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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - Among the Shadows discussion, part 4:

Are there stories from Among the Shadows that you‘d like to discuss further?
Share your thoughts and questions below!

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BarbaraJean Not a specific story, but a theme: I was fascinated by the supernatural elements in this collection. I enjoyed reading these stories together, because I felt like it highlighted how supernatural themes fascinated LMM. I've never found “messages beyond the grave“ or supernatural visitation type events very compelling, but I find it interesting that LMM did. I'd love to explore more biographical details around her interest in this particular idea. 1y

AnneCecilie I never feel in love with this collection. But I agree with you that it would be interesting to find out where her interests in the supernatural comes from. 1y

TheAromaofBooks This was definitely an era where the idea of communicating with departed loved ones was in vogue - I have come across it in a lot of books from the early 1900s, including Agatha Christie. It doesn't seem to show up in a lot of LMM's novels, so it was extra interesting to see her playing with it here, especially since her conclusion is usually that the ghost/spirit is real, no other possible explanations. 1y

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kwmg40 I too, found the supernatural elements (haunted house, ghosts, communicating with the deceased) the most interesting. I also found interesting the exploration of good vs. evil (how characters can have elements of both, which also ties into the theme of redemption). 1y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Yes, I thought it was interesting to see how the assumed/taken for granted explanation was so often the supernatural one. But then there were a couple reversals of that, with “Some Fools and a Saint“ and “The Tryst of the White Lady.“ She does take a different tack from time to time, and I found that variety refreshing here. 1y

BarbaraJean @kwmg40 I liked that exploration of moral complexity, too. “The Man on the Train“ and “Miss Calista's Peppermint Bottle“--probably others I'm forgetting! There were several stories that basically had the message that people are complex; nobody is all bad or all good. That reads as a very LMM theme to me, but it felt different/deeper here because so many stories had those darker elements woven in. 1y

TheAromaofBooks Also, I started reading The Blythes are quoted today and the first story is Some Fools and a Saint - except with Blythes in the background! The whole thing is reminding me of when Diana sent Anne's story in for the baking powder (soda?) story contest and she just added the part about always using that brand of baking powder at the end 😂 Just throw a few Dr. Blythes into the story and now it's about the Blythe family, too! 😆 1y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Oh, that‘s hilarious! I knew LMM did a Diana with a lot of the material in this book, I just didn‘t realize we‘d come across a lengthy story we JUST READ right up front!! It may have been a bad idea to read short stories on either side of Blythes Are Quoted. Or a good idea… you can skim through some of the repetition or more easily compare the differences 😆 1y

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - Among the Shadows discussion, part 3:

What commonalities did you see between these stories and other works you‘ve read by LMM?

Which stories or which themes felt like a departure from LMM‘s usual fare?

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BarbaraJean I saw lots of commonalities between these and other LMM writings (more than expected). Her fondness for supernatural themes was very prevalent here! “Davenport's Story“ and “Miriam's Lover“ reminded me SO strongly of the Emily/Teddy connection in the Emily books. And then the redemptive elements in The Man on the Train, The Redemption of John Churchill, and Miss Calista felt VERY LMM. She seemed to like a good reformed scoundrel from time to time. 1y

BarbaraJean The stories that felt most like a departure from LMM's usual fare were The Closed Door, Some Fools and a Saint, and The Red Room. The House Party at Smoky Island, too--that one felt most like a ghost story! Closed Door and Red Room felt a LOT darker in tone, a little Gothic. And I was surprised by the twist in Fools and a Saint—its revelations didn't get the redemptive ending that LMM usually gives us. At least it didn't feel redemptive to me! 😆 1y

AnneCecilie The Martyrdom of Estella reminded me of a storyline in “The Tangled Web”. I can‘t find it now but one of the stories reminded me of a storyline in “The Story Girl” series. For me LMM is all about coziness, so like you I find most of her ghost stories to be a departure from that. 1y

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TheAromaofBooks As with a lot of these short story collections, it sometimes felt like LMM was experimenting - here she was leaning into the supernatural and some more difficult themes, like alcohol and adultery, and how people respond when there isn't a happy/tidy ending. So most of these stories did feel like her except more so, if that makes sense lol 1y

kwmg40 Like LMM's other stories, many of these stories show the innate goodness in people and also explore the details of everyday small-town life. I found it interesting to see LMM use these themes in the context of darker and supernatural settings. 1y

BarbaraJean @AnneCecilie The first few stories in the collection reminded me a LOT of other LMM subplots/anecdotes, but I couldn't pin down what they were reminding me of, except for the Emily/Teddy connection. I will have to go look for the similarities in Tangled Web and Story Girl, because they sound familiar now that you've mentioned them! (edited) 1y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks That does make sense! I really liked the differences from LMM's “usual.“ @kwmg40 I love how you put that. I think that's what was so interesting to me about these stories, that LMM used her familiar settings and themes in combination with darker/less-tidy elements. Like TheAromaofBooks said, it feels like LMM was experimenting. Sometimes that's effective and sometimes not. 😆 1y

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - Among the Shadows discussion, part 2:

I‘ve gotta ask the usual questions for a short story collection:
Which stories were your favorites? What did you like about them?
Which stories did you not care for, and why?

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BarbaraJean I really liked the redemptive themes in The Man on the Train, The Redemption of John Churchill, and Miss Calista's Peppermint Bottle. And while the ultimate resolution of Some Fools and a Saint was unsatisfying for me, I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the story. The House Party at Smoky Island was also a favorite; I found it really effective as a ghost story! 1y

BarbaraJean I haaaaated “Min.“ So tired of the male savior trope, especially when it involves a man who discerns a woman‘s “fine nature“ due to her handsome appearance, both of which are obscured by her now-lowly state. It's a two-for-one special on classism and sexism. I felt similarly about the ending of “The Tryst of the White Lady,” although I actually liked the rest of that story. I got Kilmeny vibes from the ending, which: ugh. (edited) 1y

AnneCecilie I don‘t think I have a favorite, they were all very similar to me and blurred together. I like her novels better. 1y

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TheAromaofBooks I also enjoyed the more redemptive stories. John Churchill actually got me all choked up when his son is sticking up for him. I've read many of LMM's short story collections, and I felt ambivalent towards a lot more in this batch than most of the others, though. Most of them didn't evoke any strong feelings in me either way. 1y

kwmg40 @BarbaraJean I also disliked the sexism in some of the stories but I accept that it's a product of the times. I really enjoyed the haunted house and ghost stories, as I liked how Montgomery sets a spooky atmosphere in those. 1y

BarbaraJean @AnneCecilie I definitely prefer her novels, too. Her short stories are too hit or miss for me! @TheAromaofBooks Oh, that was such a sweet moment! @kwmg40 I've been trying to decide if I like those stories on their own merits or because they were different from so much else I've read from LMM and therefore less predictable/less same-y! 1y

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead - Among the Shadows discussion, part 1

This book was harder to track down, so I‘m curious: How did you read this collection—did you read a physical copy of Among the Shadows or did you track down the stories individually (online, in other collections, etc.)?

If you read individual stories, were you able to find all 19 or did you skip some?

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BarbaraJean I used to own a copy of this (it was on my list of “owned and unread“ books) and I have no idea where it went! But I was able to borrow a physical copy of the book from a friend, so I was able to read all 19 of the stories. 1y

julieclair I finally got a physical copy on our State library system loan. A worn, beat up, much repaired copy. 😜 But still totally readable! 👍😃 1y

BarbaraJean @julieclair Oh, yay! Glad your library copy came through! It‘s great that they‘ve kept such a worn copy in the system so it‘s still available! Have you been able to read many of the stories yet? (edited) 1y

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AnneCecilie I read it online, mostly on Gutenberg. For the stories written after 1922 I managed to find an other site, fadedpage. So I was able to read all the stories, but in a completely different order. Your table of contents was really helpful. 1y

TheAromaofBooks I actually already owned this one - a few years ago I bought several LMM books that I hadn't ever read or that I just didn't own yet, and this was among them. I had always kind of put off reading it because I don't like sad stories, so I was glad to have this nudge to finally pick it up!! 1y

kwmg40 @BarbaraJean I couldn't find a copy in my local libraries, so I found the stories individually at fadedpage.com (the Canadian counterpart of Project Gutenberg). 1y

kwmg40 @AnneCecilie Glad to hear you discovered Faded Page! I've been volunteering there for the past 10 years. 1y

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#BookReport

I guess you all know that feeling when you are suddenly find out that the world championship in Fischer Random chess will start and you know you won‘t get much reading done? That was me last week.

I finished the stories in the tagged #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead and kept up with the reading of Northanger Abbey PemberLittens

I read Seven Moons, The Dud Avocado and The Tea Dragon Tapestry.

Cinfhen You managed to finish a lot of books!!! 1y

AnneCecilie @Cinfhen I think it looks better than it actually is. Shadows is a buddy read that I spent the hole month on. I finished Seven Moons on Sunday and read Tea Dragons today. So the only book I read during the working week was The Dud. 1y

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LitsyEvents

Among the shadows: tales from the darker side : [19 newly discovered stories] | Lucy Maud Montgomery

Reposting for @barbaraJean the #kindredspiritsbuddyread will be discussing the tagged book 10/28.

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#WeeklyForecast

Continue with the chapter a day buddy read of Northanger Abbey #PemberLittens and keep looking for the stories in the tagged online #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Finish Seven Moons and read Dud Avocado.
I also want to get a good start on Kairos.

Cathythoughts Look forward to your thoughts on Seven Moons. 👍🏻♥️ 2y

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead reminder: Saturday 10/28 will be our discussion of Among the Shadows. I‘ll post questions mid-morning—feel free to jump in and discuss when you are able!

How‘s everyone doing with their reading? I‘ll probably finish this one today, and as usual with LMM‘s short story collections, a few I‘ve really enjoyed & others not so much. And I‘m not really finding these stories to fit the subtitle of “Tales from the Darker Side”!

AvidReader25, quietjenn, Daisey, Jerdencon, catebutler, Bkwrm7, JenlovesJT47, AnneCecilie, mom2bugnbee, lauraisntwilder, sblbooks, TheAromaofBooks, LitsyEvents, julieclair

BarbaraJean And a reminder that our book for November will be The Blythes Are Quoted, which I need to track down a copy of!

The Blythes Are Quoted

julieclair I will finally be able to pick up my copy from the library on Tuesday, so will get at least some stories read, if not all. 2y

quietjenn My experience has been similar to yours - I've liked some, not so much others. And finding it really difficult to see how some of these fit the theme! I didn't have the book so cobbled together by finding copies of the stories in other collections and I keep thinking, “is there another LMM story called [insert title], because this is not dark/spooky/whatever.“ 😆 2y

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BarbaraJean @julieclair Read the good ones! 😆 “Some Fools and a Saint” is the longest one in the book, but I really liked it. “The Closed Door” was good, too, and I loved “From Out the Silence.” And “The House Party at Smoky Island.” “Min” infuriated me, though! @quietjenn Yes!! It feels like a game of “spot the dark theme” and I‘m always missing it! 2y

julieclair Thank you, @BarbaraJean ! This is really helpful advice! 👍😃 2y

TheAromaofBooks @quietjenn @BarbaraJean - There is a foreword in the actual book that basically says that the curator of the short stories decided to use a very broad definition of “shadows“ in the sense that many of these stories touch on topics that were somewhat taboo/not really discussed, like alcoholism, adultery, thievery, etc. and that she was also willing to include stories that ended unhappily. But I agree that not many of these felt THAT scary/sad. 2y

BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks I skipped the foreword because I was afraid it would give spoilers for some of the stories and then I forgot to go back to it! The loose definition of shadows makes sense… and I think it made for a collection with more varied stories. Some were FAR more loosely connected to the theme, though!! Going back to read the foreword now 😁 2y

quietjenn @TheAromaofBooks ah, that is very helpful to know. I can definitely see some of those issues in the stories that didn't seem to fit. I am enjoying them, just need to alter my expectations a bit. 2y

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#BookReport

I continued with the buddy reads, Northanger Abbey #PemberLittens and read a couple of more stories that are in the tagged collection #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

I read The Shadow Murders and First Class Murder

I‘m currently reading Seven Moons

Cinfhen How are you getting on with the #BookerWinner!!??? 2y

AnneCecilie @Cinfhen I‘m enjoying it so far. I liked the writing straight off. 2y

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lauraisntwilder

Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

My weekend reading. #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #pemberlittens #bookspin

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#WeeklyForecast

Continue buddy reading Northanger Abbey #PemberLittens. I‘ve been reading the tagged through the Gutenberg project and there seems to be 7 stories they don‘t have, so I‘ll see if I can read them somewhere else or if I missed them the first time.

I‘ve just started the newest Department Q book by Adler-Olsen and want to finish that. Afterwards I want to read First Class Murder. I hope I will be able to start The Seven Moons

AnneCecilie Some of these books are on the longer side so I‘ll see how it goes 2y

Cinfhen I couldn‘t get into Seven Moons but it seems to be the favorite of many for the #BookerPrize 2y

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#BookReport

I kept up with the buddy reads; the tagged #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead and Northanger Abbey #PemberLittens

I read Less than Angels and Ingen hellig.

I‘m almost done with Crow Lake.

Cinfhen I still need to read more of Mary Lawson!!! 2y

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

“…he was so godly as to be almost painful. It‘s a blessing that he had no sons or they would certainly have gone to the bad by way of keeping the family to a natural average.”

😂 #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

Finally starting the #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead for this month, now that I have a borrowed copy in hand! Because I have no idea what happened to the copy I thought I owned. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Who all is joining in for this month‘s read? We‘ll be discussing on Saturday, October 29 – drop in if you are able!

AvidReader25, quietjenn, Daisey, Jerdencon, catebutler, Bkwrm7, JenlovesJT47, AnneCecilie, mom2bugnbee, lauraisntwilder, sblbooks, TheAromaofBooks, julieclair

catebutler I‘m hoping to join! Have to find my copy too!! 2y

lauraisntwilder I'm in! 😊 2y

quietjenn Hoping to get to it! 2y

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TheAromaofBooks I've been reading one or two of these a day, so I'm in!! 2y

AnneCecilie I‘m in and has already started reading 2y

julieclair I hope to join in. My library hold has finally come in, but I‘m not going to be back in town to get it until the 25th. I called, and they said they‘d hold it for me until then. 🤞 2y

BarbaraJean @catebutler I hope your copy turns up soon! @quietjenn Hoping it fits into your October reads! @lauraisntwilder @TheAromaofBooks @AnneCecilie Yay!! Looking forward to it! @julieclair Glad you‘ve got a copy lined up… feel free to jump into the discussion based on whatever you‘ve been able to read by that point. 😊 2y

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#BookReport

Continue with the buddy reads; the tagged #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead and Northanger Abbey #PemberLittens

Then I want to see how much of the others I can get to. After reading Pym for the first time earlier this year, I want to read more. The same can be said about Lawson after she was Longlisted for the Woman‘s Prize last year. The last is short story collection just out.

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#BookReport

Kept up with the buddy reads; the tagged #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead and Northanger Abbey #PemberLittens

I read Treacle Walker, The Cost of Living and Sandman volumes 8, 9 and 10.

I‘m currently reading House of Glass

Cinfhen Thoughts on this one!???

Treacle Walker

AnneCecilie @Cinfhen I think I‘m in the minority, but I enjoyed it and found it playful 2y

Cinfhen I think several liked this one / glad you are one of them 😁 2y

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Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

#WeeklyForecast

I‘ve started Northanger Abbey #PemberLittens and will start the tagged or at least the stories #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead

Then I want to read the other books.

I‘ve seen some mixed reviews for Treacle Walker so curious to find out where I stand. The Cost of Living is the second book in Levy‘s “living biography” and I loved her first one. And I want to finish my reading of Sandman, at least the volumes I already own.

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lauraisntwilder

Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

I'm ready for next month's #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead. (How cute is this little candelabra from the Target dollar spot??)

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LitsyEvents

Among the Shadows | L. M. Montgomery

Repost for @BarbaraJean

For October‘s #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead, we‘ll read Among the Shadows, a collection of LMM‘s short stories (subtitled “Tales from the Darker Side”). I can‘t find a library copy, so if you‘re in the same boat and want to join in the buddy read, here‘s the Table of Contents. Lots of the stories are in the public domain & are available online or in other collections. Looking forward to diving into these stories!

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