Mailbox Monday - June 29

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

How can it possibly be the end of June? It's hard to believe we are heading into the seventh month of 2020. Maybe that's because so much of it has been a blur with the pandemic.

The beach is lovely this year. The temperature has been in the 90s. It should be a hair cooler today. We are enjoying the time away from home, but we miss the kitties. I hope it doesn't storm too much while we are away. They might be scared.

Not much in my mailbox last week, but I did see this one right before we left.

What did you receive last week? Are there any books I should be putting on my wish list?

Coming in October: Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy

I am so excited!!! I learned about this new Green Gables book coming in October and I had to pre-order it right away so I didn't forget the release date. Any other Anne fans out there?

A bold, heartfelt tale of life at Green Gables . . . before Anne: A marvelously entertaining and moving historical novel, set in rural Prince Edward Island in the nineteenth century, that imagines the young life of spinster Marilla Cuthbert, and the choices that will open her life to the possibility of heartbreak—and unimaginable greatness

Plucky and ambitious, Marilla Cuthbert is thirteen years old when her world is turned upside down. Her beloved mother has dies in childbirth, and Marilla suddenly must bear the responsibilities of a farm wife: cooking, sewing, keeping house, and overseeing the day-to-day life of Green Gables with her brother, Matthew and father, Hugh.

In Avonlea—a small, tight-knit farming town on a remote island—life holds few options for farm girls. Her one connection to the wider world is Aunt Elizabeth “Izzy” Johnson, her mother’s sister, who managed to escape from Avonlea to the bustling city of St. Catharines. An opinionated spinster, Aunt Izzy’s talent as a seamstress has allowed her to build a thriving business and make her own way in the world.

Emboldened by her aunt, Marilla dares to venture beyond the safety of Green Gables and discovers new friends and new opportunities. Joining the Ladies Aid Society, she raises funds for an orphanage run by the Sisters of Charity in nearby Nova Scotia that secretly serves as a way station for runaway slaves from America. Her budding romance with John Blythe, the charming son of a neighbor, offers her a possibility of future happiness—Marilla is in no rush to trade one farm life for another. She soon finds herself caught up in the dangerous work of politics, and abolition—jeopardizing all she cherishes, including her bond with her dearest John Blythe. Now Marilla must face a reckoning between her dreams of making a difference in the wider world and the small-town reality of life at Green Gables.

Pre-order here!

Mailbox Monday - March 10

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

My mailbox wasn't too busy last week, which is a good thing because I'm not getting in as much reading time as usual. I've been tired thanks to battling some allergy issues, and I'm studying and performing research for my middle grade historical.

Thanks to an Amazon gift card, I treated myself to Anne's World: A New Century of Anne of Green Gables. 

The recent 100 year anniversary of the first publication of L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables has inspired renewed interest in one of Canada's most beloved fictional icons. The international appeal of the red-haired orphan has not diminished over the past century, and the cultural meanings of her story continue to grow and change. The original essays in Anne's World offer fresh and timely approaches to issues of culture, identity, health, and globalization as they apply to Montgomery's famous character and to today's readers.

In conversation with each other and with the work of previous experts, the contributors to Anne's World discuss topics as diverse as Anne in fashion, the global industry surrounding Anne, how the novel can be used as a tool to counteract depression, and the possibility that Anne suffers from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Anne in translation and its adaptation for film and television are also considered. By establishing new ways to examine one of popular culture's most beloved characters, the essays of Anne's World demonstrate the timeless and ongoing appeal of L.M. Montgomery's writing.

The book contains several interesting photos of various book covers, plus an image of Lucy Maud Montgomery.

I also picked up this Kindle freebie.

Josh Jones realizes his family isn't typical, but it's the only life he's ever known. Aunt Lou, Gramps, Uncle Charlie, Grandpa--they all have shaped the young man he has become. But as he grows into manhood, Josh begins to face important questions about life, love, and faith. Three million books sold in the series!

I've never read books by this author, but I've seen movies based upon her books. I hope this year I'll explore a couple of her books.

What was in your mailbox?

Wordless Wednesday

DVD Review: Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story

The final DVD in the 3-DVD set my husband purchased for me that Christmas is Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story, which is often referred to as Anne 3.

Sullivan Entertainment totally departs from Lucy Maud Montgomery's books in the third installment of the Anne of Green Gables series. In Montgomery's books, it would be Anne and Gilbert's sons who go off to fight in World War I; but using the reasoning that the original movie and its sequel were set in later time periods than the books, Sullivan puts Anne Shirley (Megan Follows) and Gilbert Blythe (Jonathan Crombie) right in the middle of the fighting.

Anne returns to Avonela for the first time since Marilla Cuthbert's death. She is horrified to find her beloved Green Gables in total disrepair. After being accepted by a prestigious hospital in New York, Gilbert convinces his fiancee, Anne, to go to New York with him. While there, she gains employment at a large publishing house, where she meets Jack Garrison, a dashingly handsome and talented American writer played by Cameron Daddo.

Disullusioned by life in the city, Gilbert and Anne return to Avonlea, where they begin planning their wedding. But the Great War soon steals any joy they might have. Anne's childhood friend, Diana Barry Wright (Schuyler Grant) unhappy in her marriage to Fred, played now by Greg Spottiswood, finds that Fred has enlisted, leaving Diana and their two children behind. Pressure from the community and seeing the wounded at an area hospital, leads Gilbert to ask Anne to marry him quickly so that he, too, can enlist.

Fred Wright is listed as missing in action and presumed dead. When all of Anne's letters to Gilbert are returned, Anne heads off to Europe, determined to do all she can to find him. While there she is reunited with Fred, who is badly injured, and Jack Garrison, who is working as a war correspondent. Little did Anne know what she would get herself into when she decided to go searching for Gil.

This is by far my least favorite of the Anne of Green Gables series. While it is wonderful to see Follows and Crombie together again, the plot just does nothing for me. And because of the war scenes, this installment has a PG rating instead of a G rating like the first two movies. Granted, Anne and Gilbert are older now, but if they didn't choose to send Anne off to Europe to find Gilbert, they might have been able to keep it a family film.

Considering the time that has passed between the second and third movies, it's not realistic for viewers to think only a few years have passed since Anne and Gilbert were in Avonlea. Even Green Gables appears not to have been maintained for decades. Both Follows and Crombie, though still young, don't look like twentysomethings; Grant might have been able to pull it off, but even that is a stretch.

I was also disappointed that Diana and Fred's marriage was in such trouble. Diana was barely likable in this movie until the very end. The one character that I truly enjoyed was Jack Garrison, though the viewer has more reasons not to like him, he was the one that rang true to me.

My final complaint is Jack and Anne's relationship. Jack, who has been in love with Anne since they met in New York, helps Anne in her search to find Gilbert. When they go to a hospital where they find Gilbert had been months before, it looks like Gil might be dead. Jack tries to convince Anne that they could go back to the States once the war is over, and with his son, Dominic, become a family. Jack kisses Anne, and she accepts. The Anne I know and love wouldn't betray Gilbert that way. In addition, toward the end of the movie, when they are on a train, Anne tells Jack that we all have unfulfilled dreams and kisses him gently on the cheek. This is soon after they found Gilbert. I was just appalled by how they changed Anne's character in these scenes.

Considering that when Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story came out, Executive Producer Kevin Sullian said this would be the last Anne film, I was left disappointed. Of course, now we know there is an Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning, which has none of the original actors, but has been even less well-received than the third Anne movie.

When I think of Anne of Green Gables, I only think of the first two movies. Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story is a movie that I take out and watch only one scene: Anne and Gilbert's reunion. I truly wish Sullivan Entertainment had stuck closer to Montgomery's books if he wished to continue Anne's story.

Director: Stefan Scaini
Writers: Lucy Maud Montgomery (characters)
Laurie Pearson (writer)
Kevin Sullivan (writer)
Rated: PG
Runtime: 185 min
Region: Region 1
SRP: $24.99

DVD Review: Anne of Green Gables

If it were not for Sullivan Entertainment, I may never have discovered my love for Lucy Maud Montgomery's books.

In this Canadian production, a young orphan girl named Anne Shirley is mistakenly sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert on Prince Edward Island. Matthew, a bachelor, who lives with his spinister sister, Marilla, had sent word that they wished to adopt a boy to help the elderly Matthew with the farm work at Green Gables.

This "lucky" mistake changes all of them, and anyone else who comes in contact with the spirited and imaginative Anne Shirley.

Around my eleventh birthday, my sisters bought me a three-book set that included Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, and Anne of the Island. I read a bit of the first book before tucking them away, bored with the story of Anne. Years later, I saw Anne of Green Gables, the Sullivan Entertainment production starring Megan Follows as Anne, on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). I instantly fell in love with Anne and all her adventures, which inspired me to pick up the books again. From then on I was hooked. I read through the first three books of the Anne series quickly, and purchased the remaining five books and read through them. I still read them when I have time.

My husband purchased the trilogy: Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, and Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story as a Christmas gift a few years ago. I have decided to review them separately, as they can be purchased separately, and I have different thoughts on each movie.

The first Anne production will always be my favorite. Sullivan Entertainment was careful to stick closer to the books with Anne of Green Gables than with future installments of this series.

Montgomery created a sympathetic character in Anne, and Megan Follows did an excellent job of portraying the headstrong, imaginative orphan who found more than her share of trouble. The late Colleen Dewhurst played Marilla Cuthbert to perfection. She and the late Richard Farnsworth, who played Matthew, were so good at what they did that I couldn't read Anne of Green Gables without picturing them in the book. Dewhurst captured Marilla's gruff exterior that hid a warm hearted woman. Farnsworth brought out the shy warmth that is definitely Matthew.

The viewer is treated to watching Anne grow up in this film: the thrill of learning she will be allowed to stay at Green Gables, meeting her first kindred spirit in town, Diana Barry (Schuyler Grant), battling with the town gossip, Rachel Lynde (Patricia Hamilton), sticking up for herself to Josie Pye (Miranda de Pencier), and arguing with Gilbert Blythe (Jonathan Crombie), her academic rival. And as a matured Anne tells Marilla on the day of the concert benefit, "No matter where I go or what I do, I'll always be your Anne, Anne of Green Gables."

A wonderful coming of age film, Anne of Green Gables will capture your hearts and leave you begging for more of Anne Shirley.


Director: Kevin Sullivan
Writers: Lucy Maud Montgomery (novel)
Kevin Sullivan (writer), Joe Wiesenfeld (writer)
Rated: G
Runtime: 199 min
Region: Region 1
SRP: $24.99