Book Beginnings: The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

Today I am linking up to Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader where readers share the first sentence of the current book they are reading.

The Wanderer

"They had been on the road for six days, a clan of five bouncing along in a tired wagon, when Bam White woke to some bad news. One of his horses was dead. It was the nineteenth-century equivalent of flat tire, except this was the winter of 1926. The Whites had no money. They were moving from the high desert chill of Las Animas, Colorado, to Littlefield, Texas, south of Amarillo, to start anew."

I recently learned of The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan from The Relentless Reader, Jennifer's fantastic book blog, and thought this would be an interesting and also educational read. I immediately downloaded it and am looking forward to delving deeper into the stories that will be told. From the introduction, the reader senses the weariness that the character is feeling and the direness of the family's situation to propel them to journey across The Great Plains with nothing more than hope for a better future. This is a book with heavy content but one that is sure to be inspirational. 

About the Book (from the New York Times): The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since. Timothy Egan’s critically acclaimed account rescues this iconic chapter of American history from the shadows in a tour de force of historical reportage. Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, Egan tells of their desperate attempts to carry on through blinding black dust blizzards, crop failure, and the death of loved ones. Brilliantly capturing the terrifying drama of catastrophe, Egan does equal justice to the human characters who become his heroes, “the stoic, long-suffering men and women whose lives he opens up with urgency and respect.


About the Author: Timothy Egan is an American author and journalist. For The Worst Hard Time, a 2006 book about people who lived through The Great Depression's Dust Bowl, he won the National Book Award for Nonfiction and the Washington State Book Award in history/biography. In 2001, The New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for a series to which Egan contributed, "How Race is Lived in America".  He currently lives in Seattle and contributes opinion columns as the paper's Pacific Northwest correspondent.

Have you read The Worst Hard Time? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Reading,

Rebecca

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting, he thought, as he looked again at the position of the sun, and hurries his pace." (page 11)

About the Book (from Barnes and Noble): Paulo Coelho's charming fable will enchant and inspire readers for generations to come. The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.

Alchemy: a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base of metals into gold, the discover for a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life. (Merriam-Webster)

My Thoughts

     The Alchemist (Harper Collins, 1993) is a simple and beautiful story about fulfilling one's purpose in life and the journey that lies between a dream and reality. As the reader travels along with a young sheep herder, Santiago, in the quest to achieve his Personal Legend, we discover the importance of truly living in the present.
     The Alchemist is a calming read. Written in the style of a fable, the story is largely dialogue. There is a sense of mystery in the characters and their interaction with Santiago. Each individual he encounters offers him a life lesson that works to benefit him along his course but he also must learn to be the director of his destiny and have the courage to make his own decisions. In the end, Santiago finds that his final destination led him directly back to his beginning but he had to complete the circle in order to fulfill his legend and reap the rewards of a full life.

"The wind began to blow again. It was the levanter, the wind that came from Africa. It didn't bring with is the smell of the desert, nor the threat of Moorish invasion. Instead, it brought the scent of a perfume he knew well, and the touch of a kiss- a kiss that came from far away, slowly, slowly, until it rested on his lips." (page 167)

     This is a book that has a strong lingering effect. Long after you have finished the last page, its contents will continue to ruminate in your thoughts and reactions. Coelho's words are a breath of fresh air in today's world where everything is expected to occur instantly and in our favor. The Alchemist reminds us that the journey is more important than the destination. Our purpose is determined by our spirit and gratitude, as well as our ability to listen and learn. The world provides us with many guides but we must practice awareness in order to see an omen as it is presented. Santiago's adventure teaches us that time is irrelevant in our pursuing of our dreams or purpose. As long as we still have life, we still have the opportunity to reach our goal.

Book Club Suggestion: Have each member reveal their Personal Legend- a dream or goal that they have yet to achieve. Next, have everyone write down three action items that they could begin in order to make a step in attaining their dream. Continue to encourage each other throughout the upcoming months and provide a support system for personal growth and development.

For more information about Coelho and his other works, visit here.

Happy Reading!
Rebecca

Weekend Reading

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend 

and time to relax with a good book.

"There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book,

 pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning."

                                                                         ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/book.html#lZbjJsjMXwiAgloo.99

There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/book.html#lZbjJsjMXwiAgloo.99

There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/book.html#lZbjJsjMXwiAgloo.99

There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/book.html#lZbjJsjMXwiAgloo.99

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

About the Book (from Random House): Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

"Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain." (page 80)

My Thoughts

     The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is so creatively and beautifully written that for an instant, one forgets the weight of the subject matter and the darkness that surrounds and suffocates the characters. The story of Liesel and the community on Himmel Street is eloquently narrated by Death. The narration is captivating, and it is easy for the reader to sympathize with Death as a completely different perspective on storytelling unravels. While Death can be swift or lingering, in Zusak's crafting it is also compassionate and exhausted by the effects of war.

     Set during World War II, a young girl, Liesel, finds herself living with Hans and Rosa Hubermann, struggling to adapt in a broken world and find purpose when surrounded by devastation, evil, and loss. Her prized possessions become her books and she quickly learns that through reading she can briefly escape her bitter reality and envision a better world. When the Hubermann's begin to hide a young Jewish man in their basement, Max Vandenburg, Liesel discovers the beauty in sharing words, books, and ideas. Their friendship allows them to begin to accept the loss they have each encountered and to embrace the power words possess when shared.

     When Liesel takes her first book from the burial site of her brother, "The Grave Digger's Handbook," she has yet to learn to read. The book itself provides her with solace, a physical connector between the girl she is and her future self. Her bond with Hans Hubermann is solidified when he teaches her to read, giving her the gift of literacy which she unabashedly devours. It is when she begins to share this gift that Liesel finds her true strength. As residents gather together in a basement during air raids on Himmel Street, she reads aloud to them to quieten their fears and distract them from the horrors of war.

     The Book Thief is a story of survival but it is through friendship, family, and faith that Zusak's characters find their voice and share it with the reader. It is a compelling story as Liesel's tragic journey comes to a heart-breaking end. Yet one can't help but think that the sun will rise on her future and she will continue to find comfort through words, leaving us all better for having read her story.

Click here to learn more about author Markus Zusak. 

Who would we be without the gift of words? Have you read The Book Thief? Watched the film adaptation? I would love to read your thoughts.

Happy Reading,

Rebecca

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

"...I desperately want the insanity we're living through to end. I desperately want what has begun to finish. In a word, I desperately want this tragedy to be over and for us to try to survive it, that's all. What's important is to live: Premium vivere. One day at a time. To survive, to wait, to hope." (Maurice Michauds, page 179)

About the Book (from Vintage Books): Beginning in Paris on the eve of the Nazi occupation in 1940, Suite Francaise tells the remarkable story of men and women thrown together in circumstances beyond their control. As Parisians flee the city, human folly surfaces in every imaginable way: a wealthy mother searches for sweets in a town without food; a couple is terrified at the thought of losing their jobs, even as their world begins to fall apart. Moving on to a provincial village now occupied by German soldiers, the locals must learn to coexist with the enemy- in their town, their homes, even in their hearts. When Irene Nemirovsky began working on Suite Francaise, she was already a highly successful writer living in Paris. But she was also a Jew, and in 1942 she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where she died. For sixty-four years, this novel remained hidden and unknown.

My Thoughts:

     Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky (Vintage Books, 2004) examines the conflicts that arise between family, friends, and foe when forced to face one's greatest fears- the loss of life, love, and land. The title of the book was given to what Nemirovsky thought would be a collection of five novels but unfortunately only contains the completed two the author completed before being arrested in 1942 and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp where she was executed at the age of 39. The notebook containing the two novels was discovered by her daughter in 1998. It is extraordinary to conceptualize that Nemirovsky was writing about World War II as it was unfolding, weaving fiction and reality with such grace that one would presume she herself was writing history before it happened.

"Madame Angellier rang for the cook, who came in and closed the shutters. 

Everything withdrew back into the night: the songs, the murmur of kisses, the soft 

brightness of the stars, the footsteps of the conqueror on the pavement and the sigh of the

 thirsty frog praying to the heavens for rain, in vain." (page 266)

     Suite Francaise is a portrayal of life in France just prior to the German invasion followed by the German occupation. The author created several sets of characters, each with varying backgrounds, who cross paths in brief encounters, weaving all the pieces into one master work. A Russian-born novelist living in Paris at the start of the WWII, Nemirovsky explores the psychology of war and its impact on soldiers and citizens alike.

     Nemirovsky's prose is effortlessly elegant as she details the strength of the French people, their struggles to survive and their fight to hold strong to their culture and customs as they face their conquerors. The author easily conjures the emotions of each character, exploring the impact of war on both the classes and the sexes. She had amazing gift to create a story that sympathized with all involved and portrayed world events before they could be digested and examined. Suite Francaise is both disheartening and hopeful, leaving the reader both exhausted and entirely fulfilled. 

     The second novel ends as the Germans are ordered to Moscow, leaving the reader with open hands- hungrily awaiting more words, yet satisfied with the beauty Nemirovsky conveyed during one of the darkest periods of world history.

Suite Francaise is currently being developed as a major motion picture.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this novel.

Happy Reading!

Rebecca

An Unintended Sabbatical

Dear Readers: I had not intended to be away for so long but life is astute at throwing obstacles in our path. At the end of summer, I became ill which lingered for far too long. Then, once I began to feel better, I was reluctant to jump back into the world of blogging because what we often don't voice is that it is A LOT of work! Books have remained my refuge these past months and I am excited to share them again. I am also looking forward to discovering what you have been reading recently.

Here are some of the titles I will be reviewing in the upcoming month: Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky (Phenomenal!); Possession by A.S. Byatt (Classic Romance!); The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Excellent Creative Writing!); The Giver by Lois Lowry (Incredibly Thought Provoking!); and The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (Amazing!!!). I hope you will continue to follow and share your thoughts on all things literature.

Let's Continue to Share the Joy of Reading!

Rebecca

Thanksgiving by Ellen Cooney

"Hester sees they need God to look in the direction of this house and set in motion a mighty splash of light, sweeping through this room like a broom." (Thanksgiving, Ellen Cooney)

About the Book: One family. One table. One meal. 350 years. This dramatic, highly inventive novel presents the story of one family through many generations, as Thanksgiving dinner is prepared. The narrative moves swiftly and richly through time and changes as we experience the lives of the Morleys against the background of historical events. This is history that comes fully alive, for we become part of the family ourselves, sharing their fortunes and tragedies, knowing their truths from their lies, watching their possessions handed down or lost forever. All along, in the same house, in the same room, Morley women are getting dinner ready, one part at a time, in a room that begins with a hearth of Colonial times and ends as a present-day kitchen. Thanksgiving serves up history in a lively, entertaining way that offers an original viewpoint of the everyday concerns of one family across the generations.

My Thoughts: It's September, which means that Halloween decorations are showcasing store shelves and television is filled with all sorts of ghosts, goblins, and zombies to scare us. October is right around the corner and by its end, red, green, and gold-glittered everything will be on display for a shopping experience comprised of things we don't need and never knew we wanted until the flashy advertising entranced us into thinking our lives would be improved if only we owned this or that. And somewhere in the middle, slightly less prominent with each passing year lies Thanksgiving in her quiet gratitude.

     Did you ever have a book find its way to you when you were in most need of what it had to offer? Today our lives revolve around "post-worthy" events and activities to share on social media with our "friends." Do you remember when you only "shared" with those that were present? When family dinners were about creating dishes from recipes that had been passed down for generations to enjoy with those around the table and not about capturing a program-enhanced photo of a store-bought dessert?

     Thanksgiving by Ellen Cooney begins in a quiet descriptive of the life and times of early settlers in 1662 Massachusetts. As the years quickly progress in this saga of the Morley family, the characters and the lives they lead become much louder. While the early Morleys long for tools to make life more simple such as the modern technology that fills our homes today but were unimaginable in their time, the later Morleys find themselves somewhat nostalgic about the simplicity and hand-crafted ways of the past.

     Thanksgiving explores the bonds of family over many generations and the roots that ultimately tie them together even as they venture outward on their own. Home is much more than a house. For the Morleys, the house and land they have inhabited for centuries is both their beginning and end. "Pearl says the worst things her own ears ever heard was the sound the door never made, opening to reveal the first Roger, home from the war. The house is still holding that silence, Pearl says." 
     It is the mystery of what really happened within the walls of the old Morley house that keeps each generation intrigued, so many secrets never told, dreams never shared. "And of all those things, done and not-done, when you come right down to it, what have you actually got? You actually only have the things that someone was willing to pass along. And of the things passed along, you have to wonder, how many of them are the truth?"
     Throughout the book, it is the care of the dinner and food preparation that unites each story told up to 2012. The traditional food that remains the holiday staples today- pumpkins, squash, cranberries, turkey, yams, potatoes, rolls- are in many ways additional characters. When the parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme are dried hanging in the kitchen eaves, something magical seems to have taken place. The reader follows the Morleys through their struggles and achievements, love and heartbreaks, births and deaths. And while each of the characters come to life on the page with their own unique personality, it is the house that is at the center of the realm, waiting to open its doors to a new Morley seeking refuse from storm.
     In our ever changing world where each new day seems to process faster, Thanksgiving is the perfect reminder that sometimes all we need to do is slow down, then stop...and celebrate the blessings of family, food, and home sweet home.

 About the Publisher: Publerati specializes in fine fiction for e-books, donating all of its e-books and a portion of its sales to the Worldreader Organization's efforts to provide e-readers and e-books to teachers and children in developing nations for free to promote literacy. To purchase this book for your specific e-reader, visit www.publerati.com.

** Learn more about Author Ellen Cooney on my Book Beginnings post here.

Book Club Suggestions: For the discussion meeting, have each member bring their favorite Thanksgiving dinner dish and share the recipe with the group; Take turns allowing each member to share what they are thankful for this year; Discuss family rituals that take place on Thanksgiving or heirlooms that are brought out of storage for the special day; Have members research an ancestor before the meeting and share their discoveries with the group.

Happy Reading!
Rebecca

Book Beginnings: Thanksgiving by Ellen Cooney

 Today I am linking up to Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader where readers share the first sentence of the current book they are reading.

1662
The Turkey

"The fire is nearly out. In her hurry to flame it, she rushes through the daydark and bumps herself hard on the cradle. She keeps forgetting it's there, planed smooth as skin, still tight in the rockers, still smelling new-woody."

I love the uncommon descriptive words Cooney creates to set the scene of this 1662 day and home- "daydark," "new-woody." The reader can instantly sense that the character's daily routines are very physical, from keeping a fire going to caring for a baby and all the other household chores that we know await her. I am looking forward to reading this novel as it seems to be the perfect book to digest before the start of the holiday season.

** You can read my review of Cooney's previous novel, Lambrusco, here.

About Thanksgiving:

One family. One table. One meal. 350 years. This dramatic, highly inventive novel presents the story of one family through many generations, as Thanksgiving dinner is prepared. The narrative moves swiftly and richly through time and changes as we experience the lives of the Morleys against the background of historical events. This is history that comes fully alive, for we become part of the family ourselves, sharing their fortunes and tragedies, knowing their truths from their lies, watching their possessions handed down or lost forever. All along, in the same house, in the same room, Morley women are getting dinner ready, one part at a time, in a room that begins with a hearth of Colonial times and ends as a present-day kitchen. Thanksgiving serves up history in a lively, entertaining way that offers an original viewpoint of the everyday concerns of one family across the generations.

** Thanksgiving is available on Sept. 15. Visit the author's website to order or learn more at www.ellencooney.com.

About the Author:
Ellen Cooney was born in 1952 in Clinton, Massachusetts. She is the author of eight novels and stories published in The New Yorker and many literary journals. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Foundation, and taught creative writing for over twenty-five years, most recently in the writing program at MIT. She now lives in mid-coast Maine. Her next novel, The Mountaintop School For Dogs And Other Second Chances, will be published in the spring of 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.


Happy Reading,
Rebecca

A Woman of Rome: A Life of Elsa Morante by Lily Tuck

     Have you ever started reading a biography of someone that not only you did you know nothing about but you had not even heard the subject's name before?
     I found myself in this reading situation recently and was pleasantly surprised about how captivating it can be to discover a life unfolding.  
     Woman of Rome by Lily Tuck explores the life of Italian Writer Elsa Morante and the history of her time as she was writing during WWII. Tuck is the author of the National Book Award winning novel, The News from Paraguay. Having thoroughly researched Morante's personal and professional life, Tuck offers the reader an intimate glimpse into the writer's thought process and emotional state during heightened moments. I was initially drawn to this book merely from the book jacket which features a glamorous yet mysterious portrait of Morante. Best known for her novels History (1974), Arturo's Island (1957), and House of Liars (1948), Morante was a well-known literary figure in Italy and Tuck's characterization intrigued me to want to read each of Morante's novels as well as Tuck's literary works.

"All my thoughts, like flags beating against the wind, turned back to the burning season behind me which had cut short my childhood and transformed my destiny. Even today, in a sense, I live in that childhood summer around which my spirit wheels and beats carelessly, like an insect around a dazzling lamp." (House of Liars)

    Morante was a woman struggling to establish her own identity. A tumultuous marriage to Italian Writer Alberto Moravia created a continual competition to be recognized solely for her own work. She surrounded herself with artists, poets, writers, and creative contemporaries. Her work was often a product of her dreams which she documented regularly in journals. Tuck's vast knowledge of Italian language, culture and customs is translated into a beautiful telling of the behind-the-scenes life of Morante the writer as well as Morante the woman.

Happy Reading,
Rebecca

Book Beginnings: Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

 Today I am linking up to Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader where readers share the first sentence of the current book they are reading.

 "Hot, thought the Parisians. The warm air of spring. It was night, they were at war and there was an air raid. But dawn was near and the war far away."

Suite Francaise has been on my To Read list for many years and I am excited to finally be delving into it. From the introduction, the reader can sense the heaviness not only of the subject matter but also the mental, physical and spiritual weight that will be placed upon the characters as they are staged within a war. I am still in the early pages of this novel but the writing is breathtaking. The scene is set with such elegance that one forgets the bleakness of the situation. I am looking forward to getting lost in this story.

About the Book: Beginning in Paris on the eve of the Nazi occupation in 1940, Suite Francaise tells the remarkable story of men and women thrown together in circumstances beyond their control. As Parisians flee the city, human folly surfaces in every imaginable way: a wealthy mother searches for sweets in a town without food; a couple is terrified at the thought of losing their jobs, even as their world begins to fall apart. Moving on to a provincial village now occupied by German soldiers, the locals must learn to coexist with the enemy- in their town, their homes, even in their hearts.
     When Irene Nemirovsky began working on Suite Francaise, she was already a highly successful writer living in Paris. But she was also a Jew, and in 1942 she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where she died. For sixty-four years, this novel remained hidden and unknown.

Happy Reading,
Rebecca 

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

"I'd like to add some beauty to life," said Anne dreamily. "I don't exactly want to make people know more...thought I know that is the noblest of ambition...but I'd love to make them have a pleasanter time because of me...to have some little joy or happy thought that would never have existed if I hadn't been born." (page 54)

About the book (from wikipedia.com): The book's title is fitting, as Anne is no longer simply "of Green Gables" as she was in the previous book, but now takes her place among the "important" people (and the "grown up" people) of Avonlea society, as its only schoolteacher. She is also a founding member of the A.V.I.S. (the Avonlea Village Improvement Society), which tries to improve (with questionable results) the Avonlea landscape.

"After all, Anne had said to Marilla once, "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string." (page 161)

My Thoughts: Anne of Avonlea is the second book in the Anne of Green Gables series. My book club is currently reading the entire series, which has been a wonderful treat to revisit this classic young adult set. Anne of Avonlea details a more grown-up Anne. She is teaching at the local school and enjoying her time back at Green Gables with Marilla, after Matthew's passing.
     There are many new characters introduced in this story, including Davy and Dora, twins which find their way into Marilla and Anne's care and also their hearts. Throughout Avonlea, mischief continues to inadvertently find Anne, but most endearing is that she maintains her optimism and gratitude for the small things in life that one can easily overlook in the hustle and bustle of daily routine- the beauty of nature and the blessing of a simple day spent with family and friends.
     Love is the major theme of Avonlea with several of the characters rekindling past relationships and Anne contemplating her true feelings for Gilbert Blythe. In a world where everything changes and evolves so rapidly, reading Anne of Avonlea was a chance to enjoy the slowness of Victorian times, leaving the reader to sigh deeply when reaching the final page.

**  To read my review of Anne of Green Gables, click here.

About the Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success. The central character, Anne, an orphaned girl, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following. The first novel was followed by a series of sequels with Anne as the central character. Montgomery went on to publish 20 novels as well as 500 short stories and poems. Many of the novels were set on Prince Edward Island, Canada and places in the Canadian province became literary landmarks. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1935. Montgomery's work, diaries and letters have been read and studied by scholars and readers worldwide.

 Book Club Idea: In Chapter 13 of Anne of Avonlea, Anne and her best girlfriends plan a picnic and spend the day exploring nature and sharing dreams. Take your book club meeting to the park for a picnic or stage a picnic in your back yard, complete with a Victorian themed menu of scones with jam and tea. Enjoy!

Happy Reading,

Rebecca

Book Beginnings: Anne of Avonlea

 Today I am linking up to Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader where readers share the first sentence of the current book they are reading.

"A tall, slim girl, "half-past sixteen," with serious gray eyes and hair which her friends called auburn, had sat down on the broad red sandstone doorstep of a Prince Edward Island farmhouse one ripe afternoon in August, firmly resolved to construe so many lines of Virgil."

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (1909, Bantom Books) is the second book in the Anne of Green Gables series. From the introduction of Avonlea, the reader is informed that Anne is now sixteen, setting the stage for a coming-of-age story. Anne is an endearing character that has captured the attention of readers for over a century. My book group is currently reading the entire series together and I am excited that this novel begins in August, helping to instantly connect me to the storyline.

L.M. Montgomery

About the book (from wikipedia.com): The book's title is fitting, as Anne is no longer simply "of Green Gables" as she was in the previous book, but now takes her place among the "important" people (and the "grown up" people) of Avonlea society, as its only schoolteacher. She is also a founding member of the A.V.I.S. (the Avonlea Village Improvement Society), which tries to improve (with questionable results) the Avonlea landscape.

About the Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success. The central character, Anne, an orphaned girl, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following. The first novel was followed by a series of sequels with Anne as the central character. Montgomery went on to publish 20 novels as well as 500 short stories and poems. Many of the novels were set on Prince Edward Island, Canada and places in the Canadian province became literary landmarks. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1935. Montgomery's work, diaries and letters have been read and studied by scholars and readers worldwide.

Happy Reading!
Rebecca