Litsy

Emily's Quest | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - Emily‘s Quest discussion - 4/4

“‘The Murray pride,‘ whispered Mrs. Kent, staring at her.
‘After all, Emily Starr, I believe pride is a stronger passion with you than love.‘
‘Perhaps,‘ said Emily, smiling.”

What role do you see Emily‘s pride playing in her relationships with Teddy and Ilse?
Do you agree with Mrs. Kent, that pride is a stronger passion for Emily than love?

#LMMReread

lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks I completely think pride is Emily's primary characteristic. But I actually think it may have been LMM's as well, so it checks out. Emily does and says so many things based on “what people will think.“ I can somewhat understand her interactions with Teddy - fearing that her feelings are more serious than his - but she still allows pride to override her desire to be with him. 4d

TheAromaofBooks As a side note, I was also disappointed in the way that Ilse and Emily's friendship just sort of disappeared here. I understand that it's part of growing up, but it felt like Emily purposefully refused to say anything of her true feelings to Ilse - again, because of pride - and it felt strange that they could be the best friends in the world!!! and neither of them even knew that the other liked either of the boys that they also were close to?? 4d

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Oh, I hadn't thought about that pride connection with LMM! But YES, that rings true in so many ways. And I agree about Emily and Ilse's friendship. Ilse is so clueless as to what's going on with Emily, I think partly because she's kind of oblivious to emotional nuances... but also, Emily withholds SO much out of pride. Plot-wise, the withholding is necessary since the resulting misunderstanding is central to the conflict here ⬇ 23h

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) ...but it's so sad to me that their friendship becomes just this surface shell of what it was when they were younger. All four were such chums growing up... I really liked their little group. They seemed so well-matched. And the way they all withhold their true feelings breaks that up on all sides. Except for Perry. Good old Perry. 23h

25 likes4 comments

BarbaraJean

Emily's Quest | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - Emily‘s Quest discussion 3/4:

Emily‘s writing is a key theme (if not THE key theme) in the Emily books. What did you think of how LMM chose to flesh out Emily‘s writing career in this final book of the trilogy?

Do you think Emily‘s writing was overshadowed by the themes of romance and the back-and-forth with Teddy and Dean in this book?

#LMMReread

lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks

lauraisntwilder I think I might think the writing part was overshadowed by the romance, if Anne had ever gotten anywhere with her writing. Just in comparison to Anne, Emily's writing seems so important. 4d

TheAromaofBooks If anything, I think Emily's writing is held back by her own pride and ambitions. She doesn't sacrifice her writing for Dean - she does so because she thinks it's not good enough. And I actually don't get the impression that she is going to stop writing after she marries Teddy, because he understands how important it is to her. (Unlike Dean, ironically.) However, I think the STORY somewhat gets overshadowed by focusing on Emily's romance instead ⬇ 4d

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) of her writing - I feel like the main plot of Emily would be summarized by her choose between two men rather than her spending her time writing. And maybe part of the problem is that LMM wanted to write about a woman who wants to write, but her publishers/readers want to read about a woman finding love? And consequently this book feels a little compromise-y. 4d

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Yeah, Emily's writing is so central to who she is, while writing never seems central to Anne. Emily can't NOT write! That still comes across even though there's so much romance drama in this book. @TheAromaofBooks I think you're right that the story in this book specifically shifts its focus to the romance. This book overall is super uneven, and I agree--it feels like a compromise between who LMM envisioned Emily to be ⬇ 23h

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) ...and what her publisher/readers wanted the book to be. In her journals, when she was discussing the first or second Emily book, she mentioned something about how she couldn't write the romance the way she wanted to, either. I'm SO curious what these three books would have been like if LMM had been able to free herself from the “what would people think“ inhibitions! 23h

21 likes5 comments

BarbaraJean

Emily's Quest | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - Emily‘s Quest discussion 2/4:

LMM‘s comments in her journals about Emily‘s Quest indicate she found it difficult to write, and thought it was “no good.”

Do you think her writing difficulties show in the novel? If so, in what ways?
Do you agree with her assessment that it‘s “no good”? What do you see as the book‘s weaknesses?

#LMMReread

lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks

BarbaraJean I'll drop a little reminder here for @TheAromaofBooks and @lauraisntwilder that we'll be finishing up Vol. 6 of the journals this week! 4d

lauraisntwilder I don't think it's "no good," but I can see why she saw it as a decline in quality. But also, she didn't want to write it, so how could she love it? 4d

TheAromaofBooks I'm obviously not a fan of this book, so I tried to think about it a little more objectively, as a piece of writing and not just a story. I wouldn't say that it's “no good“ but I can see why LMM felt frustrated by it. Like @lauraisntwilder pointed out, she didn't particularly want to write this book, and I wonder if, perhaps subconsciously, some of her resentment comes through, by giving Emily a hard time and a somewhat ambiguous ending. 4d

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks Right?! It had to be frustrating to write a book she didn't want to write. In her journals she talks about hating having to write “to order,“ and she doesn't mean these books specifically, but I think that feeling shows in some of her sequels (especially the later add-on Anne books, like Anne of Ingleside). I agree, I don't think it's “no good,“ but I can understand why she felt that way. And it's not AS good! 23h

20 likes4 comments

BarbaraJean

Emily's Quest | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - Emily‘s Quest Discussion 1/4

What is your impression of the book overall? How does it compare to the other Emily books—in tone, theme, quality? How does it compare to LMM‘s novels overall, so far?

If you‘re reading the journals, what do you see in Emily‘s Quest that mirrors LMM‘s own life? Do you see qualities in Emily that reflect LMM?

#LMMReread

lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks

lauraisntwilder I think this one is the weakest of the Emily books, but it's still better than Kilmeny, I think, and so of her others that we haven't gotten to yet in this round of rereads. 4d

lauraisntwilder The section of Emily reading reviews reminded me of LMM's similar reactions in her journals. 4d

TheAromaofBooks I agree with @lauraisntwilder - this definitely felt like the weakest of the three books to me, but not her overall weakest book. There just isn't much “drive“ to this book - I never really got behind Teddy or Dean as love interests. The side story with Ilse and Teddy/Perry also feels kind of awkward. It's an okay story, but I think it lacks some of the “sparkle“ that her other books have - maybe because there isn't as strong of cast of ⬇ 4d

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TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) background/secondary characters? Everyone abandons Emily and heads off to start new lives. Hearing that eventually Emily's cousin is going to inherit (and basically destroy) New Moon made me wonder anew why Emily chose to stay there instead of pursuing opportunities elsewhere. When Anne postponed dreams to stay at GG, it was because doing so saved her home. I still feel like Emily stayed because she was scared to take a jump. The other ⬇ 4d

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) weird thing about this book is how much time it covers, especially at the very end, where apparently YEARS go by before Teddy comes back!? It just doesn't jive for me. 4d

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks It's definitely my least favorite of the Emily books, even though I was completely on board with Teddy as the love interest! I think the Emily/Teddy/Ilse/Perry love quadrangle is one of the worst parts of the book. The Ilse & Teddy pairing seems so contrived and I hate the way LMM distances Emily & Ilse in order for it to happen. And Sarah, I felt the same way about the timing at the end. The pacing is WAY off. ⬇ 23h

BarbaraJean (Cont'd) Also, I'd forgotten that Andrew was going to inherit New Moon, and I DEFINITELY saw parallels with LMM and her awful uncle!! As well as parallels between Emily staying at New Moon and the way LMM stays in Cavendish and feels left behind...her childhood friends have all left or changed dramatically. Emily's decision to stay makes sense at the end of Emily Climbs, but LMM kind of drops that reasoning here, in favor of the Dean subplot. 22h

19 likes7 comments

BarbaraJean

Emily's Quest | Lucy Maud Montgomery

My reactions as I re-read the first half of Emily‘s Quest this week:
Tearing up over Mr. Carpenter
Pleading with Emily to NOT show her book to Dean
LOATHING DEAN
Pleading with Emily to send her book to Miss Royal in NYC for another opinion
LOATHING DEAN
Thinking that buying the Disappointed House may be the only thing Dean has done that I approve of
And some agonizing about Teddy

How is your reading going? 😆
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

lauraisntwilder, kwmg40, TheAromaofBooks

Ruthiella But how do you feel about Dean? 😂😂😂 2w

kwmg40 I'm only a quarter of the way through, but I'm already loathing Dean! 2w

BarbaraJean @Ruthiella I probably should have been clearer about my emotions. 😂 😂 😂 @kwmg40 Right?!? Chapter 6 is the absolute WORST. 2w

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lauraisntwilder My library card expired, so I couldn't check out the audio book as planned. I fixed it today, so I'll catch up this week! (I already hate Dean though. 2w

TheAromaofBooks I just started this one yesterday, and am NOT looking forward to Creepy Dean!! 2w

BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder Oh no! Glad you got it sorted out… and sorry about Dean 😆 @TheAromaofBooks Every time I read this, I hate him more. 1w

32 likes6 comments

LitsyEvents

The Ladies of Missalonghi | Colleen McCullough

Reposting for @BarbaraJean
Here‘s the next month for #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead! We‘re just starting the tagged book for #LMMAdjacent, then after one more week back in the #LMMJournals, we‘ll return to the Emily books with Emily Climbs for an #LMMReread. Tag lists are in the comments… but all are welcome! Let me know if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be!

27 likes

BarbaraJean

The Ladies of Missalonghi | Colleen McCullough

Here‘s the next month for #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead! We‘re just starting the tagged book for #LMMAdjacent, then after one more week back in the #LMMJournals, we‘ll return to the Emily books with Emily Climbs for an #LMMReread. Tag lists are in the comments… but all are welcome! Let me know if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be!

LitsyEvents

BarbaraJean Tag list for Missalonghi: @TheAromaofBooks, @julieclair, @lauraisntwilder, @rubyslippersreads, @DrSabrinaMoldenReads

The Ladies of Missalonghi

1mo

BarbaraJean Tag list for journals and Emily‘s Quest: @TheAromaofBooks @lauraisntwilder

Emily's Quest

1mo

BarbaraJean Okay, Missalonghi readers, I have no idea what‘s going on with chapters in this book. I have found no chapter divisions in the print copy. The Hoopla audio has 9 chapters. Searches online say: 1. There are chapters, 2. There are no chapters, 3. There are 19 chapters. All followed by the caveat: “AI answers may contain mistakes.” 🙄 I don‘t know where I got 22 chapters from. 🤷🏻‍♀️ So: read roughly half this week & we‘ll check in on Saturday! 😆 (edited) 1mo

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TheAromaofBooks I just picked this up this morning and realized that it has no chapters 😂 Who does that!?!? 1mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Terry Pratchett does that and as much as I love Pratchett it drives me crazy! I started reading last night thinking I‘d read a couple chapters and see how far that took me. At page 30 of a 200-ish page book, I thought the first chapter was getting kind of long, and I started flipping ahead. By page 100 I realized I had yet again made a huge mistake in trusting a chapter count I found online 😂 1mo

TheAromaofBooks That has actually been my biggest problem with reading the Discworld books! For some reason, the lack of chapters really turns me off of a book, and I can't even explain why 😂 1mo

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I feel the same—the lack of chapters turns me off! I think my brain prefers defined units of content so I know how many bits there are to parcel out. I've seen quotes from Pratchett saying he thought chapters broke up the natural flow of a story. But NOT having them kind of breaks my brain a little. I mean, you have to stop somewhere and I'd rather know where the author would stop! I guess he does use scene breaks, but still. ⬇ 1mo

BarbaraJean The last Pratchett I read was an ebook version on Hoopla and it didn't even have any designation of where the scene breaks were. It gave me narrative whiplash to start a new paragraph and find I was suddenly in a completely different place with a different group of characters. That pulled me out of the narrative flow more than chapters would have! 1mo

TheAromaofBooks Oh wow, that would be SO confusing! He definitely jumps around, so I can't imagine not even having the warning of an extra space! 😂 1mo

26 likes9 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 1mo

Bookwormjillk 🍎🍎🍎 1mo

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 1mo

PuddleJumper 🧡🖤🧡 1mo

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! 1mo

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! ⬇ 1mo

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. 1mo

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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. 1mo

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 ⬇ 1mo

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. 1mo

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. 1mo

rubyslippersreads Maybe Olive should end up with Edward Beck. 😂 1mo

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! 1mo

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. 1mo

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. 1mo

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

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! 1mo

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. 1mo

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

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 ⬇ 1mo

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

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. 1mo

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. 1mo

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) 1mo

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? 1mo

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. 1mo

BarbaraJean @julieclair 👍 If you only have time for one, read Blue Castle. So far, Missalonghi is basically discount Blue Castle 😆 1mo

29 likes23 comments

BarbaraJean

The Blue Castle | L. M. Montgomery

One of the things I love most about this book is its humor—it‘s filled with hilarious situations, comments, and descriptions. What are some of your favorites?

#LMMReread #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

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

JenlovesJT47 When Valancy first comes out of her shell, and they are having a family dinner and she tells everyone exactly what she thinks (and she‘s not wrong!), I find it SO gratifying as well as hilarious. She is now my favorite book character after Phryne Fisher. 1mo

BarbaraJean @JenlovesJT47 Right?! I always lose it over that ENTIRE family dinner scene. But especially when Aunt Alberta says she was bitten by a dog “a little below the Catholic church” and Valancy says “Is that a vital part?“ 😂 😂 Also later when Uncle Benjamin is spluttering about Valancy marrying Barney and she says: “Say ‘damn‘ and you‘ll feel better.” 😂 1mo

rubyslippersreads I just love the way Valancy suddenly has no filter. I also love seeing Olive put in her place. And the way the family is much more careful of Valancy‘s feelings once they find out she‘s married a millionaire. (edited) 1mo

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TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean - I lose it over the Catholic church every time 😂 Also Valancy sassing Abel about how not everyone should sing at their work haha 1mo

lauraisntwilder @BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I was listening to the audio on a walk with my husband (we can't talk easily when exercising so he listens to music and I usually have a book going) and I laughed out loud at the Catholic church line so hard I startled him! 🤣 1mo

kwmg40 I found Uncle Benjamin's blatant hypocrisy hilarious, when he completely changes his attitude toward Valancy after finding out who she married. 1mo

22 likes6 comments

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