Author: L.M. Montgomery

Audiobook Blog Tour | “Anne of the Island” by L.M. Montgomery (narrated by Colleen Winton) published by Post Hypnotic Press!

Posted Friday, 18 August, 2017 by jorielov , , , 3 Comments

Audiobook Review Badge made by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Digital Audiobook by: I am a new blog tour hostess with Audiobookworm Promotions wherein I have the opportunity to receive audiobooks for review or adoption (reviews outside of organised blog tours) and host guest features on behalf of authors and narrators alike. When I saw the blog tour for ‘Anne of Green Gables’ I was wicked excited – as I have been wanting to re-read the series for a bit over a year and a half when I first saw a collection of the paperbacks at a thrift store! Mum surprised me with them but for the life of me, I never felt it was the ‘right time’ to read Anne. Seeing the blog tour was featuring the narrations by Post Hypnotic Press – the same publisher of the Betty MacDonald memoirs, I knew I wanted to take part as I love their quality and dedication to how audiobooks are produced!

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “Anne of the Island” via the publisher Post Hypnotic Press (of whom was working directly Audiobookworm Promotions) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Where we left Anne:

The storm had just passed – the hail storm to end all hail storms – where all the fields and flowers were cut down by the fierceness of the tempest which had destroyed all the lovely crops Avonlea could have yielded. Never one to give up the community of Avonlea pulled together – re-planting and hoping for a harvest, even if it would come in a bit later than normal.

An unexpected stranger arrived much to the shock of Anne – who had helped spread a silly rumour – where her neighbour was meant to marry; only the egg was spoilt on Anne, as he was already wed! The stranger turnt out to be his wife – which was quite comical as Anne never would have suspected the quirky eccentric man could be married but then, she never gave him proper time to explain himself!

I loved how Mr Harrison & Anne took a private conversation – where he lent her the story of his marriage and even offered a rather kind observation in regards to how Anne’s facial expressions lent themselves a portal of insight into the young woman’s emotional state which bartered the observer to understand the lay of her thoughts before she ever spoke a word aloud!

Ms Lavender’s story-line is pulled together and has such a lovely conclusion – you simply feel a contended sigh and find an erstwhile smile gracing your lips. She had such a romantic life – not just in seeing the positive and the beauty surrounding her small cottage hugged into the foils of nature but how she kept a cheerfulness about herself even when self-doubts tried to supersede her own internal wisdom.

Charlotta the 4th had a true blue admiration of Anne – to where she tried to emulate her and become more of her liking even though she sadly realised she had to be her own person – even if she drew true courage and inspiration from Anne. Diana became engaged much to the shocked surprise of Anne – of whom regretted she hadn’t noticed the change in her friend sooner than she had.

Between my listenings of books two and three of this series, I sought out the latest adaptation: “Anne with an E”

I must freely admit, after listening to the first two stories in this lovely series – a series which is anchoured lovingly between my childhood and adult years of appreciation – I craved more of Avonlea and of Anne! I wasn’t entirely sure if I should dare to watch Anne with an E – as a trusted friend mentioned to me recently about how the series is set a bit darker in shade than previous adaptations, but where one ponders the willingness of our mind to accept new variants of our beloved Classics, one must endeavour to ‘try’ the newness of an adaptation even if we recoil from what we find therein.

Happily, I must confess – I was quite chuffed by what I found rather than any thoughts of the contrary by which I had first felt would be my truer hesitation to find myself able to enjoy this new NetFlix series! As I had mentioned previously – I hadn’t quite realised how hard life was for Anne and seeing this new adaptation put truth and purpose into highlighting those moments of Anne’s life as they thread back into her mind’s eye as she tries to give Green Gables a chance at being the ‘home’ she never knew – I found myself enraptured. I truly appreciated the grit of those flashbacks as they were quite penned by Ms Montgomery herself – even though she held back the curtain on their truths just a smidge whereas this adaptation pulls the curtain aside and gives you a glimmer of knowledge of how hard Anne’s life truly was in all honesty.

I only watched two episodes – but already, I could sense, this was a new Avonlea and a new insight into Anne I would appreciate – as my memories of Anne have moved in and round my listenings of her story this August, so too, I saw has my heart grown to accept there is room enough for this new variant to find a niche of a place to reside in my spirit, as the first adaptation was fitting for a young girl and this new one, is an equal match for an adult who is re-visiting her youth and finding a new breath of joy in keeping in step with Anne!

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Audiobook Blog Tour | “Anne of the Island” by L.M. Montgomery (narrated by Colleen Winton) published by Post Hypnotic Press!Anne of of the Island

Anne of the Island was published in 1915, seven years after the best-selling Anne of Green Gables, partly because of the continuing clamor for more Anne from her fans - a fan base that continues to grow today!

In this continuation of the story of Anne Shirley, Anne leaves Green Gables and her work as a teacher in Avonlea to pursue her original dream (which she gave up in Anne of Green Gables) of taking further education at Redmond College in Nova Scotia. Gilbert Blythe and Charlie Sloane enroll as well, as does Anne's friend from Queen's Academy, Priscilla Grant.

During her first week of school, Anne befriends Philippa Gordon, a beautiful girl whose frivolous ways charm her. Philippa (Phil for short) also happens to be from Anne's birthplace of Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia. Anne, always the good scholar, studies hard, but she also has many life lessons. This book sees Anne leave behind girlhood to blossom into a mature young woman.


Places to find the book:

ISBN: 978-1-927817-12-4

on 2014

Length: 8 Hours, 15 Minutes (Unabridged)

Published By: Post Hypnotic Press (@Post_Hypnotic)

The Anne of Green Gables series by Post Hypnotic Press:

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery, narrated by Colleen Winton produced by Post Hypnotic Press.Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery, narrated by Colleen Winton produced by Post Hypnotic Press.Anne of the Island by LM Montgomery, narrated by Colleen Winton produced by Post Hypnotic Press.

The publisher is considering adapting the rest of the series and is looking for feedback on behalf of these adaptations by both the bloggers who are listening to them for the blog tour and the readers who are finding them along the tour route itself – to gauge if the rest of the series would have a readership who would appreciate hearing them. I, for one, am hoping they do produce the rest of the series as these adaptions are great addition for all of us who grew up knowing Anne.

Likewise, if you haven’t yet seen the publisher’s announcement about how their offering a coupon this month on their audiobook catalogue, I encourage you to visit my review of Anne of Green Gables (linked below this review) where I first found out this lovely news myself!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Divider

Posted Friday, 18 August, 2017 by jorielov in 20th Century, Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Blog Tour Host, Canada, Canadian Literature, Childhood Friendship, Children's Classics, Children's Literature, Classical Literature, Indie Author, Juvenile Fiction, School Life & Situations, Teacher & Student Relationships, the Nineteen Hundreds

Audiobook Blog Tour | “Anne of Avonlea” by L.M. Montgomery (narrated by Colleen Winton) published by Post Hypnotic Press!

Posted Sunday, 13 August, 2017 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

Audiobook Review Badge made by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Digital Audiobook by: I am a new blog tour hostess with Audiobookworm Promotions wherein I have the opportunity to receive audiobooks for review or adoption (reviews outside of organised blog tours) and host guest features on behalf of authors and narrators alike. When I saw the blog tour for ‘Anne of Green Gables’ I was wicked excited – as I have been wanting to re-read the series for a bit over a year and a half when I first saw a collection of the paperbacks at a thrift store! Mum surprised me with them but for the life of me, I never felt it was the ‘right time’ to read Anne. Seeing the blog tour was featuring the narrations by Post Hypnotic Press – the same publisher of the Betty MacDonald memoirs, I knew I wanted to take part as I love their quality and dedication to how audiobooks are produced!

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “Anne of Avonlea” via the publisher Post Hypnotic Press (of whom was working directly Audiobookworm Promotions) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Where we left Anne:

Anne and Marilla had to walk through a period of heart-wrenching grief and anguish the moment they realised dear Matthew had gone to Heaven ahead of them both – leaving them wretched for the ache in their soul and the emptiness in their hearts to fill in the gaps by which his absence placed in their lives. His was a gentle spirit – a kindly man who was sensitive about Anne – he wanted only the best for his ‘girl’ and he took a liking to her ever since he first laid eyes upon her at the train station – all wide-eyed and curiously eager to see where she was going to ‘call home’ now that he had come to fetch her for Green Gables.

My, how much had changed from those formative years – Anne was nearly seventeen, fully matured past some of her growing wrinkles of angst and a considerably different minded young woman than the one who fought the urge to forgive Gilbert Blythe all those moons ago. She is still fiercely attached to Diana and to the pursuit of knowledge but inside her, was a kind spirit bursting to right the world with her compassion and to endeavour to give back a selfless act of kindness to Marilla of whom saved her from a life of feeling unwanted and unloved. This truly is a story and a series which champions adoption and the non-conventional ways in which children, guardians and parents enter each others’ lives.

There is a quiet sincerity about Anne – she recognises her short-comings and has endeared us all by her ability to see the larger picture without focusing solely on her own intentions and dreams. She feels with all her might a responsible to Marilla (and to Matthew, had he lived) to repay the older woman somehow, someway if only to return a small provision of what Marilla had always bestowed to Anne.

It is here – as she leaves Queens (a bit of a pre-University or Community College segue past lower grades) and enters the workforce as a teacher at Avonlea (courtesy of Gilbert giving up his own teaching position to give Anne the chance to stay local; something which reminded me of how Laura received the teaching fellowship in Little House (the tv series) as I am forgetting if it followed true in the books; you can see everyone in Avonlea has changed their strong opinions against her – even Mrs Rachel Lynde has softened a great deal since she first met Anne and had judged her to a degree in which no one deserves.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Audiobook Blog Tour | “Anne of Avonlea” by L.M. Montgomery (narrated by Colleen Winton) published by Post Hypnotic Press!Anne of Avonlea

Following Anne of Green Gables (1908), this book covers the second chapter in the life of Anne Shirley. We learn of Anne's doings from the age of 16 to 18, during the two years that she teaches at Avonlea school. It includes many of the characters from Anne of Green Gables, as well as new ones: Mr. Harrison and his foul-mouthed parrot, Miss Lavendar Lewis, Paul Irving, and the twins Dora (sweet and well behaved) and Davy (mischievous and in constant trouble).

Anne matures, slightly, but she gets into a number of her familiar pickles, as only Anne can: She accidentally sells her neighbor's cow (having mistaken it for her own), gets stuck in a broken duck house roof while peeping into a pantry window, and more.


Places to find the book:

ISBN: 978-1-927817-09-4

on 2014

Length: 9 Hours, 25 Minutes (Unabridged)

Published By: Post Hypnotic Press (@Post_Hypnotic)

The Anne of Green Gables series by Post Hypnotic Press:

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery, narrated by Colleen Winton produced by Post Hypnotic Press.Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery, narrated by Colleen Winton produced by Post Hypnotic Press.Anne of the Island by LM Montgomery, narrated by Colleen Winton produced by Post Hypnotic Press.

The publisher is considering adapting the rest of the series and is looking for feedback on behalf of these adaptations by both the bloggers who are listening to them for the blog tour and the readers who are finding them along the tour route itself – to gauge if the rest of the series would have a readership who would appreciate hearing them. I, for one, am hoping they do produce the rest of the series as these adaptions are great addition for all of us who grew up knowing Anne.

Likewise, if you haven’t yet seen the publisher’s announcement about how their offering a coupon this month on their audiobook catalogue, I encourage you to visit my review of Anne of Green Gables (linked below this review) where I first found out this lovely news myself!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Divider

Posted Sunday, 13 August, 2017 by jorielov in 20th Century, Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Blog Tour Host, Canada, Canadian Literature, Childhood Friendship, Children's Classics, Children's Literature, Classical Literature, Indie Author, Juvenile Fiction, School Life & Situations, Teacher & Student Relationships, the Nineteen Hundreds

Audiobook Blog Tour | “Anne of Green Gables” by L.M. Montgomery (narrated by Colleen Winton) published by Post Hypnotic Press!

Posted Saturday, 5 August, 2017 by jorielov , , , 3 Comments

Audiobook Review Badge made by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Digital Audiobook by: I am a new blog tour hostess with Audiobookworm Promotions wherein I have the opportunity to receive audiobooks for review or adoption (reviews outside of organised blog tours) and host guest features on behalf of authors and narrators alike. When I saw the blog tour for ‘Anne of Green Gables’ I was wicked excited – as I have been wanting to re-read the series for a bit over a year and a half when I first saw a collection of the paperbacks at a thrift store! Mum surprised me with them but for the life of me, I never felt it was the ‘right time’ to read Anne. Seeing the blog tour was featuring the narrations by Post Hypnotic Press – the same publisher of the Betty MacDonald memoirs, I knew I wanted to take part as I love their quality and dedication to how audiobooks are produced!

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “Anne of Green Gables” via the publisher Post Hypnotic Press (of whom was working directly Audiobookworm Promotions) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I wanted to read Anne in August:

I have many fond memories of Anne of Green Gables – except to say, it was not until after I requested to join this blog tour, had I realised I do not believe I actually read the stories in my youth! I was meant too – as my grandparents gave me a lovely boxed set of the series inasmuch as they gave me the boxed set of the original adaptation for the series starring Megan Follows. I also actively watched Road to Avonlea which was simulcast on the Disney Channel.

I have a fond spot in my heart for August being dedicated to reading Jane Austen (both the canon and the after canon stories) through my participation in #AustenInAugust (via Roof Beam Reader’s event) which has a new tag where we add RBR on to the main one we used to use all the time. I’ve grown so used to using the original tag whenever I am talking about it, I sometimes forget to use it on Twitter. Oy. I digress. What I wanted to say, is despite the fact August is Austen for me, I wanted to take-on another beloved author and a series which has meant so much to me for so very long. I have been wanting to read more of the titles on my Classics Club List as well and this felt like a good month to attempt to put more Classics on my readerly path.

I’ll never remember truly – did I read the first book of Green Gables before I opted to see the film adaptation and tv series? Or, did I read passages of the book and still watched the adaptations? It’s hard to know for sure as too much time has gone past between then and now. I do know I knew Anne so very well – but how I came to know her originally is lost to time. Sometimes I forget which books I read and which stories I knew better in their film adaptations – this is one which hinges between memory and time. Which is why of course, when I first started listening to the adaptation by Post Hypnotic Press, I was a bit confused to know – was this the Anne of my memories or was this the Anne I hadn’t properly been introduced all those years ago?

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Audiobook Blog Tour | “Anne of Green Gables” by L.M. Montgomery (narrated by Colleen Winton) published by Post Hypnotic Press!Anne of Green Gables
by L.M. Montgomery
Source: Direct from Publisher
Narrator: Colleen Winton

Anne, a young orphan from the fictional community of Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia (based upon the real community of New London), is sent to Prince Edward Island after a childhood spent in strangers' homes and orphanages.

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, siblings in their 50s and 60s, had decided to adopt a boy from the orphanage to help Matthew run their farm. They live at Green Gables, their Avonlea farmhouse on Prince Edward Island.

Through a misunderstanding, the orphanage sends Anne Shirley. Anne is described as bright and quick, eager to please, talkative, and extremely imaginative. She has a pale face with freckles and usually braids her red hair.

When asked her name, Anne tells Marilla to call her Cordelia, which Marilla refuses; Anne then insists that if she is to be called Anne, it must be spelled with an e, as that spelling is "so much more distinguished".

Marilla at first says the girl must return to the orphanage, but after a few days she decides to let her stay. Marilla feels that she could be a good influence on the girl and had also overheard that another disagreeable woman in town might take Anne in instead.

Genres: Children's Literature, Classical Literature



Places to find the book:

ISBN: 978-1-927817-06-3

Also by this author: Anne of Avonlea, Anne of of the Island

Also in this series: Anne of Avonlea, Anne of of the Island


Published by Post Hypnotic Press

on 2014

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 10 hours, 7 minutes (Unabridged)

Published By: Post Hypnotic Press (@Post_Hypnotic)

The Anne of Green Gables series by Post Hypnotic Press:

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery, narrated by Colleen Winton produced by Post Hypnotic Press.Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery, narrated by Colleen Winton produced by Post Hypnotic Press.Anne of the Island by LM Montgomery, narrated by Colleen Winton produced by Post Hypnotic Press.

The publisher is considering adapting the rest of the series and is looking for feedback on behalf of these adaptations by both the bloggers who are listening to them for the blog tour and the readers who are finding them along the tour route itself – to gauge if the rest of the series would have a readership who would appreciate hearing them. I, for one, am hoping they do produce the rest of the series as these adaptions are great addition for all of us who grew up knowing Anne.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Divider

Posted Saturday, 5 August, 2017 by jorielov in Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Blog Tour Host, Canada, Canadian Literature, Childhood Friendship, Children's Classics, Children's Literature, Classical Literature, Indie Author, Juvenile Fiction, School Life & Situations, Teacher & Student Relationships

tCC (the Classics Club) | The #Classics Spin #8 eek! too wicked awesome for words! my first tCC Spin!

Posted Friday, 7 November, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 11 Comments

The Classics Club badge by Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story

Official Blurb & Rules: 

It’s time for another Classics Spin for any who are interested. What is the spin?

It’s easy. At your blog, by next Monday, November 10, list your choice of any twenty books you’ve left to read from your Classics Club list — in a separate post.

This is your Spin List. You have to read one of these twenty books in November & December. (Details follow.) So, try to challenge yourself. For example, you could list five Classics Club books you are dreading/hesitant to read, five you can’t WAIT to read, five you are neutral about, and five free choice (favorite author, rereads, ancients — whatever you choose.)

Next Monday, we’ll post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List, by January 5, 2015. We’ll have a check in here in January, to see who made it the whole way and finished the spin book.

Try to challenge yourself: list five you are dreading/hesitant to read, five you can’t WAIT to read, five you are neutral about, and five free choice (favorite author, rereads, ancients — whatever you choose.)

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5 Choices to Celebrate my participation in Sci Fi November: (SPIN 1-5)

  1. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
  2. A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
  3. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
  4. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
  5. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

5 Choices of Novels I am trepideriously curious about reading: (SPIN 6-10)

  1. The Murders of the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe
  2. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
  3. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
  4. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
  5. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

10 Novels I am wicked happy about Reading Next: (SPIN 11-20)

  1. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
  2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  3. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe (Lucky 13!)
  4. Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt
  5. The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope by Rhonda Riley
  6. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  7. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
  8. Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
  9. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
  10. The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

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I honestly haven’t had the proper chance to participate too much in The Classics Club for the first year I am a tenure in the club! I felt for sure I’d be visiting a heap of lovely clubbers throughout the book blogosphere, whilst participating in all the wicked fun activities that the club puts together for us to enjoy! However, 2014 proved to be a bit more unique as time went forward and thus, I have found myself on the fringes of being in the tCC rather than being directly apart of the community itself! So much so, that I honestly only remember joining in for ONE (oy vie!) club check-in and recently and I only recently published my thoughts on a collection of ghost stories by Edith Wharton (one review in twelvemonths? ohh, dear!)!

I even lost the hours to join in the wicked joy of being a part of Austen in August — whilst reminding myself that Austen can be appreciated any month of the year, and this year, I am picking *December!* as my Austen in Reading month! I am going to be blogging my visits within the joy of my first readings of the following:

Mansfield Park | Northanger Abbey | Persuasion

And, if I hadn’t been tweeting about the ghost stories by Wharton, I never would have had the beautifully lovely convo with the Wharton enthused ladies I met who have inspired me to combine my readings of Austen with Wharton between December & January respectively! (shared the convo on my interview with Marcia DeSanctis) I am going to put together a bit of an official RAL for the authors, and encourage anyone who wants to join me to do so! Especially the ladies who were involved with the tweeting!

I read the tCC updates by email subscription, as when I first read about the Spin this time round, I misunderstood the deadline completely and therefore, when Lost Generation Reader sent out this tweet: 

I had the happy-go-lucky moment of realising I could FINALLY play the SPIN! It was a wicked sweet moment, truly! And, now without further adieu I wanted to explain my choices!

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells | One of my focus tracks during SFN is a continuation of exploring “Time Travel”, and as I had declared last year, I have never had the honour of reading the one book I always felt set the stage for the stories published after it’s release; The Time Machine is simply a classic on a lot of different levels! To read my thoughts on Time Travel as a Focus Track, please visit the post I wrote for SFN 2013 which will become expanded for SFN 2014 this weekend!

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge | One of my favourite branches of science fiction in tv series & motion picture is Space Opera, except when I stop to consider how much I’ve honestly read within this sub-genre I come up short each time I try to set a list to mind. This is one of my choices to branch into a beloved section of the genre and to seek out stories that take place in the cosmos and beyond our share of the universe.

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson | One of my favourite characters in the world of Star Trek is “Seven of Nine” who embraced the technology of nanos as much as giving credit to how a character you once would have feared has a way of transitioning into a character you are quite attached to rallying behind. This novel explores nanotechnology & artificial intelligence in a way that I felt befit exploring and taking a step outside the world of Trek.

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson | Ever since I was quite young scientists have been attempting to sort out ‘the next planet’ where man can continue to thrive within the range of planets outside our obit. Mars was always on the top level of choices and somewhere within the race to settle ourselves on Mars and the pursuit of seeing how far we have gone to create a plausible way to move there; I became quite enthralled in the science articles and non-fiction works which defended the choice. Robinson’s series was found whilst I was caught up in the race for Mars.

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke | Quite literally one of my regrets as a letter-writer was not reaching out by pen and paper to Mr Clarke who passed before I found the courage to draft a letter to him. The Rama series has been on my list of ‘next reads’ long before I discovered the online bookish culture and world of book bloggers; it felt fitting to include this on my first SPIN!

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The Murders of the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe | Although I established a newfound respect and admiration for Poe whilst reading Mrs. Poe on a blog tour earlier this year, I am still curiously cautious about reading his collective works! If any book would put me betwixt and between knowing whether or not I wanted to read it, this surely qualifies!

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh | Quite happily I found the newest adaption for this classic novel on dvd earlier in the year, and soon after I had joined tCC officially! It was one of two dvd collections based on classic novels I had hoped would not only encourage me to expand my tCC List but encourage me forward towards reading the classics on a more regularly basis! Clearly I sidestepped a bit from that goal, but there was always a twitch of anxiety to begin this one for me.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë | My only attachment to the Brontë’ sisters is my readings of Jane Eyre which began during the Septemb-Eyre RAL in 2013; a RAL I had meant to continue forward with in step with the reading pace of my classically passionate friend Maggie (previously of ‘An American in France’ thus redefined as ‘Macarons & Paperbacks’) — yet haven’t yet found the hours to pick up from whence I left off! This includes an attempt to read Eyre during Horror October! Oy vie. I have had my eyes on her sisters for awhile and felt it was a fitting time to include one of them on this list; yet a bit daunting too, as I know their styles are entirely different from one another!

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell | I am personally a champion & enthused reader of Gaskell without ever once reading one of her novels! I had an instant connection to Gaskell first and foremost as a fellow writer (the appreciation I am referencing here also applies to Austen) and then shifted into the merriment of a reader who was discovering the breadth of her work whilst researching the life she lived. This was actually a purchase request I turnt in at my local library whereupon they acquired a beautiful hardback copy of the novel and the BBC/Masterpiece PBS adaptation of the novel at the same time. In hindsight, I wanted to read the novel prior to seeing the mini-series yet I ended up seeing Part 1 of the mini-series and as I was left emotionally shattered I never picked up the book! I have since spoilt myself on spoilers and learnt at least that I can handle what happens in Part 2! Only just barely! Hence why this is under the 5 novels I’m a bit unsure if whether or not I’m ready to read them!

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy | I recently felt re-inspired to start reading War and Peace due to my recent visit with #LitChat where I had the pleasure of talking about the novel I have been attempting to read since February! In fact, my War and Peace main post will finally publish on my blog this weekend as I simply haven’t had the proper chance to conclude my thoughts on how I want to read it and why I felt 2014 was the right year to tackle the breadth that is Tolstoy! Therefore, this is an obvious choice for me to include under the thread of a ‘daunting’ read, as who tackles War and Peace followed by Anna Karenina!

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Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier | A lot of the books I want to read follow in sequence after reading Rebecca; within the last year alone I have stumbled across sequel authors and/or continuations of the story Du Maurier inspired from her original work. It is a novel I have wanted to start for a long time but I felt it might be the interesting to see if it comes up in the SPIN.

The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern | Of all the different start times I’ve tried to get into The Night Circus, it was last Christmas (2013) when I nearly found myself able to stay with the story! I heard a bit about this prior to becoming curious about reading it myself — but to be honest, I found it through my local library before anyone started to talk about it exclusively one way or the other. It is what I read on the opening pages that has kept my attention for nearly a full year! I want to know more of this story and perhaps now I can!?

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe | This was one of my personal gifts to myself for one of my birthdays, where I wanted to try to find a new author who was writing an incredible novel set in an era that either I had an interest to dig into more and/or was a new thread of story that held my attention as soon as I read the premise. Deliverance Dane fit that part of history where witch hunts and prejudice against people who were living a different life were running rampant against the truth of who they actually were.

Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt | Prior to reading Illuminations, I enjoyed learning more about the author via her website where I found a bit of a back-story on why she wrote Daughters of the Witching Hill and the measure of truth her own research yielded to become revealed on the historical women she rooted her story to focus on. It was such a captivating premise within an enriched part of the historical past that is not always given a focus in modern literature. I originally foresaw reading this alongside Deliverance Dane and will do so if one of them pops up in the SPIN!

The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope by Rhonda Riley | Even before one of the Mods for #LitChat approached me about conversing about reading this novel, I had already earmarked myself to read this particular title! This is another classic example of the beautiful books I discover through browsing my local library’s card catalogue! I get excited seeing which books are being added to the collection as a whole and which new authors are penning stories who write outside the regular releases to wink at you to read!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith | Earlier in 2014 or late in 2013, I had the pleasure of seeing a motion picture adaptation of this on Turner Classic Movies (TCM), although at the time I hadn’t been aware of that fact! There was a turning point in the film where I sort of put the pieces together for myself, to where I realised the title of the film and the fact it was a film based off a novel I had already thought to add to my tCC List! As even back in 2013, I was planning the books I would include on the list once I had my blog set-up to where I could join!

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender | A library find I was uncertain at first if I truly wanted to read because it was such a clever story that steps outside it’s own shelving spot! I like stories which push themselves out of a ‘genre’ designation because at the end of the day, I thrive on the craft of stories and the gift of story-telling; to me a story’s genre selection is not as important as the story within the pages of the novel! As I was setting up this list I saw the title on my tCC List and felt, “Why not?”

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery | I honestly attempted to borrow this from a local library attached to a church I was attending in 2013 but the hours were not in my favour as the borrow time was limited. What fascinated me the most is there was a whole new series of novels by Montgomery I hadn’t discovered when I was younger! I am not sure how I missed Emily of New Moon when I devourted Anne of Green Gables!?

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen + The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni| For my last two selections I wanted to take a bit of a magical diversion in my reading selections as both The Sugar Queen & The Mistress of Spices are selections I made for reading more “Magical Realism”. They are not the only ones I choose to focus on for this SPIN either, but these two particular novels have enchanted me since I first breathed in their book synopsises and/or since I saw the film adaptation! There is a beautifully eloquent Bollywood inspired film for The Mistress of Spices (of which I have blogged about in the past) whose dream sequences, musical interludes, and the setting of the story at a spice market left me bewitched! I have wanted to read the novel ever since I first saw Aishwarya Rai on screen for the first time!

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Reader Interactive Question:

Are any of my SPIN choices a novel that interests you?

Have you previously read one of them? IF so, include a link in your comment!

How do you curate your SPIN lists for tCC?

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UPDATE: 10th Monday, November 2014

Ooh, this is seriously beyond exciting!! Not only did I get a book I had put on my ‘short list’ of hopefuls to come out of the SPIN *but!* the tCC SPIN # is my LUCKY 13! I am over the moon in wicked sweet joy for this tCC SPIN READ! Ooh, boy! I’m simply bursting! Talk about a book I’ve been wanting to read for half an age and never could get myself motivated to pick it up!? Ooh, boy!

Lest I mention the tCC published a stellar survey for members!

Monday this week simply ROCKS!

For three key reasons:

  1. My SPIN # Choice is bang-on brilliant!
  2. I’m blogging & sharing my thoughts on book 2 of
    Piercing the Veil this evening!
  3. A new fun-loving survey about *books!* & my admiration for the *classics!*

How’s your Classic SPIN Monday going!?

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The first 5 Classic Science Fiction Book Selections are part of my contribution of:

SFN 2014 Participant badge created by Jorie in Canva

{SOURCE: Wildlife photography by Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story, badge edited & created in PicMonkey by Jorie. Sci Fi Month badge created by Jorie in Canva.Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Friday, 7 November, 2014 by jorielov in Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Discussions, British Literature, Children's Classics, Children's Literature, Classic Horror, Classic Mystery, Classic Science Fiction, Classical Literature, Crime Fiction, Gothic Literature, Historical Fiction, Library Catalogues & Databases, Library Find, Literary Fiction, Literature of India, Local Libraries | Research Libraries, RALs | Thons via Blogs, Reading Challenges, Sci-Fi November, Science Fiction, tCC The Classics Club, tCC The Classics Club SPIN, Time Travel