Books Are Like Old Friends

This week I have gone through a nice leisurely re-read of the Anne of Green Gables books. I have the boxed set here, which I spontaneously ordered from Amazon last year. I love reading books I have read a hundred times. It feels so comfortable. When I was growing up, I liked the classics better than contemporary children's and young adult stuff because I had a fascination with anything "old fashioned." The thing that strikes me now, though, is how similar our daily experiences actually are to those of girls who lived at the turn of the century. When I read Anne of the Island after I'd been to college, it was amusing to see how many times the book mentioned that they were out till 2 in the morning at so and so's party. Not that they didn't have much more decorous parties back then, but it is still funny. People are people in any era of history.

I read Rilla of Ingleside today, and, as Lucy Maud Montgomery herself would say, "cried buckets" over the characters' World War I trials. I like all of L.M. Montgomery's heroines... though I have always felt slightly wrong about the fact that Anne is only my second favorite. I love Emily of New Moon the best. Anne is so charming and cheerful, and wins her detractors over in the end. Emily is a cold sarcastic little bitch a lot of the time, and a writer too. The neighbors don't know quite what to make of her. She and I are more "kindred spirits," I fear. I have the Emily books here. I might have to read them next. Lucy Maud's figures of speech are a little Victorian, but it is obvious that she appreciated literature and cats. How do I know? I just know.

Tags: books, reading, anne of green gables