Litsy

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

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I have a much better appreciation of this book than I did when I had first read it a long time ago. I love how Anne has matured and evolved over the series but still retains much of what made so many people love her from the original Green Gables book.

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread @BarbaraJean
#52bookclub25 (character with red hair)
#gottacatchemall (Dhelmise: set on an island) @PuddleJumper

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BarbaraJean

L.M. Montgomery's Complete Journals: The Ontario Years: 1918-1921 | Jen Rubio L.M. Montgomery

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 ⬇

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

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 3w

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. 3w

julieclair Yay! I‘m in for Pointed Firs and the Mohicans. And maybe for Rainbow Valley… please tag me for all three. 😃 3w

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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 😆 3w

BarbaraJean @julieclair I‘ve got you down for all three! 3w

Daisey I‘m in for Last of the Mohicans! 3w

31 likes6 comments

BarbaraJean

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

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread - House of Dreams Discussion 3/3

🏡 For those who are re-reading, what was it like to read this book right after Anne of the Island instead of after Anne of Windy Poplars?

🏡 What elements of this book did you most enjoy? What did you dislike?

🏡 Final thoughts on Anne‘s House of Dreams?

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

CogsOfEncouragement It was nice to not have to wait for Anne and Gilbert‘s happiness! 3w

CogsOfEncouragement I enjoyed these characters in Anne‘s new neighborhood so much. I also really enjoyed the twist in Leslie‘s story (which I had completely forgotten) and her happily ever after. 3w

kwmg40 The chapter that stayed in my mind was the one describing the general election in Canada. I liked how friends, family and neighbours could disagree vehemently about politics but after the election, they could put those disagreements aside and carry on as before. I hope that's still the case today, but with all the vitriol I see in the news and social media, I'm not so sure! 3w

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TheAromaofBooks It was weird to skip Windy Poplars, but kind of interesting to jump straight to their married life. It also does make more sense as far as secondary-character continuity goes (Rebecca Dew only appearing in WP and Ingleside). I love this book and found the ending, where they are getting ready to leave behind their home, especially poignant as I'm getting ready to move out of the house where we've lived for 10 years. I think LMM does an amazing job⬇ 3w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) keeping Anne and Gilbert true to their characters, while introducing new people and weaving the threads together. Someone like Captain Jim seems like he should be kind of annoying/ridiculous, yet comes through as realistic and lovable. Miss Cornelia seems like she ought to be a caricature, but the way that she shows genuine kindness and generosity to everyone around her instead makes her warm and interesting - and I actually totally ⬇ 3w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) love her getting married in the end! I guess I basically find it amazing how LMM can hit the right notes, creating vivid and realistic characters whose conversations and actions seems so natural. 3w

22 likes6 comments

BarbaraJean

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

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread - House of Dreams Discussion 2/3

I was struck by this quote on the value of different life paths, specifically the roles that women choose for their lives (or the roles that society/circumstances choose for them). What do you think about the way House of Dreams portrays women‘s roles, through characters like Anne, Leslie, and Miss Cornelia?

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

CogsOfEncouragement Chapter 15: The Glen St. Mary church wouldn‘t have been built to this day,” went on Miss Cornelia, ignoring Captain Jim, “if we women hadn‘t just started in and took charge… Says a lot about women being capable and getting things done though they lack certain opportunities and rights at this time in history. 3w

kwmg40 Definitely, in those days, women had much more pressure to act as supporters and caregivers. If a woman valued that role for herself, then that's definitely not a 'waste“, but it's tragic when a woman strongly prefers a different path but doesn't have the freedom to choose it. 3w

kwmg40 On the topic of women's issues, I loved that Anne decided to ignore all the questionable advice in the parenting book! 3w

19 likes3 comments

BarbaraJean

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

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

Anne‘s House of Dreams Discussion - 1/3

🏡 What did you think of Gilbert and Anne as a married couple? What (if any) changes do you see in Anne now that she‘s married?

🏡 How would you compare Anne‘s other friendships (Diana, her college chums) to her friendship with Leslie?

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

CogsOfEncouragement I adore them as a couple. Fun to be in their world. 3w

CogsOfEncouragement Leslie has had more sorrow than most, and has such unhappy responsibilities. This makes her such a different character than Anne‘s other chums. It makes her equipped to be a true friend to Anne when her own tragedy comes. They are supportive to each other in genuine, deep ways. 3w

kwmg40 I like how Anne and Gilbert still retain much of their earlier characteristics in their married life. Anne is still sensitive, idealistic and a dreamer, while Gilbert is steady, reliable and practical. They make a good team! 3w

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TheAromaofBooks I love Anne and Gilbert together. Like @kwmg40 said, they seem to balance each other well. I especially love the chapter where they are deciding whether or not Gilbert should tell Leslie about the surgery that could help her husband. I think their disagreement and then the way they still basically agree to disagree is written really well, and gives us a great look at Gilbert's character. 3w

TheAromaofBooks It's so interesting to read these books as an adult. When I first read them around 10-12yrs old, I couldn't really understand the difference in Anne's friendship with Leslie vs Diana or college chums. Now, having gone through some life-sorrows myself, I can appreciate the difference. Leslie is Anne's intellectual equal, combined with a soul-maturity that only comes from surviving tragedy. I also understand now why their friendship changed after ⬇ 3w

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) Anne's tragedy as well. You genuinely can't understand what it's like to live through something horrific until you have, and I thought LMM did such a good job of making that a turning point of their friendship. 3w

16 likes6 comments

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. 4w

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. 4w

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. 4w

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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) 4w

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 ⬇ 4w

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. 4w

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. 4w

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. ⬇ 4w

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. 4w

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) ⬇ 4w

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. 4w

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. 4w

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. 4w

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? 4w

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! 3w

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! 3w

29 likes16 comments

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! 1mo

35 likes1 comment

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

1mo

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

The Country of the Pointed Firs

1mo

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! 🙈 1mo

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

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. 1mo

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!! 1mo

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 😁) 1mo

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

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) 1mo

BarbaraJean @monalyisha Haha—will do! 😊 1mo

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! 3w

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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! 1mo

Mirazzles @Ruthiella no, I didn‘t know anything about that! Thank you! 🥰 1mo

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! 1mo

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Mirazzles @BarbaraJean that would be nice! How do I join? Just read and comment ? 🥰 3w

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! 3w

Mirazzles @BarbaraJean that‘d be awesome! Thanks so much! 🥰 3w

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kwmg40

Anne of the Island | Lucy Maud Montgomery

pick

A reread of a favourite from the Anne series. This one is an excellent coming-of-age novel, with Anne going to college and living on her own. There are both hilarious episodes and very moving moments.

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread @BarbaraJean
#SeriesLove2025 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView

Andrew65 Excellent 🎉🎉🎉 1mo

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