Anne of Green Gables Read-Along Discussion Chapters 1-3

Check out the first discussion post on Miranda's blog A Real Writer's Life today! It isn't too late to join in on this read-along!

I'm reading Anne of Green Gables in this version:

This book was given to me by a family friend in 1974. We called her Auntie June and I think this is the book that may have started my series collection obsession. Once I read Anne of Green Gables I was hooked and couldn't get enough of her. I was thrilled to find out that this was a series. I gobbled them up! Now many years later I still have this book and even though I have the series on Kindle I decided I would like to crack open my "old" books and read from them. Yes, my book has been through many moves over the years, has a bit of a musty smell to it, but as I read I have so many memories of reading through it the first time.

Here are Miranda's questions for this week's discussion:

1: What was your first impression of Anne Shirley?

She made me laugh! I think one of the hard things reading this time around is comparing the book character with the movie character. Megan Follows is forever imprinted on my mind as Anne. So as the scenes play out, my imagination is conjuring up the actress! I love little girl Anne. She is so honest, so thrilled to finally get a family, so full of imagination. Yes, she can talk the hind legs off a donkey, but I think that is what endears her to the reader. 

2: Matthew Cuthbert, a shy old bachelor, quickly comes to love the talkative orphan mistakenly reserved for he and his sister. Do you find this to be a likely situation?

I find this truly believable. I think that a vulnerable child would definitely capture the heart of a shy old bachelor. Not in any perverted way, but in a fascinated/sympathetic/sensitive-hearted way.  

3: L.M. Montgomery is known for her descriptions of nature.  Do you find them to be bothersome?

Not at all. I find that this kind of adds to insight into Anne's imagination. Montgomery needed to be descriptive in order for the reader to understand Anne's dreamy thoughts and wild imaginations.

4: Is this your first time reading Anne of Green Gables?

No. I think this may be my 3rd or 4th time through. I know I read it a couple of times as a young person, and I read it to my daughters. I may have snuck in another read or two through the years :) I love it and it never gets old.

Miranda didn't ask us to share any quotes, but I'm always up for quotes so thought I would share a couple that touched me, or made me laugh:

"for not even a brook could run past Mrs. Rachel Lynde's door without due regard for decency and decorum."

"Mrs. Rachel Lynde was one of those capable creatures who can manage their own concerns and those of other folks into the bargain."

"Matthew dreaded all women except for Marilla and Mrs. Rachel; he had an uncomfortable feeling that the mysterious creatures were secretly laughing at him."

I think that this paragraph of Anne's description was so perfect:

"A child of about eleven, garbed in a very short, very tight, very ugly dress of yellowish-gray wincey, She wore a faded brown sailor hat and beneath the hat, extending down her back, were two braids of very thick, decidedly red hair. Her face was small, white and thin, also much freckled; her mouth was large and so were her eyes, which looked green in some lights and moods and gray in others." 

Matthew and Anne's whole drive home delighted me! I love her chatter and her excitement over the beauty all around her. You can tell that she was a child starved for affection and beauty in her life. We see her imagination kicking in with naming the "White Way of Delight" and "The Lake of Shining Waters." 

The most heart-breaking line I think I have ever read:

"You don't want me!" she cried, "You don't want me because I'm not a boy! I might have expected it. Nobody ever did want me. I might have known it was all too beautiful to last. I might have known nobody really did want me. Oh, what shall I do? I'm going to burst into tears!"

I love the whole scene of Marilla asking her what her name is and Anne wanting to be called Cordelia. But since Marilla refused she had to make sure that Anne was spelled with an "e." 

So there are my thoughts and favorite parts of these three chapters. I would love to hear your thoughts and if you are participating in the read along hop on over to Miranda's blog and answer the questions in the comments or leave a link to your post. Looking forward to more Anne!