"And to this purpose"

"If people like to read their books, it is all very well, but to be at so much trouble in filling great volumes, which, as I used to think, nobody would willingly ever look into, to be labouring only for the torment of little boys and girls, always struck me as a hard fate; and though I know it is all very right and necessary, I have often wondered at the person's courage that could sit down on purpose to do it." (In other words: rambling analyses, opinions, ideas, views, and comments from an English major, Essay/paper-writing enthusiastic, Austen-loving Master Librarian on, well, Jane Austen...and a whole lot of other things, too.)

"Celebrated Passages are Quoted"

Heidi's favorite quotes


"What is it really like to be engaged?" asked Anne curiously. "Well, that all depends on who you're engaged to," answered Diana, with that maddening air of superior wisdom always assumed by those who are engaged over those who are not."— L.M. Montgomery

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The AKB Book Club Tour of PEI

Welcome to Prince Edward Island, inspiration for the setting of the beloved novel Anne of Green Gables. We know you will enjoy taking a little tour of the island where Anne's adventures took place before we reach our final destination.

First, we have the famous red hills, cliffs and, yes, roads.

"But those red roads are so funny. When we got into the train at Charlottetown and the red roads began to flash past I asked Mrs. Spencer what made them red and she said she didn't know and for pity's sake not to ask her any more questions."

Then we bring you to the lovely shore.

"We're going to the shore some day to gather shells."

I'm sure you have heard about some of the towns on PEI. You must be quite interested.

"White Sands is a pretty name, too; but I don't like it as well as Avonlea. Avonlea is a lovely name. It just sounds like music. How far is it to White Sands?"

Go ahead, have a little scavenger hunt.

§ Campbellton
§ Charlottetown
§ Georgetown
§ Hampton
§ Souris
§ Summerside
§ Tignish
§ White Sands
§ Gulf of Lawrence
§ Northumberland Strait

And now we come to the pinnacle of our tour.

"Oh, don't tell me," she interrupted breathlessly, catching at his partially raised arm and shutting her eyes that she might not see his gesture. "Let me guess. I'm sure I'll guess right."


Welcome to Green Gables.

We hope our little tour has put you in the mood for a little bit of a discussion. We know this may not be the kind of book discussions you are familiar with, but we hope you will indulge us. Sometimes we find that one of the best things about books and reading are how one can relate to them.

So we would like to see all of us relate to Anne's World while relating to each other. If you only want to give "Yes" or "No" answers, that's fine. But there will be a lot more fun, enjoyment, and friendshipping if we provide a few details. We all love a good story--tell us some of yours! You can reply to one, some, or all the questions via comment or email. (Email enables better comment conversations pertaining to your personal answers.) If there are any comments or suggestions of your own that would improve this experience, please be sure to leave them.

We hope you enjoy your stay in Anne's World here on Prince Edward Island. Our scheduled departure date will be a week from now, so please do take part in all that you can to make your stay more exciting.


“[P]lease call me Anne spelled with an E."

What experiences have you had with others misspelling your name? Did you ever get really upset over a misspelling? Have you ever been insistent about your name being spelled correctly?


"Will you please call me Cordelia?" she said eagerly.

Did you ever wish you had a different name? What other imaginations did you have about your life being different than what it was?


This was Green Gables and they didn't want her because she wasn't a boy!

Have you ever felt that you were passed over, neglected, ignored, or unwanted because of your gender?


“I felt that he was a kindred spirit as soon as ever I saw him.”

Who are some of the kindred spirits in your life? How have they affected you and your life?


"I never took the brooch out of your room and that is the truth, if I was to be led to the block for it—although I'm not very certain what a block is.”

Were you ever in a situation where you knew you were in the right but were thought in the wrong? Were you ever expected to do something wrong to bring about a right?


“And then, when I was leaning over the bridge, it just slipped through my fingers—so—and went down—down—down, all purply-sparkling, and sank forevermore beneath the Lake of Shining Waters. And that's the best I can do at confessing, Marilla."

Do you have any “creative lies” from your past?


"A bosom friend—an intimate friend, you know—a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul. I've dreamed of meeting her all my life. I never really supposed I would, but so many of my loveliest dreams have come true all at once that perhaps this one will, too. Do you think it's possible?"

Did you have a bosom friend growing up? What were things you shared in common? What were some of your differences? What were some of the things you two did together?


“Are you ready for bed? Let's run a race and see who'll get to the bed first."

Do you have any jump into bed stories?


"Then I dare you to do it," said Josie defiantly. "I dare you to climb up there and walk the ridgepole of Mr. Barry's kitchen roof."

Were you ever dared to do something dangerous/silly/dumb? Did you go through with it?


"Yes, it's green," moaned Anne. "I thought nothing could be as bad as red hair. But now I know it's ten times worse to have green hair. Oh, Marilla, you little know how utterly wretched I am."

What things about your appearance did/do you wish were different? Have you ever done anything drastic to change your appearance?

5 comments:

Hannah said...

I can't answer all of the questions at the moment, but thought I'd go for the kindred spirits one. There's one "kindred spirit" in particular who continually impacts my life. She's my best friend from high school, and even though we haven't lived close to each other since then, we're still very close. We went through the silliest phase of life attached at the hip, yet as we grow up and become more serious(ish), we're moving in the same direction. It's really amazing how you can be so different from someone and still grow in the same direction and love each other no matter what. My life is happier every day because of things she does or says. I'm a big fan of the kindred spirits thing. Never could decide which one of us gets to be Anne though.

Sara Lyn said...

Name spelling - Growing up, I couldn't STAND when people would spell my name "Sarah." Offended isn't quite the right word, but I really HATED it! Now my whole name is hard to spell because they're all the alternate spellings. :) I've gotten used to it and even laugh about it now.

Different name - I never wished for a different name. (That I recall.) I loved that I "really" was a princess. :) And my best cousin was named Sarah. I always liked Sara Lyn better and now I get called that about 2/3 of the time. Does that count? It really is my name. :)

Neglected because of my gender - I used to feel "abused" because I was the only sister with four brothers. But then I got a sister and realized that being the only girl has its advantages. :) I've never had a problem being a girl because of the way people have treated me.

Kindred spirits - Hmm. Heidi. Sarah. Sarah. Sarah. Leanne. Debbie. My mom. Aunt Mona. Seth. I could go on and on. I'm like Anne. I collect them. They're all special. And they all come in different ages and personalities. Funny how a kindred spirit doesn't have to be anything like you. :)

Situation where I was wronged - No examples coming to mind right now. It's like when people want to know embarrassing stories. I can never think of one. (Well, until now. I have a good one that I can actually remember these days. Seizures don't count.) :)

Creative lies - Oh! I "proposed" to someone in front of a lot of people. But that was more of a joke than a lie. People believed me for a week before I cleared everything up. [sigh]

Bosom friend - Oh, yes. Debbie and Sheri. Debbie and I liked to read. And "go on adventures." And swim. Sheri and I had fewer similarities, but were bosom friends nonetheless. I'm still good friends with both of them. I have a couple of others now. People I can call at any point for anything. Who I can just be myself around. Even closer than my kindred spirits.

Dared to do a dumb thing - Gracious. Well, mine wasn't dangerous, but I was dared to go to a boy's apartment from another ward and "return" a roll of toilet paper I had never actually borrowed. I went through with it. The boy who answered the door gave me a very funny look. :)

Things I wish were different about my appearance - It would be nice not to struggle with my weight so much, but I'm not terribly sensitive about it. Except when my roommates would stand around in their size 2 jeans and moan about how they looked like cows. The most drastic thing I ever did to my appearance was to chop two feet of my hair. :) People didn't recognize me the next day. I've actually done that a couple of times. (I don't know if it's actually been two feet every time.) It was funny because I learned that men really didn't notice much about a girl's appearance when a friend of mine didn't notice the two feet of my hair that were missing. Somebody later pointed it out to him and he tried to make up for it. "Hey, Sara Lyn! You got a haircut, huh?!" Yeah, right. :) My roommates and I laughed and laughed about that one.

ldsjaneite said...

Hannah - Great point about moving in the same direction. I hadn't thought about it before, but I and my kindred spirits have done the same thing.

Saralyn - I can't think of your name without the lyn. In fact, I often write them together because that's how I say it. (Can you distinguish other people pausing between the two?)

I remember you telling me about that proposal. I missed it by only a couple of weeks. Does the fact that I'm "engaged" right now go as a lie?

The toilet paper story sounds familiar, too. That would have been funny--on both sides.

Sara Lyn said...

Personally, I think of myself as Saralyn now. But since I can't legally change my name without a lot of hassle, Sara Lyn it is. :) When I tell someone my name and they say, "Sara?" and I repeat, "SaraLYN," they often respond, "Oh, that's really beautiful." :) Then they proceed to call me Sara. :) Until I correct them again or they hear other people calling me Sara Lyn. It was easier in UT where everybody called me that if they knew me. Here, I have childhood against me. However, my at-home family calls me Sara Lyn now for the most part. Okay. Enough about my name...

ldsjaneite said...

There wasn't much I could do to "change" my name. Not that I ever thought about it. Until grad school. Somehow my online stuff got every one calling me Heidi Marie. And I realized that I liked that. A bit southern, but I didn't mind. So I started introducing myself to my grad school peoples with my middle name included. Just a shame I don't talk to any of them now!