Anne of Green Gables Read Along Chapters 4-12

If you are participating in the Anne of Green Gables Read-Along head on over to A Real Writer's Life and leave Miranda a comment.

Here are this week's discussion questions:

1: In these chapters, we see more of Marilla Cuthbert than in the previous three. What are your impressions of her?

I love Marilla. She seems a bit crusty at first, kind of stiff but that is understandable for an older woman who has never been around many children. I think that we can see she has a sense of humor as well in her trying to cover up smiles and laughs as Anne chatters away. I think she has a sense of duty as well. She is determined to bring Anne up to be a well behaved young lady even though she has no experience in doing so. 

2: Mrs. Rachel Lynde voices some strong opinions of Anne, and vice versa. What do you think of Mrs. Rachel's opinions? And what of Anne's reaction

Mrs. Rachel is a busybody for sure. I think a lot of people use the excuse that they are old so they have a right to say things that are hurtful to others without any repercussions. I think she was too harsh. No matter what she thought of Anne or anyone, it is just plain rude to tell them to their face that they are ugly etc. Not just rude, but hurtful and to me there is never an excuse to be hurtful. I can understand Anne's reaction even though I don't think that as a child she should be able to yell and stamp her foot at an adult. 

3: Upon hearing Mrs. Rachel's opinions, Anne lashes out with some bold statements of her own. What do you think of her reaction?

As Anne herself says later on in her apology what she said was true too, but it shouldn't have been said. I think that the job should have been Marilla's to correct Mrs. Rachel's behavior. Anne is passionate and untrained so of course her reaction is going to be over the top. 

 4: Anne of Green Gables is L.M. Montgomery's most known work, yet she's written more than 20 other novels, hundreds of poems and just as many essays. Have you ever read any of her other works?

I've read Emily of New Moon and The Blue Castle. I enjoyed both. I've read all of the Anne of Green Gables and Chronicles of Avonlea. Loved all of them! 

Quotes that I enjoyed in this section:

"There was scope for imagination here" 

I love this sentence that Anne uses a lot!

"Matthew is a most ridiculous man. I think he's lovely, said Anne reproachfully, He is so very sympathetic. He didn't mind how much I talked--he seemed to like it. I felt that he was a kindred spirit as soon as ever I saw him."

Love Anne's "kindred spirits"

"Isn't pink the most bewitching color in the world? I love it, but I can't wear it. Redheaded people can't wear pink, not even in imagination."

I know a lot of redheads who wear pink, but every time I see it I always think of Anne saying this!

"Marilla, she demanded presently, do you think that I shall ever have a bosom friend in Avonlea? A--a what kind of a friend? A bosom friend--an intimate friend, you know--a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul."

I love Anne's search and desire for her bosom friend!

Next week's discussion will be over chapters 13 through 21

Week 1 (June 1-2): Chapters 1-3

Week 2 (June 3-9): Chapters 4-12

Week 3 (June 10-16): Chapters 13-21

Week 4 (June 17-23): Chapters 22-30

Week 5 (June 24-30): Chapters 31-38

Hope you can join us. I think Anne is a lovely read and a quick read so it wouldn't be too hard to catch up.

No Other Will Do by Karen Witemeyer

Emma Chandler started a colony for women. It was meant to be a sanctuary for the women who took up residence there. But now that sanctuary is being threatened. Someone wants the women to abandon Harper's Station. Each threat becomes more menacing than the one before. Finally the threat becomes more violent. A man that would shoot up a church with women and children present is a violence Emma is unprepared to deal with. Emma needs help, and she knows just the person to send for.

Malachi Shaw is the best dynamite expert in the field. He loves his job. Ten years before, as an orphan, Malachi was taken in by Emma and her aunts.  Grateful for all that they did for him Malachi knows that he will do whatever it takes to save his angel Emma.

Ten years is a long time to be away from someone. Malachi is not disappointed in his remembrance of Emma. She still appears to him as an angel. He's always loved her and now even more so. But, Malachi believes that he is not worthy of his angel so he is there only to help Emma for a few days. He must guard his heart because he knows that he has a job to go back to and Emma has a town of women to run, But each day that Malachi is near Emma he knows it will be even harder to leave her than the first time ten years ago. Malachi also knows that he will let nobody threaten Emma without consequences and that requires him to keep close tabs on her. Will the threats cease now that there is a man in town to protect the women?

My Thoughts:

I loved this story! Karen Witemeyer always slips in a bit of suspense in her books that manages to keep the reader glued to the pages. I especially loved the romance though in this one. Emma and Malachi were perfect together. Sometimes I get tired of reading about all of the misunderstandings that keep couples apart before they finally get together. There wasn't any of that in No Other Will Do. While there were hurdles to be crossed, there was never misunderstanding between Malachi and Emma. I loved both Mal and Emma's personalities. Emma was a strong female character, yet knew when she needed to ask for help. She was stubborn and put herself into situations that weren't safe, but only because she would rather be hurt than allow someone she loved to be hurt. Mal was a swoon-worthy hero that even though he felt unworthy of Emma was the absolute best for her! While the conflict was what brought them together my favorite parts were just the two of them casting longing glances towards each other. I love Karen Witemeyer's books and No Other Will Do did not disappoint. If you haven't read any of her books I say they are a definite must for your library!

The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder by Rachel McMillan

Merinda Herringford and Jemima Watts make up the detective team of Herringford and Watts. Two single women determined to make a difference for women's rights in a time when the suffragist movement was just getting started.

Merinda seems to be the one that gets the two into trouble. Jemima is kind of just pulled along. Not that she minds, but dressing up like a man to get information they need goes against the way Jemima was raised.

When a young woman is found murdered at the local theater Herringford and Watts are on the spot. With the Morality Squad combing the streets for women breaking the rules Merinda and Jemima employ their ability to dress like men in order to help local police investigate the poor girls murder. As they come closer to finding the killer the two also find themselves and their friends in danger. Will the two men in their lives, Jasper who is with the police and Ray who is a local newspaperman, be able to keep track of the girls in order to keep them out of trouble?

I enjoyed The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder very much! While it wasn't "on the edge of your seat" full of mystery, there was some action and tense moments for the women. I really liked the characters as well. Especially the men. I liked Ray and Jem's relationship even though at times it was a bit muddled. I'll be looking forward to reading what antics Herringford and Watts are up to next.

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!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

It took me a few minutes to realize that the book is narrated by Death. I thought that was a pretty interesting twist to a book.

The story starts out with Death meeting Leisel Meminger for the first time. She is with her mother and brother on a train headed to her new foster family. Leisel's brother dies along the way and that is where Death first encounters Leisel. It is also where Leisel steals her first book.

Leisel's foster parents are a bit older and her new mama is a bit of a tyrant. Papa spends many nights helping Leisel learn to read and get through her nightmares. The setting and time of the story is in Germany during World War II. Hitler is as at his peak and the Jews are despised. Leisel and her family survive on Mama's awful tasting pea soup. Among all of the children in their small town is a boy named Rudy who befriends Leisel.

When Leisel's foster parents need to repay a debt to a man that saved Papa's life they end up hiding a Jewish man in their basement. Leisel befriends Max through the course of time.

The story progresses through World War II and the hardships and risks Leisel and her family encounter. Leisel's mother takes in laundry to help the family survive. One of her customers is the mayor's wife. The second book Leisel steals is a book from a book burning sanctioned by Hitler. Leisel knows she has been seen by the mayor's wife. Eventually the mayor's wife shows Leisel her library of books and Leisel spends many hours reading among the books. Eventually though the mayor fires Leisel's mama. In bitterness Leisel goes to the mayor's house and steals her 3rd book.

Food is rationed and Rudy and Leisel are so hungry that they join a group of children on the streets who steal food from local farms. Both Rudy and Leisel have a knack for thievery and a desire for survival. Unfortunately death visits Leisel and those closest to her once again.

My Thoughts:

Usually I will read a book first before I watch the movie version. But in this case I watched the movie first and then picked up the book. I actually enjoyed both. I did find that the book was a bit confusing. I'm not sure if it was just my Kindle version or if that is the way that the book is, but some of the abbreviated headings I found hard to distinguish if it was the narrator(Death) or some other characters thoughts. But that aside, I did like the book. I liked the characters. Rudy was a hoot. From painting himself black and calling himself Jesse Owens, to his constant hope that someday Leisel would bestow a kiss on him, Rudy was a free spirited young man with a desire to live and a knack for getting into trouble.

The treatment of the Jews and those who came to their help was brutal. Every time I read a Holocaust based story I shudder at the idea that people could be so evil to other human beings. I could go preachy here, but I won't. I will just leave it at the fact that the book is set in a dark time in history.

I loved how Leisel's love for her foster parents developed. Even for Rosa her crusty foster mama, Leisel developed a love for both. Her papa was her anchor though. With his hours of helping her read, to his hours of playing his accordion. Hans was a good man through and through.

The ending of The Book Thief wasn't very satisfying, and it was pretty sad. I guess I would have liked to know more of what happened after WWII with Leisel. What became of her? Who did she marry? What scars were left to her throughout the rest of her life?

For the most part the movie and book followed each other. Of course there were things that couldn't be told in the movie because of length. How do you condense a 550 page book into a 2 hour movie? I thought they did a pretty good job. And I did eventually get used to Death narrating the story in both the movie and the book.

Anne Of Green Gables Read Along

Check out all of the details on host Miranda's blog A Real Writer's Life! I can't wait!

Murder Comes By Mail by A.H. Gabhart

As Deputy Michael Keane was taking a group of church ladies to a play he sees a man about to jump off of a bridge into the river below. As Michael rescues the jumper the man tells him that he will be sorry that he saved him. Sure enough a few days later Michael receives pictures in the mail of a dead girl. It doesn't take long for Michael to realize that he is being set up for murder. The question is why would the jumper target the man who rescued him?

My Thoughts:

As seems to be my habit I started with this second book in the series. I don't think reading the first book is necessary to get the background of the characters in the book, so that is a good thing. I really liked Murder Comes By Mail. There was quite a bit of suspense wondering who would be the next victim. Some of the characters in the town of Hidden Springs are quite entertaining. I enjoyed Aunt Lindy's no-nonsense teacher attitude. Hank the newspaper man was a bit annoying, but did prove useful. Betty Jean, secretary at the Sheriff's office, was quite a character. Desperate to find a husband but no options have presented themselves. Alexandria, Michael's love interest, is a lawyer in Washington, D.C. whom he has been best friends with since grade school. All of these people make up just a part of the small-town life of Hidden Springs. There were some things that I think could have been answered more clearly but for the most part I think this was a solid mystery/suspense.

A.H. Gabhart is a new author for me and I plan on checking out other books by her.