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pick

Going in, I knew this was just a short story collection with Anne Shirley basically forced in here and there. While, yes, that's true, the Anne bits are relatively unobtrusive. Several of the stories were sweet, like "Old Lady Lloyd" and "Each in His Own Tongue," and several had classic LMM tropes like a quarreling couple, a man hater, and old maid sisters. I enjoyed it!

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Eggs

Chronicles of Avonlea | L M Montgomery

pick

I love this old-times cover that seems to aptly portray this time period - the formal clothes, the toasting, the lady‘s arm around the child. This was delightful - careful vignettes of the citizenry of Avonlea.

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#20in4Readathon Day 1

Clwojick, Andrew65, TheSpineView

TheSpineView Fantastic! 2y

Eggs @TheSpineView 😍🥰 2y

Andrew65 Excellent, true classics! 👏👏👏 2y

Eggs @Andrew65 👏🏻🥰🙏🏻 2y

60 likes4 comments

BarbaraJean

Further Chronicles of Avonlea | Lucy Maud Montgomery

so-so

I can‘t believe I forgot to post a review of this… the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead pick for November. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I liked Chronicles of Avonlea so much more than this collection of short stories. There were a few stories I loved (The Materializing of Cecil, The Brother Who Failed), but the blatant racism in the last one (Tannis of the Flats) unfortunately overshadowed those. Also, the repeated themes wore a little thin by the end of this volume.

AnneCecilie I see that we felt the same about this one, even if I would probably still give it a pick since I enjoy Montgomery. The themes got a little too repetitive and most centered around marriage. But that was probably how it was back then. I loved the story where Anne and Diana made a short entrance. 3y

BarbaraJean @AnneCecilie I did enjoy the appearances of characters I knew from the main Anne series! Especially the one where Anne and Diana assist with the wedding-on-a-ladder! Also the little mention of Matthew. 3y

39 likes2 comments

BarbaraJean

Further Chronicles of Avonlea | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: Chronicles/Further Chronicles of Avonlea discussion:

What do you think of LMM‘s short stories in general?

Have you read any of her short stories before?

Would you seek out more of her short fiction, or do you prefer her novels?

BarbaraJean @Rubyslippersreads, @Daisey, @Jerdencon, @Clare-Dragonfly, @AnneCecilie, @quietjenn, @catebutler, @bkwrm7, @JenLovesJT47, @sblbooks, @TheAromaofBooks 3y

Jerdencon This was my first time reading these stories. Some were definitely better than others and overall I think I prefer her novels. 3y

BarbaraJean @Jerdencon Same! I found that I liked the stories in Chronicles much better overall than in Further Chronicles. But the repeated themes got a little tedious, and because of that, I do prefer her full-length fiction. More varied!! 3y

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Clare-Dragonfly Yes, I agree, I prefer the variety in her novels! 3y

TheAromaofBooks I read somewhere that a lot of her short story collections weren't actually published by her (most were published after her death, although I'm not sure about the Chronicles, I know that some of the other “themed“ collections, like Across the Miles & At the Altar were), so I think some of those repetitive themes were also her kind of ironing out a concept. I definitely prefer her novels, but on the whole I'm not a big short-story reader anyway. 3y

quietjenn These are my first Montgomery short stories. I enjoyed them enough that I'll definitely read more in spare moments, although I definitely respond more to the novels. I am fond of short stories though, so nice to have another beloved author to add to the rotation. 3y

sblbooks I've read her Christmas short stories which I liked better than Chronicles. However, I much prefer her novels. 3y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks That‘s really interesting—it makes sense that if she didn‘t assemble the collection herself, the repeated motifs weren‘t necessarily meant to all be read together. Although as @Bkwrm7 noted earlier, apparently many of these were edited to add in the Anne references, so maybe LMM was involved in choosing which stories were included. Either way, she sure did have some favorite tropes…😆 3y

31 likes8 comments

BarbaraJean

Further Chronicles of Avonlea | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: Chronicles/Further Chronicles discussion:
Several stories have problematic themes & content. How do you respond when a work reflects attitudes of its time such as racist stereotypes & terms that are (at best) problematic through a modern lens?
Do you skim/overlook the problem content, looking for something worthwhile in the rest of the work? Or do you skip the work completely?
What, if any, value is there in such works?

BarbaraJean @Rubyslippersreads, @Daisey, @Jerdencon, @Clare-Dragonfly, @AnneCecilie, @quietjenn, @catebutler, @bkwrm7, @JenLovesJT47, @sblbooks, @TheAromaofBooks 3y

Jerdencon I was surprised at the story that had the Native American characters and how blatantly stereotypical and racists they were made out to be. I think it‘s a comment on the time the books were written - it was accepted to think/write that way and I don‘t think a lot of thought was given to it. 3y

BarbaraJean @Jerdencon It really was of its time, but still so awful. I'm always conflicted with content like that in classics. I usually try to skim past/skip over that kind of thing. It‘s cropped up in LMM‘s work before, but it‘s been fleeting references that I could grimace at & move on. But in Tannis, I found it impossible to look past. It was so ingrained throughout the story: the characterization, the plot, the whole perspective. 3y

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TheAromaofBooks I do think that while I don't go out of my way to find authors who dwelt on these kinds of stereotypes, it still holds value to see firsthand how different groups were assessed & judged at the time. Especially someone like Montgomery, overall known as a progressive & forward-thinking individual, yet seeing how she still accepted many of these stereotypes as fact helps me to see how far we have come & how far we still need to go. I would love to ⬇ 3y

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) hear the thoughts of a Native American on stories like this to better understand how these prejudices have shaped their lives. @Jerdencon 3y

quietjenn I read a lot of vintage fiction, so I'm pretty used to taking it in context and finding the value in a work while also acknowledging it's issues. But I really couldn't with Tannnis. It was the worst offender that I've come across in ages and the fact that it was the last story really tainted the entire collection for me. Especially as there were other stories in the latter part of it which, while not as egregious, I really had issues with. 3y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I like your point about how Montgomery was known as progressive and yet still casually included so many racist stereotypes in her work. It‘s instructive to see it first-hand, for sure. Like @quietjenn I had a hard time finding value with Tannis, though—given how blatant the racism was—and for the same reasons, I wish it hadn‘t been the last story in the collection. 3y

sblbooks For the most part , I understand the classics are going to have stereotypes that are no longer acceptable. I still find so much value in reading them. The last short story in for the further Chronicles I could definitely skip, though. 3y

23 likes8 comments

BarbaraJean

Further Chronicles of Avonlea | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: Chronicles/Further Chronicles of Avonlea discussion:

Most collections of short stories will have at least a few misses.
Which stories did you dislike in Chronicles?
Which did you dislike in Further Chronicles?

BarbaraJean
@Rubyslippersreads, @Daisey, @Jerdencon, @Clare-Dragonfly, @AnneCecilie, @quietjenn, @catebutler, @bkwrm7, @JenLovesJT47, @sblbooks, @TheAromaofBooks 3y

Jerdencon I started to dislike all the stories where the dominant family member would make the more passive one make crazy promises about not getting married and not leaving them. Even though it usually worked out in the end - so many stories had that theme. 3y

BarbaraJean @Jerdencon Seriously! There were several tropes that felt repetitive. The promises about not marrying someone, and the lovers parted by a quarrel who are both too proud to make things right. Several of those stories I might have liked if there was only ONE rather than the same theme over & over. Hands down my least favorite was Tannis of the Flats. I almost stopped reading because of the racist comments--it was everywhere & so blatant! 3y

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Clare-Dragonfly As @Jerdencon says, the tropes got repetitive, but otherwise I liked the stories in Chronicles all pretty well—they were sweet. But they got depressing as Further Chronicles went on! I agree with you that Tannis was the worst. It might have been a nice ballad-type sad story if it hadn‘t been so freaking racist. 3y

TheAromaofBooks There was also the one where the guy helps raise the little girl and then she falls in love with him and marries him. Her going away to school helped make it slightly less creepy, but it still felt weird considering he proposed to her MOTHER. And the dominant relative forcing the weaker one to stay single definitely got old after a while. As for Tannis... 😬 @Jerdencon @Clare-Dragonfly 3y

quietjenn As others have mentioned, those stories with the deathbed promises (so many selfish characters and this idea that the a) keeping a promise that you didn't want to make and b) sacrificing your own life/happiness for someone else who doesn't even care are both somehow noble; and the one where the dude falls in love with the girl he helped raises. Yikes. 3y

BarbaraJean @Clare-Dragonfly With Tannis, I felt like the whole thing was so thoroughly racist there wouldn‘t be much left if you took out the racist parts! @TheAromaofBooks @quietjenn Ugh, yes. Can you imagine marrying your mother‘s ex? 😬 3y

sblbooks @TheAromaofBooks The Education of Betty gave me creepy Dean vibes from the Emily series😳 3y

sblbooks @Jerdencon @BarbaraJean @Clare-Dragonfly @quietjenn I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said. All the stories with extended family members trying to guilt trip someone into not getting married, got on my nerves after a while. That last story came out of left field, it was definitely the worst. it's hard for me to believe that was written by LM Montgomery. 3y

18 likes9 comments

BarbaraJean

Further Chronicles of Avonlea | Lucy Maud Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead: Chronicles/Further Chronicles of Avonlea discussion:

What did you think of the reappearance of Anne, Diana, and other characters from the Anne series?

Did the inclusion of these characters work for you or was it distracting?

BarbaraJean @Rubyslippersreads, @Daisey, @Jerdencon, @Clare-Dragonfly, @AnneCecilie, @quietjenn, @catebutler, @bkwrm7, @JenLovesJT47, @sblbooks, @TheAromaofBooks 3y

Bkwrm7 I just read a little bit about these stories on Wikipedia and it really is a Rollings Reliable situation! Most of these were written before the Anne books, but there was demand for more Anne stories, so some names and locations were changed to tie these to her and Avonlea. I don't feel like that hurt the stories, but it didn't add a lot either. The one where it worked best for me was The Winning of Lucinda. 3y

Jerdencon I didn‘t mind it - felt like it gave me a bit ire context to the story. 3y

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BarbaraJean @Bkwrm7 Oh, that's hilarious! You were right! I felt the same, it didn't detract but didn't really add much. I did like the one where Anne & Diana help with the hurried wedding-on-a-ladder. That sounded like an escapade they'd be involved in! But the first-person one from Anne's perspective felt awkward--it didn't sound like Anne. @Jerdencon Yes, I think I most enjoyed there being references to places I was familiar with from the Anne books! 3y

Clare-Dragonfly I thought it was cute when they reappeared! A little silly, but at least Anne was in character. 3y

TheAromaofBooks I agree that the first-person one didn't feel like Anne's voice at all, to the point that I was surprised when I found out she was the one telling the story! But the ladder escapade definitely sounded like an Anne-shenanigan! It was sort of nice having the places be Avonlea & environs just because I kind of have in my mind how far apart(ish) those places are, but on the whole it didn't feel necessary. 3y

quietjenn It was fine, but not altogether necessary. I liked it best when they were casually mentioned, so you could acknowledge it as being part of the same world (like when Matthew was mentioned in passing) but didn't really need them to take center stage. 3y

BarbaraJean @quietjenn I did really like that Matthew reference. It felt like a natural part of the story, whereas some of the Anne references felt a little forced. 3y

sblbooks I don't feel strongly either way. 3y

18 likes9 comments

BarbaraJean

Further Chronicles of Avonlea | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Starting out our #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead with a couple basic intro questions: What were your favorite stories or favorite moments from Chronicles?
What were your favorite stories or moments in Further Chronicles?

BarbaraJean @Rubyslippersreads, @Daisey, @Jerdencon, @Clare-Dragonfly, @AnneCecilie, @quietjenn, @catebutler, @bkwrm7, @JenLovesJT47, @sblbooks, @TheAromaofBooks 3y

Bkwrm7 Favorites from the original Chronicles are Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's and Pa Sloane's Purchase. From Further Chronicles the best were the first two: Aunt Cynthia's Persian Cat and The Materializing of Cecil. 3y

BarbaraJean @Bkwrm7 I loved The Materializing of Cecil! The Brother Who Failed was my other favorite in Further Chronicles. There were several I loved in the first collection: Each in His Own Tongue and The Winning of Lucinda were probably my favorites (I laughed so hard when Lucinda finally broke her silence with “YOU DAMNED IDIOT!“ 😂) The End of a Quarrel was up there as well. 3y

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TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean @Bkwrm7 - Oh, I loved The Brother Who Failed - that one definitely got me all choked up. The Materializing of Cecil was definitely another favorite as well. 3y

quietjenn I liked Chronicles so much more than Further! And actually the first half of Further was fine, it just really went downhill in the second part ... Overall, there was a fair amount of melodrama at play! I need to look up the contents again to cite specific stories! 3y

BarbaraJean @quietjenn Me too, on all counts. In looking back at the contents I realized there were a lot of stories I liked in Further Chronicles—they were just overshadowed by the last half (and Tannis being the last story left me feeling cold toward the entire collection). 3y

sblbooks In Chronicles The Quarantine at Alexander Abrams and the end of a quarrel were my favorites. In Further Chronicles my favorite was Aunt Cynthia's Persian Cat. 3y

19 likes7 comments

BarbaraJean

Further Chronicles of Avonlea | Lucy Maud Montgomery

I enjoyed seeing the Anne & Diana story (and its Miss Lavendar name-drop!), even though Anne & Diana felt like little more than name-drops themselves. But I loved “The Brother Who Failed”… it might be my favorite in this collection. 💜 #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

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BarbaraJean

Further Chronicles of Avonlea | Lucy Maud Montgomery

I‘m *almost* caught up with my story-a-day reading, which means this discussion must be coming soon! 😆 Join us on Sunday to discuss Chronicles of Avonlea and Further Chronicles of Avonlea! I‘ll post some questions mid-day Pacific Time; feel free to jump in when you‘re able. AND… be thinking about whether you‘d like to continue with more #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead-ing. I‘d love to read more L.M. Montgomery together if people are interested.

BarbaraJean @Rubyslippersreads, @Daisey, @Jerdencon, @Clare-Dragonfly, @AnneCecilie, @quietjenn, @catebutler, @bkwrm7, @JenLovesJT47, @sblbooks, @TheAromaofBooks 3y

BarbaraJean As far as continuing the buddy read, I was thinking about taking a break in December, then picking up again with The Story Girl in January. But I‘m open to suggestions… let me know if you‘d like to continue, and if so, what you‘re interested in reading. 😊 I‘m also eyeing a read of the tagged book in December, so there‘s that, too…

Marilla of Green Gables: A Novel

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! I got a little behind on these as well but I'm getting caught up haha I think a December break might be good as I know that I'm going to be doing a lot of holiday reading/holiday craziness, but I'm definitely interested in continuing with some of Montgomery's other books - it's been so long since I've read most of them and it's been really fun to dip back into her writing!! So... keep me posted!!! 3y

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BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Woohoo! Will definitely keep you posted for future Montgomery buddy reading! 3y

Bkwrm7 A December break is probably a good idea, but I'm definitely in for continuing in January! The Story Girl followed by The Golden Road makes sense for the next couple to me. 3y

Jerdencon I‘m in for more! And I do agree with the December break! 3y

JenlovesJT47 I‘d love to read more LMM! I recommend The Story Girl and The Golden Road. ❤️ 3y

JenlovesJT47 Marilla of Green Gables is really good! I‘d love to do a reread and grab the audiobook. 🤗 3y

quietjenn Sure, I'm game for more come the new year. 3y

AnneCecilie I would love to get back to buddy reading on January with The Story Girl 3y

BarbaraJean @Bkwrm7, @Jerdencon, @quietjenn, @AnneCecilie, @JenlovesJT47 - Yaaay! I'll plan on The Story Girl in January and The Golden Road in February. And @JenlovesJT47 - if you'd like to do a casual readalong of Marilla together in December, I'm game! 3y

JenlovesJT47 Would love to read Marilla of Green Gables! Let me know when you want to start. I‘m going to grab the audiobook. 🤗 3y

BarbaraJean @JenlovesJT47 I‘m so sorry I didn‘t get back to you sooner! I can start anytime—I‘ll pull the book off my shelf tonight! Do you want to just read throughout the month and tag each other as we read, or set up some kind of schedule? 3y

JenlovesJT47 Yes that sounds good! I can start it as soon as I finish my current audiobook, probably tomorrow. I‘m excited! 🤓 3y

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