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. 

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 28

I just finished A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery, author of one of my favorite childhood stories, Anne of Green Gables.

Initially the book was a bit confusing to follow. It begins with Aunt Becky calling her family together to discuss her will and impending death. The family is actually composed of two families, the Darks and the Penhallows. On the small island of Prince Edward Island, the two clans have intermarried to create one massive clan with plenty of drama. 

At the reading of her will, Aunt Becky makes it clear that a valued family jug will be in the care of Dandy for an entire year. During that time, the Darks and Penhallows must be on their best behavior if they want a chance to get the jug. The ensuing story is a tangled web of romance, feuds and long-standing secrets, with a twist at the end {regarding the jug}. 

Some of my favorite passages from the book: 

It must be admitted frankly that Aunt Becky was not particularly loved by her clan. She was too fond of telling them what she called the plain truth... while the truth was all right, in its place, there was no sense in pouring great gobs of it around where it wasn't wanted. To Aunt Becky, however, tact and diplomacy and discretion, never to mention any consideration for anyone's feelings, were things unknown.

"Giving God information isn't praying, David. It's just as well to leave something to his imagination, you know." - Aunt Becky

"As for the sense of it, there's no sense in heaps of things that we do. Life would be tedious without a vendetta or two."

"Let Gay marry him if she wants to and learn the ups and downs of life for herself, the same as the rest of us did. None of us have had perfect men."

Joseph Dark had a beautiful voice and there was something in the faint, unworded rhythm of his prayer that soothed Joscelyn... One could fit one's own words, one's own needs, one's own desires to it.

All in all, they did not talk or think about her nearly as much as sensitive little Gay thought they were doing. They had their own lives to live and their own loves and ambitions to suffer and scheme and plan for.

He told her thing about the clan she had never known before... noble things and kindly thing and simple, wholesome things that made her feel like she came of a pretty decent stock after all, and must live up to the traditions of it. It was amazing how good people really were.