I remember as a child of probably 8 or 9 my mom had the entire set of the Anne of Green Gables series in her room, and sometimes I would go in their and try & read them. I could read the description perfectly but when it came to the actual book I couldn't get past the old English..... Untill one day I opened up the first page and found to my delight that the words were readable to me. (I don't remember exactly how of I was but I'm guessing 12??)
That's when I fell in love with L.M.Montgomery. for real.
I'm not sure why I always tried to read Anne of Green Gables when I was young. Other than the first book they didn't shout children's books, they're more for teens. I was always. And I mean ALWAYS on the hunt for good books as a kid, I binge read the Mandie Mysteries by Lois Gladys Leppord, the Sisters in Time series, The Boxcar children collection, and so many more but somehow I always came back to L.M.Montgomery.
The way she captured your attention.
The friendships of kindred spirits.
The beautiful love between Anne & Gilbert (although they did have a rather rough start)
The simplicity of a time gone by.
I adore Francine Rivers. I am captivated by C.S.Lewis. I have ALL of Lynn Austins books. But I Love Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Throughout my teen age years I found myself identifying more and more with the red headed orphan. The struggles she and her characters went through were so real that I couldn't help but become more attached to them.
I cried when Walter died. Laughed at the mischievous Davy. Wished there could be a real live Miss Lavender. Read with amazement at the antics of the four Meredith children. Not to mention Mary Vance, Miss Cornelia, Phillipa Gordon who vows she will never marry a poor or ugly man, Susan Baker, old captain Jim and, so many more characters just waiting to make your acquaintance.
L.M.M writes about L I F E.
The trials. The pain. The laughter. The joy. The small things. That's what makes them such timeless treasures.
(Best seen EVER)
Her books.
I suppose I could take the obvious route. Anne of Green Gables was her first novel, and the one I name when people look blank after I say L. M. Montgomery is my favorite author. It’s a good place to start reading if you’re not familiar with her books. Anne is a red-headed orphan who is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert by mistake–their friend was supposed to bring them a boy from the orphanage, who could help Matthew on the farm. The story follows how Anne found her place in Green Gables. Anne is precocious, whimsical, imaginative, deeply in love with nature, and, though always well-meaning, apt to get into scrapes. Once she dyes her hair green–another time she breaks her leg after walking on a roof on a dare. Anne is a wonderful character and her adventures are funny and endearing. As are the next 7 books in the series. I should know since I've read them so many times my books look like they've been through a War....
That’s a good place to begin. But I don’t want to stop there. Because there’s also Emily, a dreamy writer, and Pat, who fiercely loves her home, and Valancy, who only starts to live her life when she thinks she’s dying. And beautiful, tragic Kilmeny; Marigold with her imaginary and magical friend; capable and confident Jane.
Her books are also filled with nature. Like Anne, Montgomery had a passionate love for the beauties of nature. Pine trees, flowers, a range of hills against the sunset–from her journal you learn first-hand how deeply these affected her, and that carries into her books. I once read a book that combined quotes from Montgomery about nature, with pictures that were meant to correspond. I was amazed to find that none of the pictures were as beautiful as what she was describing. She felt beauty so intensely–she was able to see it and then convey it in words, where someone else wouldn’t have seen the same thing at all. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but not when the words were written by L. M. Montgomery. She has a very unique writing style, which I obviously love–it may not appeal to everyone though, which is why I sometimes recommend starting with her short stories to see if it’s a style that works for you. The Road to Yesterday or Chronicles of Avonlea are good collections.
Don’t get the impression, though, that her books are long treatises on nature. The beautiful surroundings are the backdrop to human adventures. They’re funny, exciting, romantic, sometimes tragic. She had a gift for drawing out the emotions in events small and large–from the pettiness of carping relatives to the deep betrayal of a disloyal suitor to the fun of a picnic in the woods to the humor of an awkward dinner party.
There are some books I feel I’d love to live inside, and L. M. Montgomery’s certainly sit high on the list. Her life was not always happy, and the sunny world of her writing was sometimes an escape. Fortunately, she’s made that world available to the rest of us too.
FAVORITE QUOTES
"Dear old world" she murmured, You are very lovely and, I am very glad to be alive in you. -Anne
"Kindred spirits are not so scares as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world. - Anne
"Everything we had was small, except for our love and happiness. -Emily of New Moon
"I believe that the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly like pearls off of a string. L.M.Montgomery
Book listPersonal favorites will be marked with a ✴️
Also I linked each book title to the website where you can buy it. Just click on the title :)
- Anne of Green Gables. •Along the Shore
- Anne of Avonlea. • Chronicles of Avonlea
- Anne of the Island ✴️ • Further Chronicles of Avonlea
- Anne of Windy Poplars • After Many Days - Tales of time passed
- Anne's House of Dreams • The story Girl✴️
- Anne of Ingleside • The Golden Road✴️
- Rainbow Valley✴️ (companion to the Story Girl)
- Rilla of Ingleside ✴️ . • The Road to Yesterday✴️
- The Blue Castle •Kilmeny of the Orchard
- Emily of New Moon✴️. •Across the Miles
- Emily Climbs • Christmas with Anne ✴️
- Emily's Quest✴️ . • At the Alter
- Jane of Lantern Hill
- Pat of Silver Bush
- Mistress Pat
- Magic for Marigold
- A Tangled Web
- Among the Shadows
- Akin to Anne
- The Doctors Sweetheart, and other stories .
- Against the Odds
There are quite a few personal nonfiction and poetry books by L.M.M
You can purchase them along with the one's I have listed above at Thriftbooks.com
Has this post convinced you that L.M.Montgomery is an Awesome writer!! I sure hope so :D because you'll never find any books quite like them.
HAVE YOU EVER READ ANY BOOKS BY L.M.M?? IF SO DID YOU LIKE THEM? + WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SHE WROTE??? +WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR
Happiest times are spent with a book in hand
I just love Anne Of Green Gables especially the love between Anne and Gil. Did you ever see the movie Anne With A E? I think I like Anne Of Green Gables better. Also I love reading The Box Car Children. I would half to say for my favorite author is Janette Oak,
ReplyDeleteYes yes yes!! Gilbert & Anne are perfect ;)
DeleteI watched the first episode of Anne with Ann E but haven't seen any others.
Janette Oak is lovely. I have a bunch of her books:)
PS I wonder why they stoped making Anne Of Green Gables after three movies I wish they made more.😓
ReplyDeletei know right!
ReplyDeleteI have read all the Anne of Green Gables books, as well as Jane of Lantern Hill. Which I have to say is my favorite of the ones I read. But the Anne of Green Gables are wonderful too. My favorite author.. Hmm that's hard, probably either Susan Marlow, L.M. Montgomery, Jannette Oke, Louisa May Alcott or Jane Austin. Pends on the mood I'm in. Lol. Book lover probs!
ReplyDeleteOh yes I LOVE Jane of lantern Hill!!
DeleteGahh I know such a hard question! I love how different authors can be your your favorite depending like you said, what mood your in :)
I LOVE these books so much. They are so dear to my heart because they so are relatable and with reading the books I feel like I'm sitting in Miss Lavender's home or roaming the White Way of Delight with Anne and Diana! I could go on and on...
ReplyDeleteI love Jane of Lantern Hill as well as all the Anne books!
THanks for such a great post!
Gah so good!!!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with EVERYTHING YOU SAID! HER BOOKS ARE SO AMAZING!!!!!!❤️
Yess Jane of Lantern Hill is legit