Perennials Podcast Book Club

In Chapter 13 of Anne of Green Gables, Anne tells Marilla about her adventures playing with Diana at Idlewild and looks forward with fervent anticipation to the upcoming Sunday School picnic. Marilla and Anne exchange different views on expectation and disappointment, and Anne wonders: will she finally get to taste ice cream for the first time, or will the gathering be rained out?  Original air da...

In Chapter 12 of Anne of Green Gables, Anne meets her potential bosom friend Diana Barry. Will Diana be charmed by Anne's suggestion that they perform a solemn oath of eternal friendship, or will she run screaming back to her strict mother?  Chapter reading: 0:14 - 10:28 Reflections on the chapter: 10:31 - 13:43 Original air date: April 23, 2020

In Chapter 11 of Anne of Green Gables, Marilla gives Anne a few (less than satisfactory) new dresses and tells her it's time to go to Sunday School. Anne must contend with a lack of puffed sleeves, stares and whispers from the other little girls, and boredom in the pews. Marilla must contend with the discomfort of realizing she agrees with some of Anne's observations. Chapter reading: 0:15 - 9:19...

In Chapter 10 of Anne of Green Gables, Matthew convinces Anne to apologize to Mrs. Rachel for shouting at her after Mrs. Rachel insulted Anne's looks. Will their outspoken neighbor accept Anne's apology? Chapter reading: 0:14 - 13:33 Reflections on the chapter: 13:35 - 22:24 Original air date: April 16, 2020

In Chapter 9 of Anne of Green Gables, Mrs. Rachel Lynde pays a visit to meet Anne and decides it's totally cool to tell an eleven year old little girl that she is ugly. Since Anne is no shrinking violet, she gives it right back to Mrs. Rachel. What is Marilla to do? Chapter reading: 0:14 - 13:07 Reflections on the chapter: 13:09 - 18:19 Original air date: April 11, 2020

In Chapter 8 of Anne of Green Gables, Marilla tells Anne that they’ve decided to keep her, and promptly begins the task of bringing up Anne to be a good girl, starting with telling her to learn the Lord’s Prayer. We get another vivid peek into Anne’s imaginative spirituality, learn of her deep desire for a bosom friend, and find out the heartbreaking story behind the friends she left behind when s...

In Chapter 7 of Anne of Green Gables, Marilla finds that Anne has never been taught to say prayers at night. We get a little insight into how Marilla and Anne think about God and prayer; Marilla gives instructions for how to pray; and we find out what Anne most wants to ask God for (hint: it's not world peace).  Chapter reading: 0:14 - 6:13 Reflections on the chapter: 6:15 - 10:23 Original air dat...

Chapter 6 of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery is a real turning point in the book--Marilla comes to a final decision about whether she and Matthew will keep Anne at Green Gables with them. Based on the title of the book, you can probably guess her decision, but for the sake of suspense... Chapter reading: 0:14 - 9:42 Reflections on the chapter: 9:44 - 12:49  Original air date: April 5, 2020

Chapter 5 of Anne of Green Gables finds Marilla and Anne heading by buggy to Mrs. Spencer's, where Marilla hopes to settle the mix-up and find a way to send Anne back to Nova Scotia. Along the way, Anne shares her history up until that point, and let me tell you...I just wanted to hop into that buggy and turn it right back around to bring Anne back to Green Gables. Chapter reading: 0:14 - 10:35 Re...

In Chapter 4 of Anne of Green Gables, Anne wakes up to a beautiful morning and leaves the depths of despair. But she's still sad at the prospect of leaving Green Gables, and chooses to stay inside rather than go out and explore, because she doesn't want to fall in love with the place and find it that much harder to leave. Chapter reading: 0:13 - 11:44 Reflections on the chapter: 11:47 - 17:19 To j...

In Chapter 3 of Anne of Green Gables, Marilla is surprised, Matthew is quietly distressed, and Anne is deeply (and loudly) disappointed when she finds out that she was right: this was all too good to be true.  Chapter reading: 0:14 - 11:21 Reflections on the chapter: 11:24 - 15:37 To join the free, live virtual book club meeting on April 1, from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EST,  sign up for the Perennials Bo...

Join me in reading Chapter Two of Anne of Green Gables today, to find out what happens when shy, woman-fearing Matthew Cuthbert arrives at the Bright River train station to pick up an orphan boy, and instead finds a strange little red-haired, fast-talking, eternally optimistic girl named Anne. Chapter reading: 0:15 - 24:38 Reflections on the chapter: 24:44 - 30:02 To join the free, live virtual bo...

During this difficult and strange time of social distancing amidst a pandemic, I wanted to offer some extra comfort and connection. So I decided to start a Perennials Podcast Book Club! Thanks to all who voted on Instagram and via e-mail for our first Book Club pick: Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery.  In each episode, I’ll read a chapter of the book and then end with some thoughts on the c...