Kindred Spirits Book Club

Anne of the Island – or Anne, the College Years – is one of our very favorite books. With its stately collegiate setting, delightful celebration of female friendships, and deliciously slow burn romance, who can blame us? Join us as we recap Anne's four years at Redmond College, complete with baking soda company shenanigans, tomcat tomfoolery, and a happily ever after ending. Inspired by: Kelly rec...

Whether it’s a fairy picnic or a fairytale prince, Anne sees romance everywhere she looks – except, of course, in her own life! Kelly and Ragon explore the romantic side of Anne of Avonlea, from Hester Grey’s garden to Miss Lavendar’s wedding, and they also discuss those rare coming of age books for girls that don’t include romance.  Inspired by: Kelly recommends:  Seven Days In June by Tia Willia...

School may be out in your neighborhood, but it’s back in session in Avonlea with Anne at the front of the classroom. Anne continues on her path to becoming “dazzlingly clever” by embarking on her career as a teacher, and today’s discussion ranges from our own career aspirations to Avonlea school stories to the ambitious heroines of Little Women.  Inspired by: Ragon is inspired by:  the movie Are Y...

Avonlea itself, full of big personalities and hilarious happenings, is practically a character in the Anne books. In this episode, we explore how Anne grows into becoming an active member of her community and all the different ways "goodness" looks in a small town. Topics include the Avonlea Village Improvement Society, Davy and Dora Keith, and how Anne of Avonlea fits into the North American regi...

Ragon and Kelly kick off Season Two of Kindred Spirits Book Club with a breezy recap of Anne of Avonlea. Kelly admits she likes Davy Keith after all, and Ragon wants the ladies from The Home Edit to help Green Gables organize. Come along as we discuss the enchanted picnics, fairytale romances, and childhood mischief that make Anne of Avonlea so much fun.   Inspired by: Kelly is inspired by Enchant...

For the Season 1 Finale of Kindred Spirits Book Club, we are excited to introduce you to a new kindred spirit, Katie Stewart, co-founder of Owl’s Next Publishing. Katie, Ragon, and Kelly have the ultimate Anne geek out session, discussing everything from quoting the books in wedding vows to what can you do with an English degree? We rank all the Anne books and fangirl about our other favorite L.M....

Some of the most exciting adaptations of Anne of Green Gables are illustrated! In this episode, we discuss three gorgeously illustrated graphic novels which bring Anne’s story to life, led by our graphic novel expert, Alice!  Inspired by: Alice recommends hair chalk Kelly recommends Kindred Candle Company Ragon recommends donating to organizations that help kids read like Book Aid International an...

Anne With an E brought Anne of Green Gables to a new generation. Ragon and Kelly discuss how it differs from the source material, what they liked about the show, and where they thought it missed the mark. Come for the thoughtful discussions of childhood PTSD, stay for our dream adaptations of Anne!  Inspired by: Kelly is inspired by Marilla’s belts:  Whipstitch Corset Belt and Leather Corset Belt...

Anne of Green Gables has a long cinematic history but the adaptation we love best is the 1985 CBC miniseries starring Megan Follows and Colleen Dewhurst. We chat about our recent re-watch, how the movie strayed from the book, and the things we still love – the costumes! the scenery! Gilbert! Digressions include favorite movie musicals and how the kids are doing their hair these days. 

Anne Shirley, “all spirit and fire and dew,” is notorious for her temper and her pride. Ragon and Kelly explore why this is such a challenging character trait for Anne, and how she overcomes it. Side quests include TikTok, duels of honor, and whether Jo March, Mary Lennox or Pippi Longstocking is Anne’s spiritual sister. 

Wherein our heroine invents ghosts and dryads, fairies and snow queens, and we discuss how her imaginings very likely saved her spirit. We talk about whether embellishments are the same as lies, which Romantic poets Anne was reading, and how Anne made Prince Edward Island iconic with her imaginative descriptions.  

New Year, New Anne! We discuss Anne’s preoccupation with her appearance – she’s perfect just the way she is and so are you, listener! – and why Marilla was so worried about Anne’s vanity. We discuss Victorian fashion as well as the terrible haircuts, skincare, and diets we tried in the name of vanity.

The podcast episode that is at least 20 years in the making . . .  We gush about why Gilbert was our first imaginary boyfriend, what the heck was wrong with Anne, and contemporary successors to Gilbert’s true good guy prototype.  We also discuss our year in reading and where we stand on the “rivals to lovers” trope.  

It turns out that kids are kids even a century apart: opaque social hierarchies, dares gone wrong, mean-girl passive aggressive relationships, gossip and dramatics!  We talk about Anne’s friends and their antics, what we all got wrong about The Lady Of Shalott and how we are coping with the holiday season.  

Everyone knows that single, child-free, and mysteriously wealthy woman with immaculate clothes and a gorgeous home – and for Anne, it’s Diana’s Aunt Josephine! We tag along with Aunt Jo and the girls on a lavish trip to the big city and speculate about where her money came from.  Bonus content includes Aunt Jo fan fic! Inspired by: Ragon is reading When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill. Kelly...

Upsets, accidents, and apologies – how do the adult ladies of Avonlea respond to Anne’s escapades, and what does that tell us about who Anne is becoming? We discuss busybodies, eating medicine flavored cake to be polite, and politics in Avonlea. Inspired by: Ragon recommends going to a fancy afternoon tea! Kelly recommends the period specific clothing of Recollections if you want to live out your...

How do you educate a whole village of children in one room? Why was Mr. Phillips such a creep and Miss Stacy so wonderful? We ask these questions and share some embarrassingly hilarious stories from our own school days in this episode. Inspired by: Ragon recommends supporting teachers by donating to Donors Choose and by emailing their principal to sing the praises of a specific great teacher. Kell...

Do you love Matthew Cuthbert as much as we do? In this episode we celebrate this legend of gentle masculinity, and talk about how his capacity for unconditional love nourished and sustained Anne. Digressions include: why gifts are our favorite of the five love languages, fatherly pride, the delight of grubs in the cucumbers, and David Lynch.   Inspired by: Ragon is inspired by All Creatures Great...

What is a bosom friend, exactly? In this episode, we take on that question and talk all about the wonderful girl who became Anne’s dearest friend and most ardent supporter. Come for the raspberry cordial, stay for our thoughts on long-standing childhood friendships, Diana’s “dark side,” and whether Anne and Diana’s intimacy can be read as something more. Inspired by: Ragon is inspired by the book...

We start our series of character studies and dive deep into Marilla Cuthbert, her journey in non-traditional motherhood and how her sarcasm covers up her inner softness.  We explore how Marilla's religion has shaped her parenting and give our own Marilla inspired recommendations! Inspired by: Ragon is inspired by the Anne of Green Gables cookbook by Kate Macdonald for some delicious Avonlea inspir...

In this episode, Kelly and Ragon discuss the second half of the book, how Anne's hair dyeing incident affected them, and one of the saddest death's in children's literature.   Inspired by: Kelly is inspired by puffed sleeve brown dresses! Ragon is inspired by an Anne book necklace from Tiny Book Town on Etsy You can support the pod by shopping through our Bookshop link for any books we’ve recommen...

In Episode 2, Ragon and Kelly begin our plot recap of Anne of Green Gables, taking us through the first year of Anne's life in Avonlea, her many iconic scrapes and encounters, and share some "Inspired by Anne" recommendations!   Inspired by: Kelly is inspired by delicious Anne of Green Gables tea from  Novel Tea Tins . Ragon is inspired by the Anne Chapter Books by Kallie George, illustrated by Ab...

Welcome to Kindred Spirits Book Club!  In this episode your hosts Ragon Duffy and Kelly Gerner introduce themselves, discuss why Anne of Green Gables is so influential in their lives, and talk about what makes a kindred spirit!