It's my turn to answer the tag questions for this week's party!
1. Who introduced you to L. M. Montgomery's writing? Tell us the story!
When I was about seven years old, a new friend of my mom's told her about the Anne series. I remember she even had a copy of one of the books in her diaper bag when she came over for a visit with her baby. My mom got Anne of Green Gables from the library, read it, then read it aloud to me at bedtimes.
This was in the late '80s, right about the time the second Kevin Sullivan Anne movie came to PBS. We were able to get the first movie from the video store or library and watch it, then watched the second one on PBS. Somewhere along the line, my dad got to watch the first movie too, and he fell absolutely in love with the production. We rented both movies so often that my little brother got sick of them, silly boy.
My grandparents gave me a boxed set of the first three books for either my birthday or Christmas, and then gradually gave me the rest of the Anne series over the next couple of gift-giving occasions until I had all eight. I still have those copies, though they are very "well loved" by now!
2. What LMM books have you read?
Here are all the books of hers I've read, with the titles of most of them linked to my reviews of them from over on my book blog:
- Anne of Green Gables
- Anne of Avonlea
- Anne of the Island
- Anne of Windy Poplars
- Anne's House of Dreams
- Anne of Ingleside
- Rainbow Valley
- Rilla of Ingleside
- The Blythes are Quoted
- Chronicles of Avonlea
- Further Chronicles of Avonlea
- Christmas with Anne
- The Blue Castle
- Jane of Lantern Hill
- Emily of New Moon
- Emily Climbs
- Emily's Quest
- A Tangled Web
- Kilmeny of the Orchard
- Among the Shadows
- The Alpine Path
3. What movies or shows based on her books have you watched?
I have seen Anne of Green Gables (1985) and Anne of Avonlea (1987) innumerable times. I've also seen the 1934 version of AOGG once. That's it!
4. Which LMM character is your kindred spirit, the one you'd like to hang out with in real life?
This would have shocked me as a kid, but I think that Marilla Cuthbert and I would get along real well. I'd love to be able to just stop by Green Gables and have an afternoon cup of tea with her once a week.
5. Which LMM character do you relate to the most? And why?
I relate to Jane Stuart in Jane of Lantern Hill quite a bit. She loves to bake and cook and garden, and so do I. She can be shy and reserved, but when she's around people she knows and trusts, she is bright and joyful, and I am a lot like that too.
6. Have you ever been to Prince Edward Island?
Alas, no. I've been to Canada more than a dozen times, since I spent most of my childhood in Michigan, but I haven't made it to PEI yet. Yet!
7. Who is your favorite LMM heroine?
Anne Shirley Blythe. I even gave my first daughter 'Anne' for a middle name in her honor.
8. Who is your favorite LMM hero?
Barney Snaith from The Blue Castle. Yes, yes, yes, I know Gilbert is wonderful. He truly is. But he doesn't make me laugh and cheer and sigh the way Barney does.
9. Do you have any fun merch related to her books? If so, please share some photos!
I do! I have a shelf and a half devoted to her books, with oodles of mugs and several candles stored in front of them.
10. What are some of your favorite LMM quotations?
"It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will." (Anne of Green Gables)
"Don't you know that it is only very foolish folk who talk sense all the time?" (Anne of Avonlea)
"Nobody is ever too old to dream. And dreams never grow old." (Anne of Windy Poplars)
"Shirking responsibilities is the curse of our modern life -- the secret of all the unrest and discontent that is seething in the world." (Anne's House of Dreams)
"John Foster says," quoted Valancy, "'If you can sit in silence with a person for half an hour and yet be entirely comfortable, you and that person can be friends. If you cannot, friends you'll never be and you need not waste time in trying'." (The Blue Castle)
"It is the essence of adventure to see the break of a new day." (Jane of Lantern Hill)
It is never quite safe to think we have done with life. When we imagine we have finished our story fate has a trick of turning the page and showing us yet another chapter. (Rainbow Valley)
Don't forget that today is the last day you can enter my giveaway!
I enjoyed reading your answers, even if I've never read a single one of these books. From your reviews, I feel like I sort of have! At least, I recognize character names, etc. So, alas, not a tag I can participate in. My only memory of anything related is that in high school, one of my schoolmates was gone, off filming the PBS movies.
ReplyDeleteDKoren, it's fun how we can kind of give each other an awareness of stories we love, even though the other person might not ever have an interest in watching them :-)
DeleteInteresting answers! I can't believe your little brother got sick of the TV series, LOL!
ReplyDeleteThere's news in Canada today of a breaking lawsuit concerning Anne of Green Gables. Here's the CBC link to the story which might interest you:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-anne-green-gables-lawsuit-public-domain-1.6756405
Thanks, Debra! In his defense, we did probably watch it once a month for like a year...
DeleteInteresting lawsuit! Kind of reminds me of one involving Sherlock Holmes a few years ago, and whether the character himself was in public domain if not all the books by A. Conan Doyle were yet.
I like to read 'The Blythes are Quoted' since there are some endings to some of the characters from Anne series.
ReplyDeleteBarney Snaith - I like him. Well, I like anyone who can make others laugh.
Great quotes.
Have a lovely day
Lissa, yes, The Blythes are Quoted does offer some nice closure.
DeleteBarney makes me laugh too :-)
Thanks! I hope you have a lovely day too!
I could definitely see you being a "Marilla person". ;) I'd also like to get a cup of tea with her at some point... (although I think if I were to visit any LMM character(s) it would be Valancy and Barney--we could take a hike and then have tea together, and 'twould be grand.
ReplyDeleteI love that you named your daughter after Anne! (One of my little sisters has "Anne" as a middle name, too, but I don't think it's after Anne Shirley...although I do remember my parents emphasizing that it's 'Anne with an 'e''!)
Samantha, well, a hike with Barney and Valancy would be really, really fun too :-)
DeleteAnne with an 'e' is the only way to go!
Delightful answers! How sweet your grandparents gave you that first set! <3 What a lovely collection!! And I love that quote about shirking our responsibilities! hehe XD Its so true!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Thanks, Sarah! There's a lot of wisdom in LMM's writing, isn't there?
DeleteI love that you have such wonderful memories of how your relationship with Montgomery's books began. And I adore your shelf! We have an entire wall dedicated to The Lord of the Rings so you know I can relate. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carissa! There's a wall in my master bath that's all LOTR artwork too :-) And my living room is all cowboy movies and such. I like grouping themed things together that way!
DeleteGreat answers to the tag! Based on that photograph of your bookshelf, I can tell the works of L. M. Montgomery mean a lot to you. By the way, I nominated you for The Pick My Movie Tag! Here’s the link to my editorial:
ReplyDeletehttps://18cinemalane.com/2023/03/08/why-francesca-quinn-pi-is-the-worst-hallmark-movie-ive-ever-seen/
Thanks, Sally! Yes, they do -- LMM is one of my top five favorite authors, for sure.
DeleteI just saw your other comment about that tag, so I will check it out once I'm done catching up on replying to comments on my blogs. I was out of town for a few days and fell sooooo behind, lol.
I have been on SUCH an Anne of Green Gables kick lately! I grew up with the gold-standard ‘80s miniseries, too. Somehow, a VHS made its way into my life, and my grandparents and I would watch it on vacations and camping trips. (I never saw it on PBS, but it’s one of those movies in my life that was just always there. I don’t remember getting the video - or a time before it.) I’m their only grandchild, and I swear to you, our personalities are incredible matches for Anne, Matthew, and Marilla, so it was always very special to us. <3 I’d also seen the series of three movies that aired on PBS a few years ago with Martin Sheen as Matthew, but that was it. Never read the book.
ReplyDeleteWell, I’d been missing that PBS series lately, and I just so happened to discover I’d recorded the first the first movie on a completely forgotten old hard drive. So, of course, I obsessed over it, which led me to FINALLY seek out the book – and I absolutely ADORE it. (As Anne would say, it’s “scrumptious.”) I found a delightful (and free!) audio version on Apple Books (read by Kae Marie Denino, if you’re interested) and enjoyed every minute. Then, of course, I had to dive deep into the rest of the major adaptions as well.
My mom bought the PBS series for us to share, then I did the same with the gold-standard miniseries. (By the way, did you know it’s available to stream through a Sullivan Entertainment service called Gazebo TV? The service itself is free and even has some free programming as well, but the most popular items are only available for purchase. Still, the miniseries itself was only $13.99!) My Papa will be able to watch it again now too, if he wants, which is nice. I’d wondered how I’d feel about it since my grandmother has passed away, but it’s so good and just made me happy. :) I’m also making my way through Anne with an E as well. Once I finish it, I may write a post comparing the three.
I thought I would continue with the next book in the series once I finished listening to the first, but of course, there’ll be no Matthew (my favorite character) – and I’m just not ready to move on. ;) So, I’m currently listening to Green Gables again. (It makes for a perfect bedtime book!)
Jillian, how fun that you've been on an AOGG kick! I would like to try the Martin Sheen version because I think he would make a delightful Matthew.
DeleteI shall have to check out Gazebo TV! I hadn't heard of that, so thanks for the heads up. I have a Roku, so I'll have to see if it works with that. I'm glad you were able to reconnect with the miniseries, and that it still makes you happy :-)
Nothing wrong with listening to the first book over again! I promise the next ones are lovely too, but, as you say, there is no Matthew. Which is bittersweet.
Gazebo TV DOES have a Roku channel (as well as an app). :) You can search for it in the Channel Store. And yes, Martin Sheen is indeed a delightful Matthew. <3 (That series is available digitally on Amazon, but you have to buy each part separately.)
DeleteJillian, very cool! I will have to see if I can find it on my Roku, then :-) Thanks!
Delete