My New Years resolution this year was to read two books each month.

I did great until April when all things went wild.

But I’m back on track now and reading three books all at once kind of on accident. I read Bad Blood (pretty interesting documentation of Elizabeth Holmes and her Silicon Valley start-up-gone-bad). Made me think of how things go bad. I don’t think anyone sets out thinking they’re going to hurt and harm people, I just think they want to succeed so much that they begin to justify things that just don’t make sense and are morally wrong. Interesting to think about.

Now I’m into The Last Romantics which I’m liking so far (*post edit note: now that I finished it, it’s NOT one I’d recommend), but in the meantime Lucy and I finished Anne of Green Gables.

And for that I just have to stop right here and now to write down some of my thoughts. Because that book is a gem I tell you!  We have misplaced the book all folded down with our favorite parts which really annoys us both, so I can’t share my favorite quotes, but here are some of my thoughts as we read:

—I love the depiction of childhood from Anne’s eyes. How she’s trying to be good but distracted, how she tells it like it is.  Oh it is just such great writing!
—I love her honest anecdotes (i.e. how Anne talks about how Rachel Lynd tries to pull you to be good but really just makes you feel guilty…Ha!  How often do I do that I wonder??)
—I loved thinking about how much an adult can do to influence a child for good. Miss Shirley the schoolteacher instilling so much good and love into her pupils, Mrs. Allen and her husband, Matthew and Marilla of course.
—I love how much beauty Anne notices in the world…and how fully and flowery she describes it.
—I love that that book is infiltrated with the power of love. How it changed Anne, how it calmed Marilla, how it brightened Matthew.
—I loved Marilla’s stern mothering balancing out Matthews softness. Is that necessary in parenting do you think?
–How much of our parenting is affected by our own childhood.  Marilla found it so difficult to show her affection yet she loved Anne so much.  (I love the scene when she and Anne are sitting in the dimness of the evening and Marilla has so much love on her face, love she would never be able to wear if it was light enough for Anne to see.)  Was that from the way she was raised?  Was it just part of her personality?
—I loved the beauty and power of goodness and sacrifice. How Gilbert gave up his school for Anne, how Anne gave up her scholarship for Marilla.
—How everyone is fighting their own battles and we just have to love and not judge.
—The sorrow of growing up…Anne not wanting to use big words anymore, her imagination dwindling, how sad Marilla was to have her growing up so fast (I wish I could find the quote…so perfect for how I’m feeling right about now with my children growing up like weeds!)
—Yes, growing up is sad, but I love that it also talked about the power of growing up. Sometimes we think our kids will never grow out of this or that, but they will.  And we will most likely miss it terribly.

I could go on and on, but just wanted to remember those thoughts when my memory starts to fade too much to remember the beauty of that book!

20 Comments

  1. Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorites! I hope you guys will read the sequels, they are all wonderful too! I also love the volumes of short stories set in Avonlea. We are going to Prince Edward Island this summer (me, husband and 2 daughters) and I CAN NOT wait!

    1. The TV version from the 80's is perfection, as Anne would say! They've redone it several times but nothing compares to the original!

  2. You and Lucy will like the sequels as well. My fav read from the last couple of months is Marilla of Green Gables: written by a current writer told from Marilla's perspective. I LOVED it. Not sure if Lucy would like it, but you probably would. There are also stand alone novels: Blue Castle and Jane of Lantern Hill were 2 of ones I especially enjoyed.

  3. We are re reading this at the moment too, one of my favourite books as a child. Grace is the same age as Lucy, we read alternate pages. We are also watching the 1985 mini series with Megan Follows as Anne, the best Anne to me. We didn’t like the Netflix new version Anne with an E, it is darker and doesn’t have the same innocence.

  4. The books are wonderful. There are 3 movies that were made from the books. They are wonderful also. My family loves to watch them. Hope your family will get the chance to see them as well.

  5. Classic for sure. In 2014 we did a dream come true trip and traveled to PEI. We read the book as we traveled, when I stumbled on a word while reading… I was promptly assisted. Our children knew the book so well they knew what came next! A couple of our girls 4 out of our 5 children (1 boy) have read the complete series. Happy reading, there is more good reading ahead.

  6. "Sometimes we think our kids will never grow out of this or that, but they will. And we will most likely miss it terribly."
    I needed to hear that right this moment.

  7. Yes! L.M. Montgomery is one of my most favorite wordsmiths! I also love her Emily series with just a dash of fantasy. We are hoping to go to Prince Edward Island this summer as well. –M

  8. I just reread Anne of Green Gables (I have read it so many times!) I love it. My book group read it, about half had never read it before! It was so fun to hear about others' discovering Anne for the first time. I felt so poignant and tender reading it this time because I identified with Marilla and all the mothers so much more than I did with Anne!

  9. Love this book! So glad you you posted about it. Love the old PBS series with Megan Follows and the wonderful Colleen Dewhurst (very child appropriate). Favorite beautiful quote from the book: “Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”
    ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

  10. I just love love love your book recommendations. I have loved every one. Just finished Educated and WOW-so good! I don't think I have seen you mention Camron Wright on here but I am loving his books. I just read The Rent Collector and Letters for Emily and I would highly recommend both. I adore Anne of Green Gables and haven't read it for so long so thank you for reminding me.

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