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BarbaraJean
The Holy Bible | Crossway Bibles
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"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the orphan."
—Isaiah 10:1-2

A friend posted this on FB today. Spot on. ?

Butterfinger Yes!!! 2h
AmyG 😢 2h
lil1inblue 💔💔💔 1h
Roary47 💔 41m
TheBookHippie Yup. 21m
18 likes5 comments
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BarbaraJean
Salt Dancers | Ursula Hegi
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There‘s been a pattern forming with #BookSpin for me this year: inevitably one spin lands on one of my #192025 spots and I get to choose something from a range of decades. This month, my #DoubleSpin landed on the 1980s–2000s, and I‘m deciding between the three above. #BookSpin is Salt Dancers by Ursula Hegi—she was an obsession of mine in the early 2000s and several of her books that I bought then still haven‘t been read. This one‘s time has come!

Librarybelle Yay!!! 1d
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Enjoy!! 1d
35 likes2 comments
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BarbaraJean
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Wasn‘t this SAME passage at the beginning of Guards! Guards!? Or another book that featured Vimes? I know I‘ve read this before but I‘ve been reading these from the library, so I can‘t go back and check… 😒 #OokBOokClub

julesG You're referring to Sam Vimes Boots Theory. As far as I know, it's only in Men at Arms. 2d
julesG Checked against the ebook of Guards! Guards!, it's not in there. 2d
Leniverse You've probably read it before because it's famous and gets quoted a lot. 2d
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willaful @Leniverse yes this. I see it on Mastodon about once a week. 2d
Bookwomble "Boots Theory" has its own Wikipedia page ? "Men at Arms" is cited as the source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory 2d
BarbaraJean @julesG Thanks for checking on my behalf! @Leniverse @willaful This MUST be the reason, although my heart feels sure I read it in Guards 😆 @Bookwomble If only I‘d not been so lazy and had googled it myself! 1d
Bookwomble @BarbaraJean That's what community is about 😁 1d
29 likes7 comments
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BarbaraJean
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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A bingo for June! 🎉🎉 My #DoubleSpin has been read, and I‘ll likely finish my #BookSpin today.

June favorites:
Woodworking
The Library at Night

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Fantastic month!! 2d
29 likes1 comment
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BarbaraJean
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I get daily emails from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer ( https://ahundredfallingveils.com ) and Brian Andreas/Flying Edna Studios. They dovetailed beautifully today!

Three Things to Remember at the Start of Every Day
1. This is your real life.
2. Joy is easier to see when you quit complaining.
3. You never know what the third thing is going to be until later, so try to pay attention so you don‘t miss it.
'three things' by brian andreas

Poem below ⤵️

BarbaraJean Only when I stop hiking
do I finally see the flowers
of the wild blueberries,
first one, then five, then
they are everywhere—
everywhere! How did I
miss all the tiny pink bells
that will soon become
dark sweet fruit? How often,
in my haste, do I miss
what is right here, the thing
I most long to see? Once
I start seeing the blueberry
flowers, I can't stop seeing
them. Sometimes it's like
this with kindness. With peace.
With beauty. With love.
⤵️
2d
BarbaraJean “Sacred Pause” by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer ( https://ahundredfallingveils.com/2025/06/30/sacred-pause/ ) (edited) 2d
24 likes2 comments
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BarbaraJean
Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset
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Kristin is determined to marry Erlend, but her emotions shift and change as the marriage approaches. What is your take on Kristin‘s motivation: how much of her ultimate choice to marry Erlend is due to her own desire, and how much is due to the societal/religious pressure she feels?

What do you make of the revelations about Kristin‘s parents and their marriage that we discover at the end of the novel?

#KLBR #DoorstopKristin discussion - 4/4

AnneCecilie I was shocked by the revelation at the end. That came out of nowhere. When it comes to Kristin, she has to wait two years to marry Erland and maybe some of her love has faded a little by that time. 3d
AmyG Oh, I‘m not done yet so I don‘t know about her parents. I feel like her love for Erland ebbed and flowed. I always got the impression that she felt more about doing what was right but I do think she loved Erland. 3d
Ruthiella I think she genuinely wants to be with Erland. But that first glow is wearing off and she‘s beginning to see his weak side and flaws. If she was really concerned with societal pressures, she would have married Simon. The reveal about her parents is for the reader, to show that not everything is as it seems on the surface. What a waste on both sides-if they‘d only been honest with each other from the beginning. (edited) 3d
lauraisntwilder Being totally honest, I kept hoping she'd decide to be a nun. Erland gave me the creeps and Simon seemed nice enough, but she didn't love him. I loved the ending! I have my fingers crossed that the revelation shared between Kristin's parents will mean they're happier going forward. 3d
Andrea313 I think Kristin's feelings on Erland slowly changed but she doubled down on her feelings and her decision regardless, and I don't believe societal pressure factored in. I'm torn because on one hand, I love an independent, flawed woman making strong decisions guided by her own feelings and sense of what's right. On the other, dude is a walking red flag so I'm staying firmly Team Spinster, or joining in with @lauraisntwilder to manifest Nun Kristin. 3d
7 likes5 comments
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BarbaraJean
Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset
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Several women in the text have transgressed against the moral norms of the time, from Fru Aashild to Erlend‘s mistress, Eline—and as we later discover, even Kristin‘s mother Ragnfrid. Do you think Undset includes these women and their circumstances as simply a mirror of the times, as a moral warning, or as a critique of the expectations placed on women of the time?

#KLBR #DoorstopKristin discussion - 3/4

AmyG Perhaps both? I don‘t know much about the author and her feelings. 3d
Ruthiella I think she is showing us the humanity of the past. People were not so different from us in medieval times nor in the 20th century when this was written nor are they now so different 100 years later. Society has its strictures but then as now, we don‘t always fit within that framework. (edited) 3d
lauraisntwilder @Ruthiella I agree. People are people, no matter what year it is. 3d
Andrea313 I don't know the author's intentions, but I do love that we saw three very different women whose circumstances felt timeless in varying degrees. I gotta say, Fru Aashild took me on a wild ride! Loved her at first, then turned on her when she was all-in for the escape and elopement, then was ultimately grateful she was there for Kristin. And I did feel that in Eline, we might be looking at K's future, even in part. 😬 3d
3 likes4 comments
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BarbaraJean
Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset
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Kristin struggles between her desire for Erlend and her family‘s (and society‘s) expectations. What role does her personal faith play in this struggle? What role does family play?

Kristin‘s relationship with her father is central in her life, and they are both pained by the rift that results due to Kristin‘s separation from Simon and her desire for Erlend. What role do you see Lavrans playing in Kristin‘s growth?

#KLBR #DoorstopKristin 2/4

AnneCecilie I read that Unset wrote this trilogy as a response to a discussion in Norway at the time regarding the influence religion had on people. Her viewpoint was that religion and Catholicism had influenced the Norwegian society tremendously 3d
AmyG Kirsten didn‘t want to bring shame upon her family. She especially loved her father. So she sid her best to do what was right, considering her condition. She, throughout the book, was very concerned with doing right by the Church. (edited) 3d
Ruthiella Well, Kristen is religious, but it doesn‘t stop her from behaving in a way that‘s contrary to what her religion teaches her. She looks for reconciliation after the “sin”. The fact that she is willing to break with her father to be with Erland is most telling. That rift between her and her father is I think the most painful thing for her. It shows her growing in to her own person, separate from her family and parents. (edited) 3d
lauraisntwilder It's interesting because the church in Norway, according to the book, didn't expect priests to be celibate. I think Kristin's approach was similar -- she wanted to do the right thing, but she was also practical and knew her own limitations. I think her obligations to her father and sister made her feel a lot more guilt than she did about the church. 3d
Deblovestoread I think it hurt her deeply to have a rift in her relationship with her father but even in the guilt of knowing she wasn‘t acting as she should her love was strongest of all. 3d
3 likes5 comments
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BarbaraJean
Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset
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What differences do you see between Arne, Simon, and Erlend—and Kristin‘s relationships with each one? Are there any similarities between the three men?

How do the women in Kristin‘s life shape her growth, especially her mother, Ragnfrid and Fru Aashild? What about her sister Ulvhild?

#KLBR #DoorstopKristin discussion - 1/4

AnneCecilie I think Arne represents her childhood, a time of innocence. Simon was her parents choice and she doesn‘t seem to have many feelings towards him in any direction. Erlend brings out her passion and as a teenager it‘s easy to confuse a first love for everlasting love 3d
AmyG Yes @AnneCecilie I agree with that. Erland was handsome and charming…Kirsten didn‘t stand a chance as she was yound and naive. I read books 1 and 2 a few years ago and don‘t remember much about her mother and sisters. (edited) 3d
Ruthiella Arne is friendship, Simon is security, Erland is lust. Ideally we would have all three in one person. Erland may change with time, but right now I don‘t find his behavior honorable. Arne and Simon showed her more respect. Fru Aashild is the one who influences her most in her choice of husband. She unwittingly encouraged her. I don‘t know that her mother had much influence. Kristen is so very much a daddy‘s girl. (edited) 3d
Deblovestoread Agree with all three of you. Had she been older she might have seen Arne as more than a friend and Simon would have been the safe choice but first loves overtake everything. She was definitely a daddy‘s girl and her mom kept her at arm‘s length. 3d
5 likes4 comments
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BarbaraJean
Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset
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Welcome to our first #KLBR discussion, on Kristin Lavransdatter Book One—“The Wreath.” I‘ll tag everyone here, but not in subsequent posts (because long tag lists on Litsy are difficult these days). Questions will be posted separately under spoiler tags. You can find the questions via the #KLBR and #DoorstopKristin tags, on my page, or on the book‘s page.

Also, I‘ll post a couple of resources I found helpful in the comments below.

TheBookHippie I love this read I hope everyone is enjoying it! 3d
BarbaraJean @TheBookHippie I'm loving it but also OUCH. 3d
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AnneCecilie I have some mixed feelings about this one. I‘m reading the original text and the Norwegian was quite hard to get through. I can‘t remember the last time I hade to look up so many words. She writes in Norwegian but will includes Norse, Catholic and Danish words, I want to include Swedish too. She‘s also changes the sentence structure 3d
AmyG I am almost finished. It‘s an amazing book. 3d
Deblovestoread Finished Book One. Slow to start, but loved it. Looking forward to the next. 3d
AmyG @Deblovestoread For a big book and a slowish read…it goes fast. (If that makes sense). 3d
Librarybelle I‘ll join in when I finish book one! Barely started, unfortunately, but I‘ll get there! 3d
Andrea313 @TheBookHippie I really, really loved Book 1 and am eager to start Book 2! 3d
TheBookHippie @BarbaraJean yes lots of OUCH. 3d
TheBookHippie @AmyG I think it reads quickly too! 3d
rubyslippersreads I‘m behind but loving it. 2d
rubyslippersreads @Librarybelle I‘m glad I‘m not the only one. 2d
Librarybelle @rubyslippersreads @Bklover We‘ll catch up eventually! 2d
39 likes16 comments
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BarbaraJean
BookSpinBingo | Untitled
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I was waiting till after last night‘s IRL book club meeting to post my #BookSpin list, so I‘d know our book pick for July. We still haven‘t landed on a final choice. 😂 So here‘s my list with a placeholder spot for IRL book club!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3d
30 likes1 comment
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BarbaraJean
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June #DoubleSpin complete! Which I might not have done if it wasn‘t for my IRL book club. This didn‘t work for me on several levels. I don‘t usually enjoy pseudo-fictional nonfiction, where the message is presented as a story. For me, this generally yields a gimmicky, sub-par story—I‘d rather you say what you want to say instead of shoehorning your points into the mouths of preachy/quirky characters. That‘s pretty much how I felt about this. ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d - 1/4) Also, just as a text about music, it ignores or postures as superior to certain types of music, which rubbed me the wrong way. My experience with music is largely classical—I grew up singing in choirs and playing violin; in college, I sang in my college‘s concert choir and played in the chamber orchestra. While some of what Wooten advocates is absolutely applicable to all forms of music, a good 70% of it ignores/dismisses whole ⤵️ 5d
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d - 2/4) …eras of music as well as those kinds of ensembles.

Add to this, threaded throughout is a bunch of woo-woo content where words like Life and Music are always capitalized. Characters heal injuries from a car accident by singing over the victim, the effects of noise pollution in a nature preserve are rebalanced through an idyllic song session where frogs and snakes come up and rest in the laps of the singers, and the characters ⤵️
5d
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d - 3/4) …befriend a red-shouldered hawk when one of them sends an “intention bubble” over to it. This might be someone else‘s jam, but it‘s eye-roll-inducing to me!

I respect that Wooten didn‘t want to write a traditional instructional book about music, and that he wanted to weave in parallels to life as well as music. I respect that he advocated getting away from worrying about the right notes, and emphasized often-ignored elements ⤵️
(edited) 5d
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BarbaraJean (Cont‘d - 4/4) …like space & listening, but in the end, this just didn‘t work for me. There was some good content, but presented as it was, it mostly annoyed me.

I listened to half on audio, which would have been a great way to experience the book if I had liked it better! The audio includes musical themes throughout—within scenes & at the beginning of each chapter—which was wonderful. But I wanted to finish more quickly, so I switched to print.
5d
Tamra Well, I‘m guessing he wouldn‘t appreciate my Sanford & Son theme music post. 😂 5d
BarbaraJean @Tamra Haha--I love it! 5d
TheAromaofBooks This sounds like maybe it's the music handbook for Disney princesses? 😂 5d
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks 😂 😂 That's exactly what my musician husband said about the scene I described!! 4d
29 likes8 comments
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BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
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Hello, Kindred Spirits! Just a quick check-in on how your reading is going this week!

How are you enjoying Emily of New Moon so far?
What stands out to you from this week's chapters?

I‘m loving Emily and her world, as always. Emily is a delight and Cousin Jimmy is such a gift to her grieving spirit. I love seeing the parallels between Emily‘s writing and LMM‘s writing. And I want to shake Aunt Elizabeth. 😡

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

rubyslippersreads While you‘re shaking Aunt Elizabeth, give Ellen Greene a smack for me. 😠 5d
JenlovesJT47 Have you watched the show? They picked the perfect person to play Aunt Elizabeth. 💚💚💚 5d
kwmg40 This is a reread for me, and I‘m enjoying it very much so far. 5d
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BarbaraJean @rubyslippersreads Yes! And I'll also throw in a slap for Miss Brownell. @JenlovesJT47 I haven't yet! I think I'll wait to finish this re-read. Glad to know they cast her well! @kwmg40 💜 💜 5d
rubyslippersreads @BarbaraJean Miss Brownell! 😡 5d
rubyslippersreads @BarbaraJean And let‘s not forget Aunt Ruth. 5d
BarbaraJean @rubyslippersreads So many people to slap. 5d
TheAromaofBooks Urgh, this book is so frustrating because it feels like basically every adult in Emily's life is ignorant, mean-spirited and/or too weak to stick up for her. Aunt Elizabeth shouldn't be allowed within 100 years of a child; was there ever someone with less understanding?! However, it's been SO interesting to pick up on parallels to LMM's childhood. I also recognized a few of the New Moon stories as belonging to her family (especially how their ⬇ 5d
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) family ended up on PEI). Unpopular opinion, I'm really not that fond of Aunt Laura, either. She's obviously better than the others, but the way she just passively lets things happen to Emily, and then encourages Emily to just disobey behind Aunt Elizabeth's back! It drives me a little crazy. 5d
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Every time I read this I discover I've forgotten just how bad 90% of the adults are. The way Elizabeth gets all snippy and lecture-y when Emily is crying, the night of her father's funeral?!?! 😡😡😡

I get where you're coming from with Aunt Laura. I'm SO glad Emily has Laura and Jimmy who actually love her and make her feel loved, but just encouraging Emily to sneak around behind Elizabeth's back is NOT the way to handle things.
4d
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks And YES, I'm loving recognizing some of the New Moon stories from LMM's family lore! “Here I Stay“ is such a great tale, especially knowing it actually happened! 4d
22 likes11 comments
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BarbaraJean
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#5JoysFriday

1. This reminder in my email to choose joy: https://flyingedna.com/products/choose-joy-storyblock?_pos=3&_sid=a72972f17&_ss=...
2. Fantastic session with my spiritual director
3. Lunch with a friend, and the beautiful homemade journal she gave me 💜
4. Finishing my Book nook! 😍
5. This India Rose Crawford video of Frog painting water lilies: https://fb.watch/AuGIVn_uHs/?mibextid=wwXIfr

AnnCrystal 💖💝💝💝💝. 6d
dabbe 🩵💙🩵 5d
30 likes2 comments
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BarbaraJean
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Seen on the interwebs. 😂

I think Austen girl summer could be expanded in many directions, though. Alternate versions: Holiday in Bath, “What are men to rocks and mountains,” the pleasures of Brighton, and “I should infinitely prefer a book.” Also unwanted proposals.

AmyG That is very funny. 1w
Librarybelle I love this! 1w
nanuska_153 I am having an Austen summer, here just to make a sport for my neighbours, and laugh at them in my turn 1w
BarbaraJean @nanuska_153 Haha—a perfect Austen summer! 1w
47 likes4 comments
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BarbaraJean
Audition | Katie Kitamura
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Um… I… hmm. Okay.

I appreciate what the author is doing here, but I didn‘t so much enjoy reading it. I like how the book mirrors the play at the center of the book, but in the end I‘m not satisfied with what she did include (or rather, what she left out). Two contradictory halves that play with the concepts of perception, reality, and performance—and kind of rely on the reader to make meaning of it all—left me frustrated. I read for characters, ⬇

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d - 1/7) …story, and ideas, but also for meaning—and this was interesting but felt hollow (and honestly—a little lazy!). I don‘t regret reading it (partly because it‘s short enough that I read it in two afternoons), and am glad it was part of #CampLitsy25 even if I came to the discussion late due to uncooperative library holds. For me, this is a better book for discussion than enjoyment! Further thoughts under (many) spoiler tags below: ⬇ 1w
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d - 2/7) I read this as the author setting up the play within the narrative as a mirror to the book, especially with that central scene, which the narrator cannot get a hold on. She says: “that scene continued to resist me, it was the one thing I couldn‘t fully parse, and without it I was unable to make sense of the part as a whole.” I felt like this about the book as a whole. The author left out the center that would have allowed ⬇ (edited) 1w
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d - 3/7) …the reader to make sense of the whole. There were a bunch of clues scattered throughout that, to me, indicated that the author intended this close mirroring, leaving the center and the interpretation to the reader. But I feel like it‘s a lazy choice to make on the part of the author: to ask the reader to create the center of the work, which the author herself didn‘t include. In the quote I cited above, the narrator goes on: ⬇ (edited) 1w
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BarbaraJean (Cont‘d - 4/7) “I had begun to wonder if in fact there was some hollowness in the construction of the scene itself. The structure and the narrative of the play demanded that the scene contain a process of transformation, a moment of alchemy and transition, but in truth I couldn‘t find the basis for that metamorphosis in what had been written on the page.” Similarly, I couldn‘t find within the text the basis for a center that would hold together ⬇ (edited) 1w
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d - 5/7) …the two halves.

I was fascinated by several passages in the second half that indicated a dual reality: “…when I looked back on his childhood, he [Xavier] was at once there but also not there.”
“I thought about my relationship with Xavier, when I looked back upon it, my memory was alarmingly inconsistent and full of gaps, so that I could not really say how it had been, at various stages of his life, his childhood and adolescence.”⬇
(edited) 1w
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d - 6/7) But again, the book seemed to lack the transitional piece that would have made sense of that dual reality or provided a frame for the disconnection and contradictory narratives. It seemed the author was relying on the reader to supply that, and while I respect that choice, it felt lazy to me to withhold it, expecting the reader to do the work of making the narrative hang together. ⬇ (edited) 1w
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d - 7/7) To reference a future #CampLitsy25 book, my reaction to this book reminded me of Zelu‘s criticism of her students‘ work in Death of the Author! Now to read part 2 of the Camp Litsy discussion and hear everyone else‘s interpretations of this book…

@squirrelbrain @Megabooks @BarbaraBB
1w
BkClubCare Very nice commentary 👏 1w
BarbaraJean (Cont'd 8/7 😂) And another thing! So many people have talked about an unreliable narrator here... and I disagree. I didn't feel the narrator was unreliable, but I felt that the *author* was unreliable. I think that's why this book was so frustrating to me. 1w
BarbaraJean @BkClubCare Thank you!! I had a lot to say about a short book I didn't really enjoy... 😂 😂 1w
AnnCrystal Thank you for this review, I've read mixed reviews, and I've been wondering about this one. 👏🏼☺️📚💝. 1w
BkClubCare @BarbaraJean - I especially was struck by “better book for discussion than enjoyment”; good thing it was a camp book! 🏕️ 1w
squirrelbrain I agree with @BkClubCare - a perfect description of this book. I enjoyed our discussions far more than the actual book itself! 1w
CarolynM You make some excellent points. I enjoyed it anyway 😊 1w
40 likes14 comments
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BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
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Juxtapositions like these are one of the reasons I‘m so enjoying reading LMM‘s journals alongside a re-read of her books!

Top: quote from Aug. 4, 1923 — just weeks before Emily of New Moon was published
Bottom: quote from chapter 1 in Emily of New Moon

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread #LMMJournals

JenlovesJT47 💚💚💚 1w
TheAromaofBooks I am really interested to see what connections we find between Emily and LMM (and later - Pat and LMM) 1w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I am SO interested to read the journals alongside Pat! I remember you really not liking the Pat books--do you think you'll re-read this time? 1w
TheAromaofBooks I still have never read Mistress Pat, but I probably will reread Pat of Silver Bush despite saying I wasn't going to read it again ever 😂 1w
33 likes4 comments
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BarbaraJean
Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset
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Hello to my fellow #DoorstopKristin #KLBR readers! Next week, we‘ll be discussing book one: The Wreath. I finished it over the weekend and—ooof! It‘s SO good but emotionally rough! I hope your reading is going well, and I look forward to hearing everyone‘s thoughts next week.

Ruthiella I just finished book one yesterday. Emotionally rough is right! 😬😢😅 (edited) 1w
staci.reads I haven't gotten to this, so you can take me off the tag list 😔 1w
Suet624 So good. 1w
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Daisey I just made it to part 3 of Book 1. It‘s going to be a busy week, but I hope to make it through the rest of this section in time for the discussion. 1w
Deblovestoread I have finished book one and will start the next when I finish 1w
Deblovestoread Loved it! 1w
AnneCecilie I finished earlier this month and has mixed feelings 1w
BarbaraJean @staci.reads I understand! Will do. (edited) 1w
julieclair I still haven‘t started, so I think you can take me off the tag list, please. 😕 I will put it on my list for #AllergicToChunksters, which means I will eventually get to it. Then I can loop back to these discussions, because they‘ll be there waiting! Thank you for hosting. 💙 4d
julieclair I tried to listen on audio, since my “sit down and read” time is scarce these days, but between the accent and the unfamiliar names, it just wasn‘t working for me. 😕 4d
BarbaraJean @julieclair I understand! I don't think I'd be able to absorb this on on audio, either. I need to SEE unfamiliar names! 4d
40 likes11 comments
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BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
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I was really excited about re-reading Emily of New Moon by listening to this audiobook narrated by Megan Follows. Until I saw it‘s abridged. 😭 Maybe I‘ll read it in print and then go back afterwards to listen and see what they cut out. #LMMReread #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

TheBookHippie Oh dear. 1w
lauraisntwilder ☹️ I see no reason for this book to have been abridged. 1w
BarbaraJean @TheBookHippie I‘m SO disappointed! @lauraisntwilder Right?!? How could Megan Follows be part of this kind of travesty?! 1w
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TheBookHippie @BarbaraJean it makes no sense. 1w
willaful Good grief! It's hardly a super long book! 1w
BarbaraJean @willaful I was thinking it was longer than Anne by about 100 pages, but I just looked it up, and at least in the Bantam paperbacks, it's all of 30 pages longer than Anne. 🙄 1w
31 likes1 stack add6 comments
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BarbaraJean
Summer Haikus | S. J. Pajonas
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More quality content for the #haikuhive, @dabbe 😂

Susanita 🤣🤣 2w
LeahBergen 😆 2w
Bookwomble 😂 2w
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dabbe #sheerawesomeness!!! 🖤🐝🖤 2w
DebinHawaii 😂🐝😂💛 2w
AnnCrystal 👏🏼🐝😂🐝💝. 2w
Centique Brilliant!!! 2w
JenlovesJT47 😅😅😅 1w
49 likes8 comments
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BarbaraJean
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Just browsed through Goodreads‘ list of upcoming/new releases and have now added 4 more books to my library holds (and 7 others to my Goodreads TBR). 😬😍 Anticipating a new Thursday Murder Club makes me super happy, and I‘m SO EXCITED the new Morrigan Crow is finally being released! It‘s been so long I may need to re-read the first three…

Daisey I just ordered the Morrigan Crow book for my nephew. He‘s also been impatiently waiting for it to come out. 2w
Centique Im so excited to hear about the Morrigan Crow! 2w
34 likes2 comments
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BarbaraJean
Emily of New Moon | Lucy Maud Montgomery
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Tomorrow begins the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead of Emily of New Moon! I‘ll post weekly check-ins, and we‘ll discuss the book in full on Saturday, July 12. Schedule is above. All are welcome—please comment if you‘re not tagged and you‘d like to be!

#LMMReread #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

rubyslippersreads I‘m not sure if I‘ll reread (I bet I‘ve read it at least 50 times 😁), but I‘ll definitely chime in with comments. 2w
TheBookHippie I adore this read! Enjoy!!! 2w
JenlovesJT47 I read this a couple of years ago and loved it, sounds like a great time for a reread! P.S. Has anyone ever watched the show Emily of New Moon? It‘s pretty good. Got the whole series for $10 awhile back. 🩷 2w
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willaful Oh, I haven't read this in so long. I think I'd like to join in! 2w
BarbaraJean @willaful Yay! I‘ll tag you! 2w
BarbaraJean @JenlovesJT47 I have an Emily of New Moon series saved in my Hoopla favorites but haven‘t watched it yet—maybe I need to do that this summer! 2w
TheAromaofBooks When I read Emily the first time I found the series depressing and said I wasn't going to read them again - but I honestly can't resist rereading them within the context of everything we've been learning about LMM, so I guess I'm in again! 😂 2w
rubyslippersreads @willaful I‘m jealous of you getting to read it for the first time. 2w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Hahaha! The Emily books really are much darker than Anne… but I do love them. I‘m glad you‘re in for a re-read—I‘m enjoying this chronological buddy read so much!! 2w
TheAromaofBooks I am, too! I was not expecting rereading these within LMM's life-context to make such a difference but it really is! 2w
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BarbaraJean
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“I don't know whether I shall *ever* become sensible enough *not* to go to see screen versions of my favorite books. I am afraid I won't because I have been disappointed often enough to cure me of the foolishness if I were curable… I would resolve never to go to see another book-film if I thought I could keep it but I know I cannot. I will always go to them when occasion offers and always be sorry I did.”

#LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead ⤵️

BarbaraJean One of the things I enjoy most about reading LMM‘s journals is how thoroughly relatable she is as a reader—I love reading her thoughts on what she‘s reading, and this quote on film adaptations of favorite books is SO true! 2w
TheAromaofBooks This made me laugh, too! Apparently this has been true since the invention of movies! 😂 2w
lauraisntwilder Yes! This had to have been even worse then than it is now, since film has progressed by leaps and bounds since then. She had such an active imagination (I'm thinking, specifically, of her day alone at the lake envisioning a vacation with all her favorite people) that I think her perceptions of how a character looks and sounds must have felt completely real. 2w
Daisey This is a great and relatable quote! 2w
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BarbaraJean
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#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals
Volume 5: Preface—Aug. 29, 1923

✍🏻What stood out to you from our past two weeks of reading Volume 5 in LMM‘s journals?
✍🏻What themes in LMM‘s thought do you see that recall previous journals? Do you see any themes newly emerging in this volume?
✍🏻What are you most enjoying about LMM‘s journals?

BarbaraJean The Pickering lawsuit naturally recalls earlier (and ongoing!) lawsuits with the Pages. It‘s so interesting to me that this prolonged legal wrangling was such a part of LMM‘s life! Pickering was a scoundrel and I really enjoyed reading how although he unfairly won his suit, he very much lost in the court of public opinion and never got his hands on LMM‘s cash. There‘s also so much foreshadowing that stood out to me here. ⤵️ (edited) 2w
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) @TheAromaofBooks mentioned LMM‘s comments about Chester last week, and I noticed so many more similar comments this week as well. The number of times she wonders about how her boys will be when they grow up, whether one of them will break her heart 🥺 Also foreshadowing: I was perhaps disproportionately interested in the couple of places she comments on suicide (May 10, 1922–p. 32 and Jan. 2, 1923–p. 107) 2w
TheAromaofBooks Yes on the suicide - I had marked those passages as well! I know we can never know for sure, but I do genuinely believe that she did commit suicide in the end, so her saying things like, “I just have to be here for as long as my children need me“ etc felt ominous and very sad. There were several mentions of things like, “I may also have a child who breaks my heart someday“ that really make me wonder how much trouble she was already having with ⬇ 2w
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TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) Chester. The Pickering lawsuit was fascinating and frustrating! He didn't get the money, but the amount of emotional and mental stress LMM went through - !!! Although I do think that ties back in part to her being SO sensitive about public opinion. There were several times through these passages where her innate snobbery came through as well, things like “he was marrying someone far below him“ despite not having anything specifically ⬇ 2w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) wrong with the bride - just the “wrong“ family. Her bittersweet visit to the Island was both happy and yet also hard to read. The main takeaway from these two weeks for me was just how lonely, lonely, lonely she was. She didn't have anyone she felt like she could truly trust or even truly laugh with, and it's SO sad. 2w
lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks The Pickering lawsuit stands out, of course, and I also noted those passages about suicide, but to your point about her snobbery -- I couldn't believe it when she maligned one of Pickering's witnesses for being a "home child." 2w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Oh, definitely--her stress over the Pickering case was closely tied to her fears of “what people will say.“ Which ties to the snobbery, I think! I'm fascinated by how often I'll be thinking what a kindred spirit Maud is, then she'll make some snobby comment and I'll think, “Oh, right, Maud is judgy like that,“ like I know her personally 😂 @lauraisntwilder Ugh, yes. Stuff like that crops up and really catches me off guard. 1w
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BarbaraJean
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😂😂 I must go in quest of people named Wickham. In the meantime, who‘d like to take a turn about the room?

Martyn_J_Pass It‘s even funnier in the Colin Firth version - a turn about the room 😂😂 (edited) 2w
Deblovestoread ❤️❤️❤️ 2w
rubyslippersreads I should have been a very great whist player if I had ever learnt. 🤣 2w
BarbaraJean @rubyslippersreads A true proficient! 😆 2w
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BarbaraJean
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#5JoysFriday!

1. Pictures and messages from friends who were able to attend protests on Saturday—as well as seeing the fantastic turnout nationwide and the hopeful, joyful spirit that prevailed
2. Attending a fantastic workshop on deconstruction and movements of liberation
3. Lunch reunion with college friends
4. Time with family—my sister was in town and I got to spend time with her, my niece, and grand-niece
5. Memes 😂

dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 2w
AnnCrystal ✊🏼💝💝💝💝💝. 2w
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BarbaraJean
Audition | Katie Kitamura
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Late to camp, starting my homework today 🤪 #CampLitsy25

Now if only I could get a skip-the-line copy of Wild Dark Shore…

BarbaraBB That would be great, WDS is so good! 2w
squirrelbrain That‘s a long line - congrats on skipping! 2w
Megabooks It‘s so frustrating when the library doesn‘t come through at the right time!! Enjoy Audition! 2w
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BarbaraJean
Summer Haikus | S. J. Pajonas
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I‘m not in the #haikuhive but I came across this advice and thought it might be helpful. 😂😂🤣

I texted it to a couple friends and we collaboratively wrote the following:
Show me that butthole
We all have one, no big deal
Peace out, my bitches

I really think we‘re onto something.

Bookwormjillk 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 very tempted to write that on the wall in my office bathroom 2w
TheBookHippie 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🏆 2w
lil1inblue 😘🤌🏻 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I adore this. 2w
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lil1inblue @Bookwormjillk I could have too much fun with this... 2w
kspenmoll 😂😂😂 2w
LeahBergen 😂😂 2w
dabbe #sheerawesomeness! If you ever want to join … 🤩 2w
JenlovesJT47 😅😅😅 2w
BarbaraJean @Bookwormjillk I think the bathroom would be a great place to write this, an entirely appropriate setting for asking people to show their buttholes 😂🤣 2w
BarbaraJean @dabbe Well, you see the kind of stellar content I might provide… 🤣🤣 2w
dabbe @BarbaraJean I. LOVE. IT. 🤣🤩🤣 2w
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BarbaraJean
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“I used to think that Christian contemplation was reserved for white men who leave copies of C.S. Lewis's letters strewn about and know a great deal about coffee and beard oils. If this is you, there is room for you here. But I am interested in reclaiming a contemplation that is not exclusive to whiteness, intellectualism, ableism, or mere hobby. And as a Black woman, I am disinterested in any call to spirituality that divorces my mind from ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) …my body, voice, or people. To suggest a form of faith that tells me to sit down alone and be quiet? It does not rest easy on the bones. It is a shadow of true contemplative life, and it would do violence to my Black-woman soul.” 2w
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BarbaraJean
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed Tyler Merritt‘s memoir, I Take My Coffee Black, and this? SAME. Tyler chronicles his cancer diagnosis and subsequent journey through treatment—from his initial major surgery to a hilarious level of TMI regarding subsequent recovery and other procedures. Woven throughout are his reflections and realizations, from the serious (faith, family, friendships, mortality, racial injustice) to the ridiculous (musical theater, pop culture ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) …and an extended commentary on the lasting scars inflicted by a childhood reading of Where the Red Fern Grows). It‘s all so open, vulnerable, and relatable. His heart and soul shine through and I dare you to not fall in love with this beautiful person. I especially loved hearing his voice—his passion and emotion—reading the audiobook. 3w
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BarbaraJean
Black Sheep | Georgette Heyer
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Pickpick

This was SO MUCH FUN. I loved Miles & Abigail—their banter, humor, and romance, as well as the contrast & balance that becomes apparent between these two such well-matched characters. Heyer just gets everything right: Abigail‘s pitch-perfect near-caricature relatives—lovable and infuriating by turns—a surprising but thoroughly appealing male love interest, and comeuppance where it is due. ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) The ending is WAY too abrupt, but also adorable. All the praise for my May #DoubleSpin + 1966 pick for #192025. @TheAromaofBooks @Librarybelle 3w
Ruthiella Love your paperback collection! 3w
LeahBergen I liked this one, too! 3w
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TheAromaofBooks This is a favorite of mine. One thing I love is how often Heyer writes about slightly older heroines - instead of her being 16 or 17 and yearning for love, she's in her late 20s and happily single. And the way these two hit it off as friends at first just delights me! 3w
Librarybelle Lovely paperback edition! 3w
BarbaraJean @Ruthiella @Librarybelle Thank you! Library book sales have provided so many treasures! 2w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Yes, I loved that, too! This one could so easily have been about the niece, but Heyer chooses the less-conventional (and far more interesting) heroine instead. And the friends first vibe is my favorite (forever influenced by Anne and Gilbert!) 2w
CarolynM There are so many Heyer‘s I fear I‘ll never read them all, but I will look out for this one😊 2w
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BarbaraJean
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“Proper gentleman‘s sport, hunting. When you see the fear in an animal‘s eyes, it‘s about superiority, *dominance*…”
“haha I would like to leave”

“I hope your disappointment will not be lasting, but nothing could be farther from my wishes. I can‘t imagine *ever* falling in love and have *no thoughts of ever getting married.*”
“…Oh-ho. I see. You‘re *testing* me.”
“Philip no”
“Young ladies love to be chased…”
“You are entirely mistaken”

😂😩🙄

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BarbaraJean
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Pickpick

This was a sweet Jane-Austen-inspired graphic novel with a queer/trans twist. I loved the characters and the artwork, and really appreciated the way the book acknowledges the reality of queer and BIPOC experiences in the Regency era, yet still maintains a delightfully lighthearted tone—with humor and a sweet romance. The historical notes at the end give great context and really ground the story in its Regency-era setting.

TheBookHippie I agree it‘s very sweet. 3w
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BarbaraJean
Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset
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#DoorstopKristin check-in! How‘s your reading going? I‘m moving along steadily—I finished part 2 this week and am finding it so readable. I have to admit that although I feel for her, I‘ve been a little frustrated with Kristin. And I‘m not a fan of Erlend! What are your thoughts on Kristin and Erlend? And Simon? #KLBR

AmyG I‘m on the third book. I love Kristen. Erland, meh. Simon? Not sure. 3w
Ruthiella I just got to Erland and I‘m worried that he‘s going to mess up her life somehow. Regardless of how I might feel about Simon, she is betrothed and living in a society where engagements are not easily broken.😬 3w
Texreader I‘m almost finished with the first book. I‘m fed up with both of them, but I remember being 16-17… 3w
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Butterfinger @Texreader Kristin Lavransdotter was my very first book for #FoodandLit because we chose Norway due to your husband's homeland. The Greenlanders reminds me so much of that book. The writing style, names, the way the houses were built. 3w
Texreader @Butterfinger That‘s so awesome!! I‘ll look forward to reading The Greenlanders! 3w
Andrea313 Just finished Book 2 and have been *screaming* for Kristin to stay away from Erland. I'm mixed on Simon and if I had to declare a side, I'd vote Team Spinster. 😭 3w
Deblovestoread I just finished Part 1. It stayc slow but I'm all in now. 3w
rubyslippersreads I‘m behind, as usual, but enjoying it. 2w
Caterina I finished Part 1 and I'm so sad. 😭 But it's so good! I wanted to read it this weekend, but I was in the hospital. Looking forward to reading it more while I recover this week. 😊 2w
julieclair Starting it today. 🤞 2w
julieclair @caterina Hope you are healing well! 💝 2w
Caterina @julieclair I am, thank you! 😊 2w
BarbaraJean @Andrea313 Team Spinster all the way. I'm wishing she'd gone off with the elf maiden. Actually, now that I've said that, I want to read a fanfic where she went off with the elf maiden. 3d
Andrea313 @BarbaraJean I have no doubt that two or twenty versions have been written! 😭 3d
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BarbaraJean
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Quick #LMMJournals check-in! How‘s your journal-reading going this week? What are your thoughts on this section?

I‘m a bit behind (2 simultaneous Chunkster buddy reads, plus other reads😆), but I‘m enjoying being back into LMM‘s life. I was looking forward to the Muskoka section since it inspired the setting of Blue Castle, but I was a little disappointed! And like LMM, I‘m on edge about the Pickering lawsuit. #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

TheAromaofBooks The Pickering lawsuit is STRESSING ME OUT! What a sleaze! One really random thing that struck me was on pg 10 where she is talking about being worried about Chester possibly leaving home for school. “He will need home surroundings and restraints for several years more.“ This makes me wonder if she is already having issues with his behavior, even at this still relatively young age. 3w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Oof, yes—I noticed that, and a few other passing references to Chester that seem to indicate her growing awareness of his behavioral issues. When she talks about how little Ewan does to “train” the boys, and how Lily just nags them both all the time—no wonder she felt things with Chester so strongly when she felt unsupported in raising her boys. It makes me so sad, knowing where things go with Chester! 3w
lauraisntwilder I'm behind, big surprise! ? Loving being back "with" Maud though. Ewan certainly doesn't come across well so far and I agree about Chester. Every time she mentions him, I cringe. @TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean 3w
BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder That section where she talked about the times Ewan got so annoyed about her being recognized as an author?! 🤬 3w
TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean - that was SO heartbreaking! 3w
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BarbaraJean
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I live in LA County—this was a heavy week in which I‘ve needed to look for the joy! I‘m thankful for so many get-togethers with good friends that landed on my #5JoysFriday list this week.
1. Matinee of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life + Mediterranean dinner with friends
2. Brunch & coffee catch-ups with good friends
3. Bedtime yoga
4. Wednesday night dinner & games w/ friends around the corner
5. New Josh Ritter song: https://joshritter.ffm.to/ywdmg

AmyG I love Josh Ritter. Thanks for posting the song. 3w
Amiable I love Yoga With Adrienne —she‘s the best. 3w
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BarbaraJean
Little Dorrit | Charles Dickens
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“If you've never read Little Dorrit before, you might want to save this Introduction for an Afterword. There's no way to dance around all of Dickens's secrets and revelations and still make myself intelligible; three sentences from here, I'm going to start letting stuff slip, so if you want to bail, bail now.”

As a compulsively responsible reader who always feels obligated to read the intro, I SO appreciate this spoiler alert! #WhattheDickens

willaful YES! The intro to Emma completely spoiled it for me! 3w
Lcsmcat I remember as a kid reading the intro to Romeo and Juliet before I knew the story. I was so confused about who died when! 3w
Cuilin Yeah, I always skip a forward or an introduction for this very reason of spoilers. And I also want to come up with my own impressions. If I really enjoyed the book, I will go back and read the introduction. 3w
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Tamra I usually read Intros after finishing. 😅 3w
BarbaraJean @willaful @Lcsmcat @Cuilin @Tamra Introductions to classic novels have spoiled the ending or key plot twists for me so many times, but I somehow still feel like I HAVE to read it because it‘s an intro. I guess I needed the acknowledgment and permission this editor gave me!! 3w
AnneCecilie @BarbaraJean I‘m like you and have had endings spoiled. I think people writing introductions should acknowledge that there will be a lot of first time reads and not spoil thing. I once read an introduction 50 p before the end of a chunckster and the ending was still spoiled. So now I‘ve learned my lesson 3w
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BarbaraJean
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“Perhaps a hundred years from now my descendants may read over this diary and regard it as an interesting heir-loom. …I would like it to be published in full without omission, save for this very paragraph I have just written. Cut it out, descendants!”

Speaking of complete journals vs. selected journals… 😂 I wonder if this paragraph was omitted in the selected journals?
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals

TheAromaofBooks I honestly was confused about why she would want that specific paragraph cut out anyway 😂 3w
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BarbaraJean
Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset
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"It's good when you don't dare do something that doesn't seem right," said Fru Aashild with a little laugh. "But it's not so good if you think something isn't right because you don't dare do it."
—from Kristin Lavransdatter, The Wreath

#KLBR #DoorstopKristin

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BarbaraJean
Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset
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Quick check-in for #KLBR! How is your reading going? What do you think of the story so far?

I've read up through the end of Part 1. I found the first two chapters slow going (though I loved Kristin's interactions with Brother Edvin), but when I got to Chapter 3, I had a hard time putting it down!

And this is indeed #DoorstopKristin--I've been using my reading pillow to prop the huge thing up as I read 😆

TheBookHippie I adore this book. 4w
Suet624 As you say, you need to be patient at the beginning and understand that this is the start of a long story. Be patient. You‘ll get hooked. 4w
Ruthiella I‘ve only read the first chapter so far, but I like it! 4w
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Librarybelle I hope to start this weekend! 4w
Deblovestoread I‘ve started but haven‘t gotten very far. Life has been interfering as it does. (edited) 4w
Daisey I‘ve read the first part and am enjoying it. 4w
AmyG Exactly…..it got to a certain part where I was all in. I am hoping I get to Book 3. Life has been BUSY and allI want to do is just read. 4w
AnneCecilie I haven‘t started yet, but have taken the book down from the bookshelf 😊 4w
Leniverse I saw that book one has three parts, so I decided to wait a week 😂 Starting tomorrow. Honest 😬 4w
BarbaraJean @TheBookHippie I'm so glad I'm finally reading it! 4w
BarbaraJean @Suet624 I think I'm hooked at this point! I have been struggling with the names, but Undset has me on board now. 4w
BarbaraJean @Ruthiella @Daisey Glad you're enjoying it so far! 4w
BarbaraJean @Deblovestoread I know how that goes! @Librarybelle @AnneCecilie Soon! Taking the book off the shelf and hoping to start are progress of a sort 😉 4w
BarbaraJean @AmyG Right?!? I debated cancelling plans yesterday to stay home and read 😆 @Leniverse 😂 😂 I admit I had the same thought when I saw there were three parts to the first book... 4w
Andrea313 Close to the end of Part 1 and loving it! Like others have said, it started a little slow and then captured me all at once. 3w
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BarbaraJean
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#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals

We‘ll be starting Volume 5 of LMM‘s journals this week! Schedule is above. As usual, I‘ll post a check-in on Saturdays.

(And, Emily of New Moon is coming up next for our re-reads! We‘ll start reading Emily on June 22.)

BarbaraJean @JenlovesJT47 Are you still interested in joining in for the journal reading? I don‘t want to bother you with tags if not—just let me know. As always, no pressure 😁 4w
TheAromaofBooks Is it weird that I'm kind of excited about starting the journals again?? 😂 4w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Not weird!! Or if it's weird, I'm weird, too! 4w
TheAromaofBooks She's just so daggone readable, even in her journals! 4w
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BarbaraJean
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#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

What did you enjoy (or not enjoy!) about the book?

If you read this as a child, does it still hold up for you as an adult?

Is there anything else you‘d like to discuss about Beautiful Joe?

TheAromaofBooks Like I said earlier, this definitely worked better for me as a child than it did as an adult, although I still found it to be an interesting read. However, it was a lot sadder than I remember! There were a few times that I was a bit startled by violence stated so casually. Did I just not notice it as such growing up? I definitely focused more on the positive parts of the story, and those were the memories I brought forward. 4w
BarbaraJean The early chapters when Joe is a puppy were SUPER hard to read—I was a little shocked at how violent that part was. The performing animals at the hotel & the “bad“ dog at the farm were a bit of a surprise/shock as well. I wonder how those landed with kids at the time. I definitely had the feeling I'd have enjoyed this more as a kid. I loved animal stories, especially from the animal's perspective. Did you read anything by Dick King-Smith as a kid? 4w
TheAromaofBooks Oh my gosh YES - the first Dick King-Smith book I came across as the library was The Fox Busters, which is honestly kind of a dark book for the children's section, but I am so here for chicken heroes 😂 Later, I found out that he was the author of Babe, also good, but my actual favorites by him are The Queen's Nose and Harry's Mad. He was sooo prolific so some of his stories are definitely weaker than others, but some of them are just delightful. 4w
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BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Aw, yay!! I don't remember The Fox Busters and now I may have to track it down! I LOVED his books—Babe (which I knew as “The Sheep-Pig“—I have long resented the movie 😂), Harry's Mad, and The Queen's Nose were ones I read over and over. Also Saddlebottom! I remember Saddlebottom and Babe both being from the animals' perspective, which really drew me in. I think Saunders was onto something in using Joe as a first-person narrator. 3w
TheAromaofBooks I don't think I've read Saddlebottom! I'll have to find that one. The Fox Busters is kind of intense (the chickens decide to fight back against marauding foxes), but it was so wildly different from anything else I had ever read when I first found it that I was totally hooked. I also read The Water Horse (which I think may be a movie now also) and had NO idea where it was headed so the twist at the end totally got me. 3w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Ohhh, The Water Horse!! I read that entire book standing in the aisle of an airport bookstore on a long layover 😂 I loved the fact that they called the grandfather “Grump” 😆 It is a movie now (I think the edition I read in that airport was a movie tie-in one), but I haven‘t seen it—the description of the movie sounded WAY different from the book! 3w
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BarbaraJean
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#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

Do you think Saunders‘ choice of Joe as a first person narrator is effective? What does this add to (or take away from) the story?

Joe meets several other animal friends during the story: the other pets at the Morris home, the performing animals he sees in Riverdale, and Dandy “the Tramp.” What did you think of these other animals and their stories?

JenlovesJT47 I am terribly behind on everything, I‘m so sorry! Going to download this now. 💚💚💚 thank you for all of the hard work you do for this group! 🤗 4w
BarbaraJean @JenlovesJT47 I understand—I have overloaded my reading this summer and there‘s too much to keep up with! Jump in when you can, but no pressure! 4w
TheAromaofBooks I did think using Joe as the narrator made the story more personal, and also worked with Saunders's goal of (to some extent) humanizing animals. Adding in the stories of other animals sometimes felt like a bit much - for instance, the chapter on Mr. Wood's hunting memories seemed kind of pointless. But other times it illustrated a concept otherwise outside of Joe's purview. 4w
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BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I really liked Joe as the narrator, although it felt contrived/inconsistent at times (sometimes he'd skip over stuff saying he wasn't listening because it wasn't interesting to a dog, and at other times he'd narrate a bunch of stuff that wouldn't have been interesting to a dog 😂). As you said, it humanizes the animal characters--it made the cruelty to animals episodes more difficult to read (and more meaningful/effective). 4w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I liked some of the additional animal stories (like the canaries and Bella the parrot, and the poor performing animals!!), but lots of others felt like padding to make the story longer (like the ENTIRE Band of Mercy meeting). And the lengthy telling of Dandy the Tramp's story just annoyed me 😂 4w
TheAromaofBooks The other thing Joe-as-narrator did was make the animals the main characters instead of the people. If this story had just been about Miss Laura being nice to animals, it would have had a really different flavor than having Joe talk about her. As an adult reader, I wanted more story about Laura and her little romance and whatnot, but as a younger reader, I was definitely more interested in the dogs haha 4w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Hahaha, yeah, I think that would have been my response as a kid, too: more interested in the animals and their stories than Laura's romance 😂 And yes, definitely, having the animals as the main characters/focus rather than Laura really makes the message more impactful, helping kids envision what it's like for the animal to experience neglect and mistreatment vs. kindness and care. 3w
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BarbaraJean
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#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

Beautiful Joe is based on a true story & was written for a contest sponsored by the American Humane Education Society (Joe‘s real-life home of Meaford, Ontario was changed to Fairport, Maine). Its goal was to teach children to be kind to animals.

Do you think Beautiful Joe is effective in teaching this message? Why or why not?
What do you think in general about stories whose main goal is to teach a message?

TheAromaofBooks I enjoyed this more growing up than I did as an adult, but I think part of that is that as a kid, some of the lessons felt fresh. Not that I was ever mean to animals (forever memory is my dad threatening to make me drink gross water from the chicken's waterer that I hadn't washed out properly - “if you don't want to drink it, they shouldn't have to“ - which in retrospect isn't true since they cheerfully drink gross puddle water BUT the lesson ⬇ 4w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) worked 😂) but a lot of the lessons here are just about not being careless, and also about being willing to stand up for those who aren't able to speak for themselves. BUT the story definitely comes across as kind of preachy, more like a collection of little sermonettes on animal welfare. So I do think it works, but perhaps worked better when it was written and the idea of an animal narrator was still rather novel, and when many ⬇ 4w
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) animals were still used for work rather than pets. I realize there are still lots of farm animals today - some of which are in bad conditions - but I feel like the majority of us interact with pets, not livestock, which wasn't true when this book was written. 4w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I love that memory of your dad! I mean, you both have a point 😂 For me, the book was too preachy & I think your description is why: it's more a collection of little lessons than a story. I think it was/is probably effective in teaching its message, but I wanted more story/character development. The animal narrator angle wasn't enough to enrapture me as an adult reader in 2025, but then I'm not the target audience! 4w
TheAromaofBooks I think a lot of kids are cruel/neglectful towards animals from a combination of laziness and ignorance. So a book like this really can speak to them and help them recognize not just that animals are living beings who can suffer, but that they are completely dependent on US to take care of them. As an adult reader, I've already learned these lessons so I think a lot of this wasn't as impactful to me. 4w
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BarbaraJean
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#5JoysFriday!

💐 Thank you notes & flowers from my EfM group
🦖 A T-Rex shadow I saw on a walk
🪻 Larkspur from the garden
🐸 Frobbits by India Rose Crawford: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1885169772337248?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&fs=e&mibextid=wwXIf...
🖋️ Reading through poems I‘d saved years ago & coming across “God Says Yes to Me” by Kaylin Haught (Poem ⤵️)

BarbaraJean I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don‘t paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I‘m telling you is
Yes Yes Yes
(edited) 4w
Amiable That shadow is pretty epic! 🦖 4w
dabbe 💙🩵💙 4w
Suet624 All of this …. the poem, the shadow, the flowers … is spectacular. 4w
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BarbaraJean
The Library at Night | Alberto Manguel
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“I have no feeling of guilt regarding the books I have not read and perhaps will never read; I know that my books have unlimited patience. They will wait for me till the end of my days.”

Bookwomble I need to read this book. Ironically, it sits unread on one of my shelves! 😄 4w
BarbaraJean @Bookwomble 😂 It has unlimited patience! It will wait for you! 4w
charl08 Love this book. Due a reread. 4w
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BarbaraJean
The Library at Night | Alberto Manguel
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“…multinational companies have ensured that, on the one hand, users will not protest against being turned into consumers, since they are supposedly "in control" of cyberspace; and that, on the other hand, they will be prevented from learning anything profound, whether about themselves, their immediate surroundings or the rest of the world. Commenting in 2004 on the usefulness of the Web as a creative tool, the celebrated American comic-strip ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d)…artist Will Eisner explained that, when he first discovered this electronic medium, he believed it to be an almost magical source of new artistic inventions, but that of late it had become “merely a supermarket to which consumers come to look for the cheapest possible product.”

This sleight of hand is achieved, every time a reader locks onto the Web, by stressing velocity over reflection and brevity over complexity, preferring ⤵️
(edited) 1mo
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) …snippets of news and bytes of facts over lengthy discussions and elaborate dossiers, and by diluting informed opinion with reams of inane babble, ineffectual advice, inaccurate facts and trivial information, made attractive with brand names and manipulated statistics.” 1mo
BarbaraJean Ooof. This was published in 2006, and I think it‘s MORE accurate today than it was then. 🙁 1mo
lil1inblue 😨 😨 😨 1mo
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BarbaraJean
The Library at Night | Alberto Manguel
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“There is an unbridgeable chasm between the book that tradition has declared a classic and the book (the same book) that we have made ours through instinct, emotion and understanding: suffered through it, rejoiced in it, translated it into our experience and… essentially become its first discoverers…”

CSeydel Oh that‘s really interesting 1mo
BarbaraJean @CSeydel Right?! The difference between a book that‘s a classic—and that same book, which we‘ve discovered for ourselves, almost creating it for the first time through our own experience of it. 🤯 1mo
lil1inblue I'm sold. Stacked. 1mo
BarbaraJean @lil1inblue It‘s so good! I love his insights into reading and collecting books! 1mo
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BarbaraJean
The Orb of Cairado | Katherine Addison
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My library copy of The Orb of Cairado is a signed special edition! 😮

MemoirsForMe 😍😍😍 1mo
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BarbaraJean
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Every so often I‘ll look for info on the publication of the final volume of L.M. Montgomery‘s Complete Journals. We‘re moving along with #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals, and I have this nagging worry they won‘t publish the last volume—in time for our buddy read, or at all! I found an “Ask Us” option on the publisher‘s website, so I asked! It took a couple weeks, but I got this reply today. So—probably not in buddy-read time, but someday!

TheAromaofBooks Oh my gosh, I didn't realize that the journals didn't go all the way! 😳 So sad!! 1mo
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks When we started, I assumed the last volume would be forthcoming soon, since volume 6 was published in 2017 and volume 7 in 2019. I was naively optimistic! 😬 I'm not sure what to do when we get to the end of vol. 7. I guess we could switch over to the selected journals, which are all published, but I really prefer reading the complete ones (the selected ones don't have her pictures included!). 1mo
TheAromaofBooks Yes, and as we've seen, sometimes the selections seem to want to... well, follow an agenda sounds strong because I don't think anyone has a secret plan to rewrite LMM's life lol But I definitely feel like I have gotten different vibes from LMM's complete journals than I did from her biographies that quoted her journals, if that makes sense. 1mo
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BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Oh, I absolutely agree! You‘re right, agenda is too strong a word, but it IS interpretation for sure. Just the process of selecting what stays and what goes imposes someone else‘s filter and interpretation on LMM‘s words (even if it‘s just the boring WWI parts!). I want to be able to read all of it and decide for myself what‘s important—rather than have somebody else cutting out what they think isn‘t important! 1mo
lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks @BarbaraJean I'm looking forward to getting back into the journals, but I'd never paid attention to the dates to realize they weren't all available! I agree, the selected journals wouldn't be the same, but could be better than nothing? That's the worst one to not have the whole story though... 3w
BarbaraJean @lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks If we switch to the selected after the complete run out, date-wise we'd land partway through the 2nd to last selected volume, which is kind of annoying. But I looked at future Kindred Spirits books (re-reads, journals, adjacents) and honestly think it'll be the end of 2026 before we get to the last (as-yet-unpublished) volume of the complete journals! So I'm not worrying about it just yet. Or at least not much 😂 3w
TheAromaofBooks We do seem to have plenty to keep us busy 😂 3w
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