52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 31

When I was growing up, the Anne of Green Gables stories by L.M. Montgomery were some of my favorite. We must have watched the movie a million times, but I don't recall actually reading the books.

My mom was so appalled at the thought that I had not read the book that she sent a copy home with me after my last visit to my parents house.

I have not lost my love for the story of the orphan Anne and her journey to Green Gables. Siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, are expecting a boy to arrive to help them with their farm. Instead it is talkative Anne that shows up at the train station. Matthew and Marilla both grow to love Anne as their own child, even though she manages to get herself into the most ridiculous situations. The movie really does follow the book nicely. This will always remain one of my favorite stories.

Excerpts from the book:

"Well, that is another hope gone. My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes. That's a sentence I read in a book once, and I say it over to comfort myself whenever I am disappointed." – Anne

"Why must I kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or into the deep, deep woods, and I'd look up into the sky – up – up – up – into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I'd just feel a prayer." – Anne

"You set your heart too much on things, Anne," said Marilla with a sigh. "I'm afraid there'll be a great many disappointments in store for you through life."

"Oh Marilla, looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them," exclaimed Anne. "You mayn't get the things themselves; but nothing can prevent you from having the fun of looking forward to them. Mrs. Lynde says, 'Blessed are they who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed.' But I think it wold be worse to expect nothing than to be disappointed."

"I'm so glad we live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it?" – Anne

For Anne to take things calmly would have been to change her nature... the pleasures and pains of live came to her with trebled intensity. Marilla felt this and was vaguely troubled over it, realizing that the ups and downs of existence wold probably bear hardly on this impulsive soul and not sufficiently understanding the equally great capacity for delight might more than compensate.