Revisiting The Blue Castle

Here's my copy of The Blue Castle from the late 1980s.

I was scrolling through #bookstagram the other day and spotted a copy of L.M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle.  Scanning the comments, I glimpsed someone saying that it was their favorite L.M. Montgomery novel.  Hmmm, really?!  I knew I had read the book but had no memories or impressions of it.  Zero.  Zilch.  Nada.  After I finished off the Anne of Green Gables series in around seventh grade (maybe that's late to read them ... I don't know, but that's when I discovered them), I made it a point to buy and read any other L.M. Montgomery book that crossed my path.  So, I likely read The Blue Castle somewhere between 1987 and 1989.  I can be forgiven for not recalling a book read thirty years ago except that I do remember many other books read during that period.

The L.M. Montgomery titles available via Hoopla have the gorgeous artwork from the new Source Books editions.

Last year, I revisited L.M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon series as audiobooks checked out via Hoopla Digital.  I did a quick search and discovered that The Blue Castle was also available on Hoopla.  I downloaded and pressed play, and this weekend's listening experience was wonderful!

The Blue Castle is just fantastic.  L.M. Montgomery tells the story of Valancy Stirling, a plain young woman of twenty-nine who has lived a small, dull, stifling life with a proud but fairly miserable family.  She's unmarried and mostly ignored.  She's existing but not living.  Having experienced some heart trouble, she gathers up just enough gumption to see a doctor outside of her family's circle.  The news she receives convinces her that if her life won't be long, she ought to at least live it.  What ensues is an energizing, satisfying story of bravery, friendship, and love.  When Valancy finally realizes she doesn't give a hoot what her family thinks and begins speaking her mind, I was laughing aloud and cheering her on. 

Just some of my L.M. Montgomery books from the late 1980s.

At 44, I loved every second of The Blue Castle, but I guess at 12 or 13, I wasn't that impressed.  Perhaps a middle schooler can't fully appreciate the courage required to explode one's whole world and sever family ties.  I'm now excited to see what other L.M. Montgomery titles I can reread.  Nine years ago while nursing my daughter, I reread all the Anne of Green Gables books on my iphone.  I revisted the Emily of New Moon books last year.  I think I'll head back to Pat of Silver Bush next.

This book is very readable and includes perfect illustrations by Julie Morstad.

I find I am appreciating all of L.M. Montgomery's books even more after having read Liz Rosenberg's House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery this past autumn.  This well-researched account shows how un-dreamlike Montgomery's life was.  One appreciates the spirit, life, and struggle of Anne and Emily knowing how tough Montgomery's own climb was -- that constant interplay between darkness and light.  Heartbreaking, actually, to know that someone who saw and brought so much beauty in and to the world suffered so keenly.  If you are an Anne Fan, please check out House of Dreams. 

Have you revisited any childhood books as an adult?  Despite the "so many books, so little time" reality of life, my experience with The Blue Castle makes me think I should do more rereading, especially with favorite authors. 

Reading Roundup -- My Getaway Books!

Each October, I get away with my husband on an annual business gathering that includes spouses.  These gatherings are always in great locations and offer me rare and cherished moments of alone time to read and rest.  I read on the plane, in the hotel room, at the pool or beach, at lunch, and whenever else I feel like it.  Tis glorious.

Sometimes I feel guilty for not exploring and experiencing more, but in late October, after the stress
and craziness of back to school and fall youth athletics, I crave the relaxation time.  I'll leave the energetic exploring for the empty nesters.

Here's what I read...

My library hold for Winter Solstice rolled in five days before departure.  I managed to wait until we got to our airport gate before cracking the spine.  This book, the fourth in Hilderbrand's Winter/Christmas in Nantucket/Quinn Family series, was even better than I anticipated.  It's been a pleasure visiting Nantucket in winter and getting to know the Quinn family over these four books.  I teared up several times at the end.  My only regret?  That I couldn't hold out and read it by the Christmas tree.

I'm just going to say it ... a lot of my Book of the Month Club selections have been either underwhelming or disappointing.  I loved the cover of this one and the title (advice I've never been able to live by).  I liked Hunter's writing but, man oh man, I found this story depressing, which is okay--books with Little Debbies on the cover aren't obligated to be hopeful and fun--but not my best choice for vacation reading.  (BTW, the glass in this photo held Dr. Pepper because the very lovely hotel where we stayed offers the underwhelming, disappointing, practically detestable beverage called Diet Pepsi: Drink Only When You're Really, Really, Really Thirsty). 

I've been making my way through Angela Thirkell's Barsetshire books for about five years now.  I've purchased quite a few because of the gorgeous covers on these Virago editions.  I'd been warned that the books set in World War II have a different feel.  That's true and how could they not?  But even when it's wartime in Barsetshire, it's such a pleasure to see Thirkell's wit and powers of observation.

I love it when I learn about intriguing titles, especially "vintage reads," via #bookstagram.  Angela Brazil's The Fortunes of Philippa came to my attention thanks to the awesome bookstagrammer, les_livres_.  Could her photo above be any more inviting?  Sadly, I couldn't secure a copy of the book as beautiful as hers, but how cool is it that could I learn about a tempting book and find a 99 cent ebook edition of it within minutes?  It's a boarding school/growing up story, set in Britain.  Very sweet, very innocent, a little bit boring but still I was tickled to go from #bookstagram to #bookinhand within minutes.

And, if you can believe it, I left my ipod at home and thus did not take any long walks on my getaway.  A solitary walk without the option of an audiobook companion?  Didn't tempt me.

I will be making my yearly attempt to participate in NaBloPoMo and post every day in November.  Come back tomorrow if you can.

Book Ritual Updates

I love my bookish rituals each month.

You already know that I look forward to spending my Audible.com audiobook credits each month.

Let me catch you up on the other bookish rituals.

I love choosing a Book of the Month Club title each month.  For a while there, I was choosing more than one.  However, it's fair to say there is a BOTM Club pile-up on my shelves so those days are over.  I've also found that these are buzzed-about books that are often part of one-day ebook sales and/or easy to reserve at the library.  I'm currently enjoying Startup -- I'm not a millennial, a tech gal, or a New Yorker/Brooklynite, but it's fun to read about the scene and to have sympathy for the book's old lady (36, ahem) who's juggling career, kids, debt, and marriage woes. 

I also peruse the Literary Guild selections each month.  Though there are often books on offer that I would enjoy reading, my choices are rarely among the three curated monthly selections.  Those tend to be books that don't appeal to me (AT ALL) and the discounts for additional books don't kick in unless you start with one of those three selections in your box.  Makes it easy to click "skip my monthly credits" at the beginning of each month.  The selections refresh on the 15th of the month so I always check back.  However, a few months ago, a book I was super excited about was a monthly selection.  I boxed up Jennifer Ryan's The Chilbury Ladies' Choir and Jane Harper's The Dry.  Although I am very close to my saturation point with WWII novels (not forever, just for a bit), I did like Ryan's story of community, family, romance, and friendship set in the wartime English countryside.  It's told through letters and journal entries -- all of which are way too long to be believable, but which tell a good story.  Haven't cracked the spine of The Dry yet.

I get my fix for free when I choose my Kindle First selection each month.  I've mentioned this perk before:  if you have Amazon Prime, you can choose one free Kindle First selection each month (a month before the book is published).  To be honest, I don't always read these books in a hurry (or ever), but there's nothing to be lost (except five minutes of my time) by choosing one.  Last month, I chose Laura McNeal's The Practice House (which sounds kind of creepy but also kind of good).  I surprised myself this month by selecting A Small Revolution by Jimin Han.

Book Binge -- Boy Band Girl Fan

I enjoy a good Netflix binge as much as the next person.  For me, that means watching 3-4 episodes of one show in a week.  I have a fantasy that one day I'll find a show that I'm so obsessed with that I'll start walking on the treadmill to justify watching more episodes.  For now though, any binge behavior takes place on the couch, usually while folding laundry. 

I listened to Goldy Moldavasky's Kill The Boy Band over a month ago.  It's a funny but DARK novel about a boy band, The Ruperts, and their fangirls.  I liked the sharp writing and insights into fangirl culture and female friendship.  I think it would be a great book club selection.  Quick read with lots to discuss.

Kill The Boy Band brought to mind two other novels that involve male performers and their female fans.

And so, I present to you, a new blog feature, the first-ever Book Binge ...

Allison Pearson's I Think I Love You is the story of Petra, a teenager from Wales, and her obsession with David Cassidy in the mid-70s.  This novel captures the old school fangirl (was this a word then?) playbook of fan magazines, letters, and clubs.  Like Kill The Boy Band, I Think I Love You is also a story of female friendship.

The Love Song of Jonny Valentine by Teddy Wayne is a novel for anyone who's ever wondered about Bieber Fever and the like.  This novel focuses on the boy fueling all those fangirl fantasies and made me feel compassion for its Bieberesque protagonist.

Kill The Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky takes fan culture into the age of social media, evidencing the powerful influence of Twitter, blogs, and fan-sourced information.

Any college students in need of an essay topic?  Read these three books and have at it.