books i have loved part I--Anne of Green Gables

Every month, our library compiles a list of staff recommendations. February's theme is Books We Love, things we have read repeatedly or that have changed our lives in some way. One of my all-time favorite books is Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.I own this edition of Anne of Green Gables, in addition to several others. What can I say, it's my favorite book!

Orphaned as a baby when her parents die, Anne is shuffled among relatives and orphanages until one day, she is sent to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, siblings who live on a farm called Green Gables on Prince Edward Island. Although they had requested a boy to help out with the farm chores, Anne soon wins them over with her boundless imagination and the delight she takes in life. The book chronicles Anne’s misadventures in the town of Avonlea, her success in school, her friendships with other kindred spirits, and her competitive relationship with Gilbert Blythe.

This book came to me around the time my aunt passed away. Anne became my hero because she overcame her very difficult beginning, still had hope for life, and viewed everything in the world as something of wonder. Anne had a habit of giving everything a grand name—on her way to Green Gables the first time, she and Matthew drove through a cherry tree orchard--she renamed it the Great White Way. As a result, I went through a similar phase myself, inventing what I thought to be clever, lyrical names for china patterns and a certain spot in our backyard. I wanted everything to be an adventure and something to be discovered, just like Anne. I quickly devoured each book in the Anne of Green Gables series, and watched the CBC film version too many times to count.

I dreamed of marrying Gilbert Blythe.

I read Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem, The Lady of Shallot, because Anne acted out parts in the book. I became obsessed with life in the late 1800s, even using projects like my eighth grade research paper to learn more about the Victorian era (as a result, I have a freakish knowledge of the late 19th century British monarchy). And all this because of a freckled redhead named Anne.