I've always been a reader. In fact, when I was younger, my parents would ground me by taking away my books instead of my tv time or favorite toys. It was torture and it definitely taught me a lesson. Throughout the past twenty years, I've ready my fair share of books. Anything from 1984 to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Hunger Games, anything by Nicholas Sparks, and a myriad of other stories thrown in there. I love all kinds of books, mystery, romance, suspense, sometimes the occasional sci-fi. I love books because there is no limit to what you can imagine. Every story, every plot twist, character development, it is all unique. Reading takes you places you never could have otherwise visited. I've been to Mars, in magic tree houses, Prince Edward Island, Narnia, on a raft floating along the Mississippi. I've experienced war, I've broken the secret code to the mystery, I've defeated the bad guys. I've become the princess, I've saved the kingdom, I've been a secret agent for the President of the United States. You get the picture. But despite the heroism and adventure in these books, no plot has ever capitvated me as much as the simple plot of Anne of Green Gables.
Reading these books, I learned about love stories. Anne is an orphan, adopted by a lonely brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla, on Prince Edwards Island. And the beautiful thing about this story is that there is no prince to find, no buried treasure, no bad guys to defeat. This is simply a story about a curious, beautiful little girl who grows up. Her picturesque adventures, while mundane to some, make me appreciate the beauty of the world much more. She stops to admire the little details, she sees the bigger picture, and she isn't afraid to question what she does not understand.
Anne taught me about adventures. She didn't stumble into a wardrobe (although Narnia is a close second to being a favorite book of mine). She walked onto the porch and saw the world and all it had to offer, and that was enough for her.
I don't know what it is exactly about these books that captivate me. Perhaps it's the simple language that is used. The wonderful articulation of her imaginations and creative word play that is used to describe how she feels. A "kindred spirit" is wrapped around these novels. Her character looks at the world with a critical eye, but also believing that the best is just around the corner.
"Pretty? Oh, PRETTY doesn't seem the right word to use. Nor beautiful, either. They don't go far enough. Oh, it was wonderful- wonderful. It's the first thing I ever saw that couldn't be improved upon by imagination. It just satisfies me here"- she put on hand on her breast- "it made a queer funny ache and yet it was a pleasant ache. Did you ever have an ache like that, Mr. Cuthbert?"
