Anne of Green Gables

Sometimes I forget to write about my reading. Sometimes I don't do as much reading as I want. For someone who is so passionate about education, books, and the importance of reading and writing, I am terrible at writing book reviews.

The only way to become better at something is to actively work on it. So, I'm making it a small goal of mine to write about my reading so that I can become better at it.

While 2018 was the year for voraciously consuming new books, 2019 has been a chance to fall back into old loves and stories that touch my heart with happiness and nostalgia.

One of those old loves came to me in the form of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.

I stumbled across a beautiful hardbound copy of this novel in a bookstore in Bury St. Edmunds. It's beautiful green wallpaper cover art with gold foil wording and the sweet red-headed face of Anne Shirley enticed me in.

I already have an old copy of the book that was my mothers but I'm sure Anne would agree that sometimes we just have to buy the beautiful thing because it makes our eyes and heart happy.

One of my favorite childhood memories are the times Mom and I would curl up and watch the movie-version with Megan Follows. My Mom was never much of a reader but she loved the story dearly and passed on her love of the movies to me. I must say, that as someone who usually very much hates the movie compared to the book, this is one of the instances where it holds up very well. It combines some scenes and stories for the sake of time, but overall it follows the book exactly and that is what I love about it.

Re-reading the book felt like catching up with old friends. Familiar but different because I was a grown person. I teared up several times throughout the book feeling so much empathy for Anne in the beginning and understanding now how much Matthew and Marilla truly loved her. I laughed at all the scrapes that Anne got into and the responses of her loved ones. I sobbed fat tears at the end when Matthew passes after telling Anne how proud he is of her.

The imagery and language in this novel are gorgeous and I almost wish I hadn't watched the movie before reading it because I think imagining Green Gables and Avonlea would have been a special treat for me as a child.

It truly is a timeless classic that I think will always be beloved for those who are looking for kindred spirits like Anne.