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Showing posts with label Canadian Reading Challenge #7. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canadian Reading Challenge #7. Show all posts

Friday, 27 June 2014

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: ANNE OF GREEN GABLES - LM Montgomery author ~ Colleen Winton narrator

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
by Lucy Maude Montgomery
Narrated by Colleen Winton
Anne, a young orphan from the fictional community of Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia (based upon the real community of New London), is sent to Prince Edward Island after a childhood spent in strangers' homes and orphanages. Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, siblings in their fifties and sixties, had decided to adopt a boy from the orphanage to help Matthew run their farm. They live at Green Gables, their Avonlea farmhouse on Prince Edward Island. Through a misunderstanding, the orphanage sends Anne Shirley.
Anne is described as bright and quick, eager to please, talkative, and extremely imaginative. She has a pale face with freckles and usually braids her red hair. When asked her name, Anne tells Marilla to call her Cordelia, which Marilla refuses; Anne then insists that if she is to be called Anne, it must be spelled with an e, as that spelling is "so much more distinguished." Marilla at first says the girl must return to the orphanage, but after a few days she decides to let her stay. Marilla feels that she could be a good influence on the girl and had also overheard that another disagreeable woman in town might take Anne in instead.-publisher
Series: Anne of Green Gables #1
Audiobook Edition
Published: May 30.13
Publisher: Post Hypnotic Press
Length: Unabridged 10 hrs 6 min


My Thoughts?

There's nothing like Anne to inspire laughter and Lucy M Montgomery for atmospheric descriptions of beauty!

Elderly unmarried siblings, Matthew, and sister, Marilla, have sent word to a neighbouring villager, Mrs Spencer, to bring them a boy to help as a farmhand when she visits a Nova Scotia orphanage in the spring. The message gets twisted enroute, delivering them the unexpected 11 year old Anne! 

The joys and tribulations of Anne's addition to their tranquil Prince Edward Island lives are delicious to experience. A girl of dreams and dialogue beyond her years, unlimited ideas and imagination to share with anyone lacking, Anne is quickly endeared to the reader by Lucy Maud's characterizations and descriptions. 

“Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” 

The humour of Anne's escapades is effectively and dramatically juxtaposed against the societal expectations of the Victorian era and island culture. 

“It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly
that you will.”
 

It’s easy to immerse oneself into the life of Anne as we cheer her on in pursuit of kindred spirits!  


“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. 
It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.” 

An especially satisfying read expressing much appreciation of beauty, a turn of the century girl's journey from childhood to young womanhood, and a realistic cast of characters populating this introductory story of Anne...

This time round I've had the pleasure of Anne on audio via the Post Hypnotic Press audiobook presentation. Narrated by Colleen Winton, the characters of the story were differentiated and personalized with varying voice expression, inflections and range of tone. Ms WInton captured their personalities well. My personal preference would have been the choice of a younger voice to represent Anne, especially as the main character of the story, an essential consideration. Ms Winton was capable and steady in her narration.

Post Hypnotic's recording was clear and uninterrupted by background interference. Dubbing or retakes were seamless, allowing for a pleasurable listening experience. 

A lovely way to enjoy our beloved Anne of Green Gables.



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Author Bio:

Lucy Maud Montgomery OBE (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success. The central character, Anne, an orphaned girl, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following. The first novel was followed by a series of sequels with Anne as the central character. Montgomery went on to publish 20 novels as well as 500 short stories and poems. Many of the novels were set on Prince Edward Island, Canada and places in the Canadian province became literary landmarks. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1935.
LM Montgomery, was born at Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Nov. 30, 1874. She came to live at Leaskdale, north of Uxbridge Ontario, in 1911 after her wedding with Rev. Ewen Macdonald on July 11, 1911 in Prince Edward Island. Her three children were born at Leaskdale, and she wrote close to a dozen books while she was living in the Leaskdale Manse before the Macdonald family moved to Norval, Ontario in 1926. 

Maud died in Toronto April 24, 1942 and was buried at Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.


For more information, please see 
http://en.wikipedia...more
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Narrator:

Colleen is a Vancouver actor, singer, dancer, director and choreographer...and now a narrator. Her career has taken her all over the country and  includes the Stratford, Shaw and Charlottetown Festivals, the original Canadian companies of CATS and Show Boat, extensive film/TV credits, and numerous directing/choreographing credits. Her stage work has been honoured with numerous nominations and a Jessie and Ovation award and she received a cultural award given by her local Chamber of Commerce. She recently played Marilla Cuthbert in a production of the musical Anne of Green Gables at Theatre Calgary (Spring 2013).
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Post Hypnotic Press audio of the Anne series is available 
for your listening enjoyment online HERE
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* Appreciation to Post Hypnotic Press and Audiojukebox for providing an mp3 for listening and reviewing without cost or compensation.
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Sunday, 23 February 2014

BLADES OF VALOR: [MERLIN'S IMMORTALS #4] Sigmund Brouwer 23.2.14



Thomas is finally in the Holy Land and reunited with Sir William, but is forced to travel on his own from the coast through Nazareth, and finally to Jerusalem. The road is a dangerous one—especially to a lone traveler. Bandits masquerade as slaves, traitors appear to be allies, and once again, Thomas doesn’t know whom to trust. He must rely on his own resources to discern friend from foe, and to finally discover the final key to the Druids' master plan before returning home to expose them. 

Back in England, a final storm is brewing against Thomas,
for the Druids are much more powerful than the 
                 Orphan King can even imagine. . .                               - goodreads


Author: Sigmund Brouwer
Length: 233 pages ebook
Published: January 21.2014
Publisher: Waterbrook Press

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My Thoughts?

My review of book 3 in Sigmund Brouwer's "Merlin's Immortals" series
included my thoughts of"I love the story. I love the characters. I want to know how it ends."

I now know.  And I'm well pleased!

Action and intrigue grabbed my interest from the opening page 
and kept me reading from the Holy Land to England.

Thomas is understandably confused when he sees the ones he has come to trust
in the company of his would be assassins , setting him on the edge of disaster.
The pace is intense - emotionally and intellectually - as we follow
confusion and complications.
Alliances and broken trust, exotic locations and deprivations,
all well formed and descriptive.
A good sense of being present in the settings and action.
Dialogue was good. As was the element of surprise!
Brouwer leads the reader on a few merry chases
where we believe a situation to be as described,
only to discover all is not as it appears...
Experiencing all the tension and dismay of  our heroes.

A few details seemed unusual leaving me wondering such as where
Thomas's pup, Beast, disappeared between book 3 and 4.

Conclusion wrapped up the series with finesse
and I was left with a sense of satisfaction in having discovered 
the mysteries as well as the outcome.
Time well spent!

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Sigmund Brouwer is a Canadian author of eighteen novels with nearly three million copies in print. His recent novel The Last Disciple was featured in Time magazine and on ABC's Good Morning America. 
Married to American songwriter recording artist Cindy Morgan. The couple and their two young daughters divide their time between Red Deer, Alberta, Canada and Nashville, Tennessee. He loves going to schools to get kids excited about reading, reaching roughly 80,000 students a year through his RockandRoll Literacy Show.




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*Appreciation to Random House and Waterbrook Press for providing an ecopy for reading and review.




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Monday, 17 February 2014

IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING? 17.2.14

Taking advantage of today being the FAMILY DAY holiday here
and posting late !
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Another good week of reading [and listening] I'm pleased about.
Scottish author, MC Beaton's DEATH OF A DENTIST
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2 of Merlin's Immortals series by Canadian author,
Sigmund Brouwer
   
      MARTYR'S FIRE                                                                                         BLADES OF VALOR

3rd in Diane Moody's Teacup Novella series
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and not a few false starts on books I couldn't get into at the moment !

How's your week's reading shaping up?

Up next for me...

Dilly Court's THE BEST OF DAUGHTERS
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LET THEM EAT CAKE , Sandra Byrd's 1st in 
the French Twist series
Looks like another FuN read I'd like to add to the week
{what's not to love about a French bakery?}
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Thinking Monday's Reading is off to a great start!
Find more books to add to your book stash at 
Sheila's linkup  BOOK JOURNEY

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On this week -



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SAVE THE DATE for MARCH
Women's History Month Celebrated at LOST IN BOOKS
{sign ups open now}
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Joining the Wake UP Wednesday Party 




Sunday, 16 June 2013

It's 3rd Monday in June! What Are You Reading? 17.6.13


It's the 3rd Monday in June !
What Am I Reading?
Well, I'm totally enjoying Library Thing's 
Monday June 10 -  Monday 17 midnite
Any other readers here participating?
I found out about it via twitter, a teeny bit late, but not enough to dissuade me !
So jumped in and, of course, enjoying another permission to read...
This one's different in that you can actually sign up for the hours you intend to read,
[or have read during the event]
allowing everyone to note when people are reading around the world.  Pretty cool.
Everyone can log book reads HERE plus responses .  
Of course reviews can be posted on your
Library Thing account or books added to your various libraries .
Sign up info that will be helpful for the next one can be found HERE.

If I continue to ignore my responsibilities for one more day I'll probably have 
another book to add!
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So far, my week's been amazing book wise.  Starting with the 1/2 price sale at the 
neighbourhood charity store!
Not that I needed 1.more.book!  but at .25 and .50/each, I couldn't leave them shelved. 
Oh No.  3 bags full are now shelved [temporarily] on a large chair in my living room!
FuN to find books for family members by their fave authors too!
Extra wee gifts to surprise them once in awhile...

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The reading part of my week looked like this ~
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The BLossom Sisters 10.6.13  Unfortunately, content not worthy of its pretty cover.


Glamorous Illusions book 1 Grand Tour series Lisa T Bergren 10-12.13
Grave Consequences book 2 of the Grand Tour series
                                                            

I liked book 1 best so far, but interest definitely piqued at ending of book 2 
Tons of Anticipation for book 3 due Oct 1st..
Grace's Pictures by Cindy Thomson read 14-15.6.13

Grace is a 19 yr old Irish immigrant - 
Add to this emotive story the invention of Kodak's Brownie, people's reactions to photos 
as invasion of privacy, and some suspenseful scenes ensue..
[plus a lovely side of romance!]






Finished Ripples Along the Shore eNovella 
#3 Quilted Hearts series by Mona Hodgson , 
and posted Goodreads review 16.6.13 today
A lovely series of sisterhood of women, post civil war, uniting in support and encouragement over  weekly quilting as they piece their lives back together and their hopes/dreams for the future..


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plus,
I read 
Cupcakes, an ebook by Daniel Kelley, a LibraryThing win. 16.6.13 
           A short, well written familial eParable of 4 cousins being cared for by an Auntie 
who owns the bakery where they meet daily;
progressing to adulthood, whilst keeping the bond she instilled. 
Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got til it's gone?
Definitely sweet, but not a cookbook!







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That's it for this week at this point, but liable to change the minute another book 
catches my eye!

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How about your reading week?
Books?  Read-a-THons or ReadaTHing?

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Next Monday I probably won't post unless I'm super organized and autopost!
I'll be busy packing to fly out to meet my lovely wee grandson
[and of course spend time with my blessed son and daughter in law!]
Not to worry about my reading though - I've 2 1/2 hours to enjoy my kindle enroute!
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Because I'll be away, I do want to invite ALL of you to join the 7th Annual
Canadian Reading Challenge 
which begins on Canada's Birthday, July 1st of every year.


Definitely a Top Fave Reading Challenge !
It's all about challenging one's self to more Canadian reading discoveries.
Are you up to the Challenge?  Hope to find you there!

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Find more Monday Reading at Book Journey
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If you're interested in a Summer Reading Program with Fab Book GIfts,
find MORE INFO HERE !
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