Kell Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 OK everyone, get out your books and start reading! Our choice for August is the children's classic, Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery. Synopsis: When Anne Shirley erupts into the Cuthberts's lives, they don't realize how fond they will become of the red-haired orphan. Both entertained and exasperated by her constant chatter and imaginings, they soon find it hard to remember what Green Gables was like without its adopted daughter. Some questions to consider: 1- Who was your favourite character and why? 2- Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? 3- Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? 4- Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? 5- Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? (You do not have to answer all, or indeed, any, of these questions, they are meant only as points for you to perhaps mull over as you read, and provoke more discussion. Please feel free to ask and answer any questions that come up as you read.) Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrathofkublakhan Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 my copy comes with a girls necklace..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Very nice, Wrath My version is an ebook so I'll be reading it on my iPod. I prefer having a book to hold but I'm going to be a cheapskate Once I finish my current book, I'm hoping to get through Carmilla relatively quickly for the comparative reading circle, then I'll dive in to Anne... I hope I won't be too far behind! I just noticed that locket is taped to the cover. I hope if you take it off that it won't take half the cover with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazeltree Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 I got this years ago and have read it several times. I thought I had all the books in the series but I can only find the first 3 so maybe I just got them from the library. I really enjoyed all the books - I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renniemist Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 I have started on Anne of Green Gables and I am really enjoying it. I had read all the Anne books when I was younger and had thought they were great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 I finally got around to starting this book today, and I'm really enjoying it so far. It's actually bringing my out of my current reading funk! What I noticed right off was how much Anne talks. That would normally annoy me, but I sort of found myself enjoying her chatter despite myself, much as Matthew and Marilla do. I'm finding myself really sympathizing with her, although much of what she says (like her complaints about her looks, about wanting to stay with them, etc.) could be taken as an effort to manipulate...sort of like fishing for compliments. But I can see that she's not like that. I've never come across a heroine as earnest as she is. She's about to start her first day of school, and I can't wait to see what happens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessponti Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 I disappear for a while, and when I return I find you all reading one of my all time favourites!! I'm really looking forward to finding out what you think! I'm glad you're enjoying it Echo and Renniemist I love Anne and her world, I love the way she talks and the romance of her soul - I wish my copy was out of storage!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I finished reading Anne of Green Gables a few days ago, and I'm going to cheat and copy part of my post verbatim from my reading list: I found Anne to be a simply enchanting character, and wise beyond her years. I love her way of looking at things, and the pleasure that she takes in everyday things that other people would take for granted. I especially like that she didn't lose that aspect of herself when certain events took place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted August 14, 2007 Author Share Posted August 14, 2007 I read this whilst away on holiday and have to say I found it absolutely enchanting! Although if I'd met Anne in person, I possibly would have found her constant chatter highly annoying, she has such a sunny and positive disposition that I think she's pretty much impossible to dislike! Watching her overcome obstacles and achieve goals, all with a smile on her face and a wonderful adventure on her mind, was some of the most fun reading I've had in a very long while. There was quite a lot about the story that I could predict far, far in advance, but I simply didn't care - I wanted to read on anyway and was rather sad to finish it in the end! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Orchid Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 As someone who went to school in Canada, this book was definately on all our reading lists! I have to say, it's been a few years since I last picked this one up, but I do remember enjoying it at the time. I found the Anne series to be appropriate for children as well as adult readers, but tbh, I preferred the later (?) Avonlea books, which were probably aimed towards older readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolategal Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I love anna of green gables, but i dint read for this. Because i had only just finished it at the end of july!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrathofkublakhan Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Why, I think I'll order me up a child tomorrow. Might help around the farm some... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Why, I think I'll order me up a child tomorrow. Might help around the farm some... LOL! I love how they act almost as if they're ordering a takeout meal or something. "Matthew, call the orphanage, I'm in the mood for a child this evening." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maclsj Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 I managed to read my first reading circle book! Yay! At first I found the book slow and a little irritating but I did get into it and found it very enjoyable and sweet. It's the sort of thing you read on a wet autumn afternoon with a mug of hot chocolate. I'll definitely be saving the next book for later in the year (although the weather lately is such that I may end up reading it soon!). I would definitely recommend this to others to at least try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteffieB Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 I really enjoyed this book..but at first was put off by the very un-PCness of it. Marilla made a comment in the very beginning about the local French boys, and this is an area that purged itself of the French, who later settled in Louisiana. It's a little like Mark Twain that way, or any book, really, from a different era, I guess. And in other ways it was a lot more modern, with the celebration of Anne's intelligence and her pursuit of knowledge. Anne's dreaminess and imagination really appealed to me. This book took a surprisingly long time for me to read, too. When I told a friend I was reading this, he said he had watched tv programs when he was a kid -- anybody remember these? I have never seen them! And several people have told me they visited Green Gables, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 I have now started this and I must say I am really enjoying it, even though I was a little dubious. It's a very heartening little book so far. I'm not that far in yet so I can't really comment much but I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 I'll try answering some of these questions now... 1. Who was your favorite character and why? I think it was Matthew. In his own quiet way, he paved the way for Anne's happiness. I think he was her truest friend in the entire book. 2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? I really enjoyed the episode of the haunted woods, in which Anne ends up scaring herself with her too-vivid imagination. 3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has in encouraged you to read more? This was the first book I read by this author, and after reading it, I would like to read an unabridged version of this story, and read the later books. Anne is a character I want to know more about! 4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? I thought Anne was going a bit too far in her grudge against Gilbert. After a while, it was like, "enough already!" 5. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? Definitely, yes! I absolutely devoured this book. After I was finished, by boyfriend actually welcomed me back to the real world. While I was reading, everything else went away, and I felt like I was transported to a different place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 I thought Anne was going a bit too far in her grudge against Gilbert. After a while, it was like, "enough already!" I agree Echo. I would have expected a couple of weeks or months but I think by the end it had been a few years! I can't wait to read the following books to see what happens between them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrathofkublakhan Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 <snip>3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has in encouraged you to read more? This was the first book I read by this author, and after reading it, I would like to read an unabridged version of this story, and read the later books. Anne is a character I want to know more about! </snip> I know I could look this up, but this is a forum! What exactly is unabridged? Does this mean it was edited from the original? And why would anyone do that to a classic? Or am I just guessing? Do I know the answer? No I don't! Help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 I know I could look this up, but this is a forum! What exactly is unabridged? Does this mean it was edited from the original? And why would anyone do that to a classic? Or am I just guessing? Do I know the answer? No I don't! Help! My version of Anne of Green Gables was an abridged version, which means that it had some parts cut out to make it shorter. By unabridged, I mean that I want an un-edited, original version of the book. I don't know why publishers do this, but I do know that my version was called a Children's Classic. Maybe they thought the unedited version was too long and dense for children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrathofkublakhan Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 My version of Anne of Green Gables was an abridged version, which means that it had some parts cut out to make it shorter. By unabridged, I mean that I want an un-edited, original version of the book. I don't know why publishers do this, but I do know that my version was called a Children's Classic. Maybe they thought the unedited version was too long and dense for children. Thanks Echo. I guess it's like The Princess Bride where he only read the good parts. I remember my teacher in grade school reading a story called Little Britches to us while we rested. I loved that story. I finally found it in the library and checked it out - it had swear words! My teacher had artfully read it for us to our age level and it was a wonderful story. Some part of me thinks that no book should be edited unless it is the actual writer - but I guess it happens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Does this mean it was edited from the original? And why would anyone do that to a classic? Because there are some barbaric people in the world! I don't think I've ever read an abridged version of a book before. I'm sure I would always be wondering what had been left out. And who are the publishers to decide what is and isn't important to the reader? I saw a book club show on telly once where a woman mentioned she was listening to an abridged audio version of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past (which, if you haven't heard of it, is a novel of 7 volumes and is exceptionally long). Having read the entire novel before, she was disappointed to find one of her favourite parts missing in the audio! Anyway, <ahem>, back on topic now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrathofkublakhan Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 <snip> Anyway, <ahem>, back on topic now.</snip> (cough), yeah. Anne is such a great book. I think book two is her college years - has anyone read that? I so love her, dare I say 'plucky' attitude, and a woman in college in that era is bound to be fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renniemist Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 I'll try answering some of these questions now... 4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? I thought Anne was going a bit too far in her grudge against Gilbert. After a while, it was like, "enough already!" . I think Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessponti Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed ready Anne it makes me all warm on the inside! I love her, I find her a really inspirational character, to maintain her uniqueness throughout. I love the Anne/Gilbert story. I grew up with the tv series and grew into the books in later life; her life is like a warm blanket to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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