We‘ll start discussing our first #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent book next week! On Saturday, May 25, we‘ll chat about Chapters 1-15, and on June 1, we‘ll discuss chapters 16 through the end of the book.
This dovetails with the #ChildrensClassicRead2024 for May, hosted by @TheBookHippie —so if you‘re buddy reading there, feel free to drop in over here and join us to chat the next couple of Saturdays!
Happy Saturday, Kindred Spirits! Here's our weekly #LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead check-in!
What are your thoughts on this week's reading?
What stands out to you:
From LMM's year at Prince of Wales College?
From her time teaching in Bideford?
Any observations, favorite sections or quotes?
Reminder: Next week, we'll pause the journals & pick up our first #LMMAdjacent book: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. We'll discuss Chapters 1-15 on 5/25.
pickWhat an exquisite jewel of a novel! A cloudy, green-and-grey jewel. With such a short book, there was more mood than story—but the depth of loneliness and connection conveyed here was gorgeous. My only complaint was that I wanted more—just a couple more chapters of resolution—and yet I also understand why the author closes the story where she does.
I had this on my holds list and it came in RIGHT before it got picked for #CampLitsy24. ⤵️
pickHeart-wrenching, beautiful, hopeful. This got right into my heart & pulled all the strings. Set in small-town rural Canada in the 1990s, this short novel delves deeply into a set of characters linked by their connections to a teen denied gender-affirming care. It‘s a quiet story exploring discomfort and transition & sometimes surprising connections—some fleeting, but all transformative. I loved this. It will likely end up on my best-of this year!
Happy Weekend, Kindred Spirits! This week we read through June 30, 1893, including the later part of LMM‘s stay with her father, her journey back to Cavendish, and her studies and social doings back at home.
What are your thoughts so far?
Was there anything that surprised you in this section?
What glimpses do you see of LMM‘s future writing?
Any observations, favorite sections or quotes?
#LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
“How I do love books! Not merely to read once but over and over again. I enjoy the tenth reading of a book as much as the first. Books are a delightful world in themselves. Their characters seem as real to me as my friends of actual life.”
—L.M. Montgomery, January 12, 1893
#LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
“I am a guest here, charged with serving other guests—even those who present themselves as my enemies. I am allowed to resist them, but as long as I trust in one God who made us all, I cannot act as if they are no kin to me. There is only one House. Human beings must either learn to live in it together or we will not survive to hear its sigh of relief when our numbered days are done.”
#5JoysFriday
🙏🏼 I was on the waitlist for a spiritual direction course, and a spot opened up
🍎 Plans for an NYC trip with one of my best friends
🎹 My husband‘s piano service—much needed peace after a rough day
🍣 Sharing sushi after helping good friends pack for their upcoming move—bittersweet!
🎶 New album from Over the Rhine in my inbox today—a delightful surprise, since I preordered ages ago!
📚 Bonus: Library book haul!
“Little Sister Ibtisam,
our sleep flounders, our sleep tugs
the cord of your name.
Dead at 13, for staring through
the window into a gun barrel
which did not know you wanted to be
a doctor.
…
How do we carry the endless surprise
of all our deaths? Becoming doctors
for one another, Arab, Jew,
instead of guarding tumors of pain
as if they hold us upright?”
💔
“Dear old world you are very lovely and I love you. I am glad to be alive in you.”
I LOVE that what becomes a future Anne quote is taken almost directly from 17-year-old LMM‘s journal!
#LMMJournals #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead
Things take the time they take. Don't worry.
How many roads did St. Augustine follow
before he became St. Augustine?
“I had a charming time all through except for a scare I got with one of David Macneill‘s cows, and having to skulk about the woods for nearly an hour while the Baptists were going through the lane to Sunday School…”
The image of LMM “skulking about the woods” to avoid the Baptists just cracked me up. And the cow! I really want more detail in this entry!!
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals
“I believe in the healing ministry
of phlox, the holy brokenness of saints,
the fortuity of faults—of making
and then redeeming mistakes.”
—from “Creed” by Abigail Carroll
“A poem is an ark, a suitcase in which to pack
the universe…”
—from “Creed,” by Abigail Carroll
One of the reasons I wanted to read Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm as a #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent book is because of the similarities between it and Anne of Green Gables, and the controversy over whether there was plagiarism on LMM‘s part. Then I found this book cover online. Does this constitute reverse plagiarism? 🤣 #ChildrensClassicRead2024
pickI had to finish reading Wolf Hall before I started this one, so I wouldn‘t get my Henries mixed up 😆
I didn‘t know much about Eleanor of Aquitaine going into this, but now I realize why E.L. Konigsburg found her so fascinating. Headstrong, determined, wife to two major figures of her time, mother of Richard the Lionheart and the infamous King John—and with a finger in a LOT of different political pies! The narrative frame here felt a bit odd:⤵️
pickThis was worthwhile, but it was also quite a slog. The first section was immediately engaging, but once the narrative shifted to grown-up Thomas, the tone shifted and the pace slowed way down. Mantel had a couple of writing quirks that didn‘t help: she almost always referred to Cromwell just as “he,” which often made it difficult to follow dialogue or internal thoughts vs. spoken words. That said, I admired Mantel‘s recreation of the Tudor era ⤵️
Weekly check-in for #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - our first with the #LMMJournals!
I have to apologize for breaking up the reading so oddly—it wasn't until I finished up my own reading that I saw I'd completely missed a natural break at the end of 1890 and kept us going into 1891 for a grand total of 2 pages. 😂
How is your reading going?
What are your thoughts on this week's reading?
Any observations, favorite sections, or quotes?
📚A great IRL book club meeting on Sunday
💐Roses and larkspur from the garden
📚BookSpin Day!
👒Starting Vol. 1 of L.M. Montgomery‘s journals
🦘The news that this weekend my niece gets to help transport a baby wallaby from the Tampa Zoo back to the zoo where she works in Kentucky
Here are my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin picks for May! Iron Widow is my IRL book group‘s pick for this month. #BookSpin landed on a category: I need to choose something from the 1920s-30s for the #192025 challenge. These three are leading the pack—any recommendations?
“I love books. I hope when I grow up to be able to have lots of them.”
💜📚💜 Kindred spirit, indeed!! I started this tonight and it‘s delightful so far—and I LOVE all the pictures included! #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals
Waaaait, not yet!! I need this for June, not May!! #CampLitsy24 #LibraryProblems
Ohhh, I love this.
“Well, here‘s your box. Nearly everything I have is in it, and it is not full. Pain and excitement are in it, and feeling good or bad and evil thoughts and good thoughts—the pleasure of design and some despair and the indescribable joy of creation.
And on top of these are all the gratitude and love I have for you.
And still the box is not full.”
#RandomClassics @TheAromaofBooks
pickI loved the premise of this: during Covid, the author sets out to make a sweater from scratch. Not just knitting it, but going all the way back to the starting point by learning to shear a sheep—and then learning all the other steps in between. I expected more about the process of making, but there was a fairly even balance between the mistakes and triumphs of shearing, spinning, dyeing, and knitting, and the author‘s reflections along the way. ⤵️
TWO bingos this month for #BookSpinBingo! And 5-star reads for both my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin. 🎉🎉 This was a library-heavy month, with only four read from my physical TBR. But I read some fantastic books this month!
Favorite April reads:
🌙 The Girl Who Drank the Moon
🗝️ The Velvet Room
⛰️ Saltus
🌊 Clear
so-soI had read some of Kowal‘s Lady Astronaut books, so when I saw this in a LFL a couple years ago, I snatched it up! I was interested to see what Kowal did with a completely different genre than the Lady Astronaut series. So when #JaneAdjacent planned this for their April book, I was excited to tag along! It sounded right up my alley—Austen-esque with a touch of magic—and was definitely as advertised, with a delightfully familiar Jane Austen feel.⤵️
I just pulled my battered old copy of East of Eden off the shelf, ready to start chapter 1 for the #RandomClassics buddy read tomorrow—and the front cover stayed on the shelf. 😆 I either need to read very gently, or maybe check out a library copy…
so-soSomething I‘m realizing about first-person narratives is that I need to enjoy the “company” of the person I‘m going to spend 300-ish pages with. Or they have to at least not annoy me. Unfortunately, Ernest annoyed me.
I appreciated the way Stevenson constructed this—with a section for each family member, revealing who they‘d killed. I liked the setup with the “10 Commandments of Detective Fiction.” Ernest bending over backwards to emphasize ⤵️
Here‘s my #BookSpin list for May! Lots of spots for #192025 options since I realized I‘m at the point where I need to read 2 or 3 each month. Looking forward to seeing where the BookSpin fates take me in May!
I have three copies of this poetry collection—thanks to my mother. I used to pore over her copy (top right) for hours when I was in elementary school/jr. high. She eventually got me a copy of my own (the one at the bottom of the be-ribboned book stack). She later bought me another copy (top left), forgetting she‘d already gotten me one! My mom passed away two years ago, and now I have all three—it‘s difficult to part with any! #SundayFunday
pickFirst of all—the variety of covers for this is hilarious! I read a digital copy (top left) that makes it look like a ghost story or gothic thriller. I see where this image comes into the story, but—it‘s so exactly wrong that it‘s maddening. If I‘d found this as a kid, no doubt it would have been the Dell Yearling edition there on the bottom left. 😆 This was a sweet, nostalgic hug of a book. It‘s exactly the kind of book I‘d have loved as a kid ⤵️
pickHas Kelly Barnhill written anything that‘s lousy? Because if so, I haven‘t found it yet. I loved this. It has all the wonderful trappings of a fairy tale—a misunderstood witch, a tiny dragon, a young girl bursting with magic, selfish city leaders—and it combines those ingredients to explore themes of found family, truths revealed, sorrow, and love. 💜💜💜 This was my March #DoubleSpin.
#5JoysFriday
🎷My husband‘s jazz combo concert on Sunday: big turnout, gorgeous weather, fantastic music!
💍 My husband and I ordered rings for our 10th anniversary in March, and mine finally arrived
🍻 Had a great lunch with former coworkers on Wednesday
✍🏻 Made progress on a writing project, so I had something to share at writing group
🏕️ The #CampLitsy24 buzz is bringing me joy—can‘t wait for the reveal of the July/August titles!
pickValentine‘s Day used to be Valentina‘s favorite holiday—but not anymore. She believes her family is cursed to be unlucky in love. But when she meets a cute lion dancer on Lunar New Year, she embarks on a reluctant journey, hoping that maybe—just maybe—she can break that curse. This didn‘t have the complexity I loved in American Born Chinese, but as a love story, it still took some unexpected turns! Great characters, & I loved the artwork as well.
pickFunny, sad, quirky, and sweet—this book is a delight. Ferris Wilkey‘s family is hilariously all over the place. Her little sister Pinky Wilkey (“that‘s a terrible name,” said my husband) wants to be an outlaw—her catchphrase is “out of my way, fools!” Ferris‘ uncle is painting the history of the world on the walls of their basement. Her grandmother‘s health is a worry. Ferris‘ aunt, a hairdresser, is working through her split with her husband ⤵️
Hello, Kindred Spirits! Here is an UPDATED schedule for May/June. Since the #CHILDRENSCLASSICREAD2024 with @TheBookHippie will be reading Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm in MAY, I shuffled our schedule around so we can join in the excitement and read it together.
We'll start the Complete Journals on May 1 - which is next week!! 😱 I'll post a weekly check-in/discussion post on Saturdays.
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals #LMMAdjacent #LMMReread
#5JoysFriday
💇♀️ A much-overdue haircut on Wednesday (it‘s ~8 in. shorter!)
📚 Seeing a family walking in my neighborhood & noticing one of the kids lagging behind the rest… because she was reading a book while walking.💜
🥗 Dinner with one of my best friends (pictured is the amazing salad I had!)
🗣️ Encouraging conversations as I‘m gathering info on becoming a spiritual director
🍽️ Looking forward to lunch tomorrow with another close friend
I‘m starting this month‘s IRL book club pick and felt the need to show off my new bookmark, which was a birthday gift from my husband a couple of weeks ago!
Just a reminder: May 1 begins the next #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead iteration! We‘ll read the Complete Journals interspersed with LMM-adjacent books & LMM rereads. The pace is ~100 pages per week, with Saturday check-ins to chat about the week's reading.
I‘ve tagged those who were interested, but all are welcome! Comment if you'd like to join—for some or all! Re-reads will pop up in Vol. 2 of the journals. #LMMJournals #LMMAdjacent #LMMRereads
Here are my nominations for #CampLitsy24! All from authors I‘ve read & loved. I‘ve tagged my top pick on this post & the others in the comments.
📚I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger—I 💜 everything I‘ve read by Enger!
📚The God of the Woods by Liz Moore—this is either a perfect or a terrible book for me to pick: a girl named Barbara goes missing from summer camp 😬
📚The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
📚 Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern
The oldest physical book I own is, I think, this edition of Tennyson‘s poems. As far as I can tell, it‘s from the 1880s. It‘s not in great condition—I picked it up at a library book sale for a couple of dollars!—but I love it. That cover! The illustrations! And the print is so TINY!
The oldest book in my collection that I can definitely date is from 1908, and is also a Tennyson—an edition of Lancelot and Elaine.
“Whether you apologize or not is irrelevant… When you apologize, however, you may begin healing *yourself.* It is not for us. It is for you. I recommend it.”
“Some of us choose love over power. Indeed, most of us do.”
pickI‘ve heard so many people say that Gaudy Night is the best of the Lord Peter Wimsey books. And now I see why.
When Harriet Vane returns to Oxford for a reunion, she is drawn into a poison-pen mystery at her alma mater. That‘s the essence of the plot, but the mystery and the Oxfordian context ends up serving as a vehicle for Harriet‘s own growth as she confronts her own avoidance of the past. ⬇️
pickThis was a perfect rainy-day, lazing-on-the-couch read. Sweet and cozy, with just a touch of magic, it explores two young adults navigating a relationship and questions about their futures. And it made me crave tea and baked goods. 💜
pickGoodness, this was excellent. And what a gorgeous cover! The summer after she graduates high school, Daunis is grieving her uncle‘s death and her grandmother‘s recent stroke, when she is drawn into an investigation of a meth ring in her community. Daunis embodies so many aspects of between-ness: in the transition from high school to adulthood, she is caught between the world of her mother‘s wealth & privilege and her Ojibwe heritage ⬇️
I had planned a little personal readathon on Friday/Saturday last week, since I had no plans, rainy weather, and a stack of library books. Then I came down with a cold on Sunday. So for the past few days I‘ve continued the readathon for different reasons! From Friday through Tuesday I finished a book every day. Maybe today I‘ll have enough energy to get some reviews posted…
Today I discovered three checkouts and two holds in my Libby app that I did not check out or place. I‘m assuming/hoping it was some kind of glitch. Has anyone else ever had this happen—random books appearing in your account as on hold or checked out?
I canceled the holds and returned the checkouts so they would be free for someone who actually meant to have them! Someone who really likes the “Fred, the Vampire Accountant” series…
I‘m in the middle of two very appropriate titles for today‘s eclipse and #MiddleGradeMonday (although Lunar New Year Love Story is YA rather than MG). The bottom left photo is on my porch: the peak of the eclipse here in Southern California, seen via shadows through our rose trellis. The bottom right photo was taken by my nephew, in the path of totality in southeastern Indiana!
pickThis had been on my radar for a while, but I didn‘t read it until it showed up on my Education for Ministry reading list this year. Cone explores the parallels between the cross and the lynching tree, and the way the cross provided a radical identification with Jesus for the black community during the era of lynching in the United States. It‘s a measure of my own privilege that this is a parallel I‘d never considered. Never had to consider. ⬇️
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