I have no idea why, but that hasn‘t bothered me at all! 😂 3w
33 likes1 stack add8 comments
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BarbaraJean
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Hello, #KindredSpirits! Today is our check-in discussion halfway through The Country of the Pointed Firs.

🌲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 #LMMAdjacent

JenlovesJT47 I‘m behind, going to try to start it today or tomorrow 😬 4w
BarbaraJean @JenlovesJT47 It‘s shorter than I realized, so hopefully that‘s helpful! I didn‘t start it till Wednesday, then I ended up reading the whole first half all at once! 4w
JenlovesJT47 Ooh yay, I‘ll try to start it tonight! 4w
lauraisntwilder My copy hasn't arrived yet, but if it doesn't show up soon I'll read it in ebook from my library. Either way, I hope to catch up before next weekend! 4w
julieclair Starting today or tomorrow. I've been traveling in NC for family fun this week - 5-year-old birthday in Raleigh and baby shower in Charlotte! 4w
21 likes5 comments
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BarbaraJean
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Thank you everyone who voted on our next adjacent reads! Top picks:
Last of the Mohicans (6 votes)
Pollyanna (5 votes)
Life of Charlotte Bronte (4 votes)
I made the above schedule based on our votes & the Journals Vol. 4. We'll read Rilla and Pollyanna in May! Ivanhoe, More Tramps Abroad, and Beautiful Joe all received 3 votes each, so I'll plan to work those in later in the year.
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals #LMMReread #LMMAdjacent

BarbaraJean As always, all are welcome to join in for any part of the buddy read that strikes your fancy. I keep separate tag lists for each book and for the #LMMJournals read. Just let me know if you're not tagged and you'd like to be. @LitsyEvents 1mo
TheAromaofBooks Last of the Mohicans! I've always wanted to read this one, but I'm also scared 😂 Love the 5-chapters-a-week schedule for that one. 1mo
julieclair Yay! I‘m in for Pointed Firs and the Mohicans. And maybe for Rainbow Valley… please tag me for all three. 😃 1mo
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BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks 😂 It almost works out to chapter-a-day! I was torn between allotting 3 or 4 weeks for that one, but decided taking more time is never a bad thing 😆 1mo
BarbaraJean @julieclair I‘ve got you down for all three! 1mo
Daisey I‘m in for Last of the Mohicans! 1mo
32 likes6 comments