Friday Ramble

Oh what a whirlwind is March ... but it is, officially, Spring now! There's tiny green leaves on trees and cheerful early blooms spreading their cheer, the days stretching longer with the hope of a new season. And the weather is as wacky as only a Carolina March can be. Some things never change, eh? 

#LucyMaudMarch Update
I'm a little behind on what I planned to read, mostly because I got sidetracked by a few other really good books, including Love & Saffron (Fay) and Run, Rose, Run (Parton + Patterson). Finding out the print in my copy of Pat of Silver Bush was much smaller than remembered slowed things down a bit too, ha ... It was delightful to revisit Silver Bush after many, many years however. I'd like to read one or two more before the end of the month - optimistic, I know. But maybe, just maybe ... I'll keep you posted. 

Have you done any Lucy Maud reading?

Tolkien Reading Day
Today is a glorious day for fans of hobbits and elves and dwarves! On this day, in the Lord of the Rings, the Ring was destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. You can find out more from the Tolkien Society here, and if you want to find a Middle Earth-related (or Tolkien-related!) read for the weekend, here's a quick link to a broad library search.

Audiobooks
Over the last several years, I've really fallen in love with audiobooks ... the make me feel like my driving time is somewhat productive, and it's fun to mix things up a bit. Typically, I've listened to the more traditional books on CD/MP3, but recently I discovered how to connect my phone to the car audio, and can now play digital audiobooks in my car! It's glorious, ha. My favorite part is being able to pick up the story again easily if I switch cars, or if the urge to take a nice spring walk arrives - just switch to earbuds and I can listen and walk.

Have you explored our collection of e-audiobooks in the Digital Depot? There's over 400 to listen to! And you can search, download, check out (and return), and listen all within the Libby app! So easy!

And for even more, you can swing by the NCKids collection (just add NCKids as another library in Libby, pick Randolph County, and sign in with your library card & PIN numbers). NCKids is a great resource for elementary and middle grade books - although they have some YA fiction as well.

Read Together

As I'm playing catch-up with my TBR {To Be Read} list, trying to balance backlist titles and new releases, I recently stumbled my way into reading two novelized accounts of Agatha Christie's disappearance back-to-back. Each novel was unique in their approach, perspective, and theory as to "why" and "how" Agatha vanished - so much so that reading them back-to-back gave an added dimension to each.

Obviously, I'd recommend reading The Mystery of Mrs. Christie (Marie Benedict) and The Christie Affair (Nina De Gramont) together, but might I also suggest the following, to further round out the experience?

The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Agatha Christie)
Agatha's first Hercule Poirot book, and the namesake of the house/estate she and her husband purchase (the one she runs away from).

The Grand Tour: Letters and Photographs from the British Empire Expedition 1922 (Agatha Christie)
Agatha spent a year abroad with her husband, where the things she saw (and the people she met) inspired characters and events to occur in her novels to come.

The 8:55 to Baghdad (Andrew Eames)
After divorcing Archie Christie (after her mysterious disappearance), Agatha traveled some on her own.

Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life (Laura Thomspon)
A recent-ish biography of Agatha, for those who'd like to know more facts.

#LucyMaudMarch

I recently joined a readalong on Instagram for L.M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle (also available as an ebook through NCKids digital). It ended up being a reread for me - Goodreads informed me I first read it back in 2014 - but there is something about Montgomery's writing that begs to be revisited again and again. I couldn't tell you how many times I've read the Anne of Green Gables series, and even though I know exactly what is going to happen - have some passages practically memorized - it always feels like going home, opening the pages and getting lost in that familiar and cozy world. Rereading The Blue Castle, and seeing plans on Instagram for a few other specific Montgomery readalongs, got me thinking ... and what started as an off-hand comment to a friend began to take root. 

I'd like to officially invite you to join me for #LucyMaudMarch - a relaxed and informal reading of L.M. Montgomery (aka: Lucy Maud). There is no required reading - I won't ask you to read a particular book on a particular week - and there are no group discussions. This is merely a chance to revisit - or perhaps discover for the first time! - a simpler time.

While most famous for the much beloved Anne Shirley, Montgomery wrote many more books about other fascinating and enchanting heroines. There's Emily of New Moon, and Jane of Lantern Hill. Kilmeny of the Orchard, Pat of Silver Bush, and The Story Girl. And let's not forget Anne's youngest daughter, Rilla of Ingleside, coming of age during WWI.

Perhaps you'd like to learn more about Montgomery herself, either in a biography (House of Dreams) or a novelization (Maud). 

Maybe you want to introduce a young reader to Anne, in which case I highly recommend the work of Kallie George. With dreamy illustrated books like Goodnight, Anne and If I Couldn't be Anne and a first-chapter series that begins with Anne Arrives, you can tell George is a kindred spirit. 

Another kindred spirit is Winston-Salem author Sarah McCoy - Marilla of Green Gables is an imagining of Marilla's life in the before times, and is an engrossing story on its own, as well as a loving homage to the original.

There are so very many options, more even than mentioned here, and I invite you to read any that catch your fancy, at any point during the month of March. All I ask if that if you do, let us know. I'd love to know what you read and what you think. Comment on any of the posts I make during the month, or tag us in your posts (and please, use the #LucyMaudMarch hashtag too!).