Week in Review #50

This week I read three books.

122. Anne of Windy Poplars. L.M. Montgomery. 1936. 288 pages. [Source: Bought] [4 stars, classic]

Read this if...

• You love Anne Shirley
• You love classics
• You love L.M. Montgomery

80. Spirit-Filled Singing. Ryanne J. Molinari. 2025. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy] [4 stars, Christinan nonfiction, worship]

Read this if...

• You are a church musician

81. Christmas in Wisconsin. Linda Byler. 2025. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, Christmas, Christian romance, Christian fiction]

Read this if...

• You enjoy Amish fiction
• You enjoy Amish Christmas stories
• You don't mind all TELL and no SHOW

Century of Viewing #50

1950s

• 1954 White Christmas. I can't imagine anyone not knowing White Christmas, but perhaps there are some out there who do need a summary. Two soldiers-turned-showmen put on a huge Christmas show to honor their former general all the while falling in love with two sisters in show business.

1960s

• 1965 Charlie Brown Christmas. I love, love, love this one! Definitely worth watching every year. LINUS does know the true meaning of Christmas.

1970s

• 1974 Twas the Night Before Christmas. This is a short animated cartoon--musical, of course. I remember it fondly from childhood.
• 1978 Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. Love Big Bird ice skating. SO many great scenes and songs. The main premise is that OSCAR tells Big Bird that Santa can't get down chimneys and so there will be no Christmas. Also Bert and Ernie do The Gift of the Magi, but Mr. Hooper saves the day.

1980s

• 1985 Velveteen Rabbit. I wanted to love this one, but, the animation wasn't for me. But the story is always good.
• 1986 The Christmas Toy. Jim Henson's The Christmas Toy to be exact. This one has toys in a toy room preparing for the new Christmas toy. They know that the child will temporarily at least reject the old and prefer the new. But this one is about the friendship between toys. It's a GOOD movie.
• 1987 Muppet Family Christmas. IF you haven't watched The Muppet Family Christmas do it now, now, now! This one is all kinds of awesome. It brings together the Muppets, the Fraggles, and the Sesame Street gang.
• 1987 Garfield Christmas. One of my favorite, favorite, favorite Christmas specials.
• 1988 Die Hard. A Christmas party goes terribly wrong and it's up to one man and one sympathetic cop to try to save the day.

2010s

• 2012 12 Disasters of Christmas. Don't seek out this bad movie to see how bad it is. Is this the worse movie I've seen this year? NO. But honestly it's not worth your time. So an ancient Mayan prophecy is "coming true" in a small mountain town, but a chosen one is there to put on the five golden rings and save the day. This one has the '12 Days of Christmas' being a song passed down from the Mayans, I believe, as a way to keep the warning alive of the doom ahead. It's weird and also weird. And even without all the end-of-the-world stuff, I have to believe the town is WEIRD and many residents are evil.
• 2014 The Nine Lives of Christmas. A stray cat brings a couple together. Hero-fireman doesn't 'like' cats but a cat has chosen him. Heroine-vet-student loves cats but lives in an apartment with a no-cat rule. As he seeks out her advice on how to care for his cat, they become friendly then friends then roommates when her landlord finds out about the cat. The cats fall in love first. The cats are honestly the best part of this holiday romance.

2020s

• 2024 Team Starkid: VHS Christmas Carols. This is a musical production by Team Starkid. This mashes up three familiar stories into one awesome one: The Gift of the Magi, The Little Match Girl, and Christmas Carol. Everything is 80s themed and all kinds of awesome. HIGHLY recommend.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

122. Anne of Windy Poplars

Anne of Windy Poplars. L.M. Montgomery. 1936. 288 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence:  DEAREST: Isn't that an address! Did you ever hear anything so delicious? Windy Poplars is the name of my new home and I love it. I also love Spook's Lane, which has no legal existence. It should be Trent Street but it is never called Trent Street except on the rare occasions when it is mentioned in the Weekly Courier . . . and then people look at each other and say, 'Where on earth is that?' Spook's Lane it is . . . although for what reason I cannot tell you. I have already asked Rebecca Dew about it, but all she can say is that it has always been Spook's Lane and there was some old yarn years ago of its being haunted. But she has never seen anything worse-looking than herself in it. 

Premise/plot: Anne and Gilbert are engaged at last! But Gilbert still has three years of school to go, and, so Anne finds herself a job as principal of a school in Summerside. Anne of Windy Poplars gives us an intimate look at those three years. Much of the book provides glimpses into the letters Anne writes Gilbert. But there are some traditional chapters as well.

My thoughts: Anne of Windy Poplars is such a delightful (late) addition to the Anne series by L.M. Montgomery. I love, love, love it. Even if Gilbert himself is absent. (We only see her letters to him, never his letters to her.)

This book showcases what Montgomery does BEST: bring her characters to life. It doesn't seem to matter if we spend two paragraphs with a character or two chapters. I CARE about every character she introduces.

Some of the characters we meet in this one: Aunt Kate, Aunt Chatty, Rebecca Dew, Dusty Miller (cats count as characters, right?!), Little Elizabeth, Nora Nelson, Jim Wilcox, Esme Taylor, Dr. Lennox Carter, Cyrus Taylor, Teddy Armstrong, Lewis Allen, Katherine Brooke, Mrs. Adoniram Gibson and Pauline, Cousin Ernestine Bugle, Jarvis Morrow, Dovie Westcott, Frank Westcott.
 

Favorite quotes:

I have a scratchy pen and I can't write love-letters with a scratchy pen...or a sharp pen...or a stub pen. So you'll only get that kind of letter from me when I have exactly the right kind of pen. 

You know I've always been one to whom adventures come unsought. I just seem to attract them, as it were.  

School begins tomorrow. I shall have to teach geometry! Surely that can't be any worse than learning it. 

Isn't it queer that the things we writhe over at night are seldom wicked things? Just humiliating ones.

I don't like reading about martyrs because they always make me feel petty and ashamed...ashamed to admit I hate to get out of bed on frosty mornings and shrink from a visit to the dentist!

Nobody is ever too old to dream. And dreams never grow old.

I said drenched and I mean drenched.

Oh, no, babies are never common," said Anne, bringing a bowl of water for Mrs. Gibson's roses. "Every one is a miracle."

It seems so strange to read over the stories of those old wars...things that can never happen again. I don't suppose any of us will ever have more than an academic interest in 'battles long ago.' It's impossible to think of Canada ever being at war again. I am so thankful that phase of history is over. 

Nobody is ever too old to wear just what she wants to wear. You wouldn't want to wear it if you were too old.


© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Week in Review #49

This week I read three books.

121. Anne's House of Dreams. L.M. Montgomery. 1919. 227 pages. [Source: Library]

Read this if

• you enjoy the Anne series
• you enjoy romance
• you enjoy classics
• you enjoy character driven novels

78. Sea View Christmas (On Devonshire Shores) Julie Klassen. 238 pages. [Source: Review copy] [4 stars, adult romance, christian romance, historical romance, christian fiction]

Read this if

• You enjoy historical romance
• You enjoy series books
• You enjoy Christian fiction

79. Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better. Brant Hansen. 2015. 214 pages. [Source: Library]

Read this if

• You enjoy thought-provoking reads
• You enjoy contemplative books that may or may not challenge your beliefs
• You enjoy the discerning process to weigh each point made in a book

Century of Viewing

1930s

• 1933 Little Women. Katharine Hepburn stars as Jo March. I enjoy this adaptation of Little Women. It is condensed and doesn't seem overly dramatic. I can make it through this adaptation without crying. Which can't be said for some of the other ones.

1940s

• 1946 It's a Wonderful Life. I love this one. I do. I absolutely LOVE IT. I can't watch it without crying. It's impossible. Is it long? Yes. Is it too long? Probably not. But this one has all the feels, all the impact.

1970s

• 1970 Scrooge (The Musical). I love, love, love this musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Christmas Carol.
• 1976 At The Earth's Core. I've seen several 'core' movies this year. This one was BAD. Extremely very bad. I wouldn't necessarily recommend UNLESS you want some perspective and relativity. Like this movie makes other bad movies seem not so bad. So this one is set in Victorian times, it's a bit steam-punk. An adventurer is persuaded by a mad-scientist sort to take this super experimental drilling machine capsule and drill to the center of the earth. Why????? Who knows. They do. It doesn't go as planned, and much nonsense results.

1990s

• 1990 Dark Angel (I Come In Peace). If you are looking for holiday action films OR holiday science fiction films. OR just alien invasion horror set during the holidays, then this one might work for you. Long story short, ALIENS come to earth to commit crimes and a Houston police department must try to solve this other-worldly mystery before life as we know it changes forever.
• 1997. Borrowed Hearts. I had MAJOR doubts. But I ended up enjoying this one much more than I thought I would. A man 'hires' a wife and child for the holidays to help him with a business deal. The girl is convinced the business man (the visiting one) is an angel. (He might be, you never can tell.) They become a real family while pretending.

2000s

• 2003. Undercover Christmas. An FBI agent takes home a witness he's protecting for the holidays....and pretends to be a couple in front of his family.....and the family ends up loving HER and so does he.
• 2004 North and South. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel. Is it perfect? NO. Do I love the book even more? YES. But I enjoy this one very much.
• 2004 Surviving Love. This one is dramatic and character-driven....not completely unlike the original Poseidon Adventure. A couple that is in the middle of divorcing is stranded in an RV camper in the mountains DURING A BLIZZARD. Will they be found in time? With little provision for an extended trip and extreme weather situations, will this bring them closer together?
• 2005 The Poseidon Adventure Mini-Series. Two part adaptation of the seventies film. It was....I don't know that horrible or dreadful is the right word. Completely and totally unnecessary does come to mind. It was like take everything great about the original, and replace it with 872 dramatic side stories that add nothing but nonsense to the film. The original works because of the relationships between the characters--the tension and strife, the growing inter-dependence, the developing trust, the trauma-bonding, the dialogue, the sharing and caring. The movie is dramatic, but, the characters make it even more so. This movie was a waste. Because the characters don't matter and the drama is too over the top to keep you hooked.

2010s

• 2017 Holiday Inn (Broadway) I love, love, love this one. More than the original? No. About the same as the original? YES. So a lot of things have been changed, but, some things remain the same. HIGHLY recommend the original 1942 film and the Broadway adaptation.
• 2018 Hope at Christmas. An extremely predictable holiday romance--Hallmark of course--and nothing surprising happens at all. It was enjoyable enough. Enjoyable enough is better than painful or dull.
  
  
  

1920s	Genre(s)
The Mechanical Man	science fiction, robots, crime
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	science fiction, crime, horror
Man From Beyond	paranormal, romance,
1930s	Genre(s)
Frankenstein	science fiction, mad scientist, monster, horror
Bride of Frankenstein	science fiction, mad scientist, monster, horror
Just Imagine	science fiction, musical, romantic comedy, slapstick
The Invisible Man	science fiction, mad scientist, crime, horror,
Dracula	horror, vampires, based on book
Little Women	adapted from book, drama, romance
1940s	Genre(s)
The Bishop's Wife	angels, Christmas, romance, drama
Without Reservations	romantic comedy
Eyes in the Night	mystery, DOG, detective, world war II
Holiday Inn	musical, romantic comedy, Christmas
The Perfect Woman	comedy, science fiction, robots, romance
It's a Wonderful Life	drama, Christmas,
1950s	Genre(s)
The Day the Earth Stood Still	science fiction, aliens, robots,
Belle of New York	musical, romance, period drama
King Dinosaur	science fiction, space travel, exploring planets,
Good Morning, Miss Dove	drama,
The Thing From Another World	science fiction, aliens, horror,
1960s	Genre(s)
The Earth Dies Screaming	science fiction, aliens, robots
Dinosaurus	science fiction, dinosaurs, prehistoric man,
The Time Machine	science fiction, dystopia, futuristic, adapted from book
Angry Red Planet	science fiction, space travel, aliens
1970s	Genre(s)
Logan's Run	science fiction, dystopia, future
Poseidon Adventure	drama, survival, action, natural disasters
Beyond Poseidon Adventure	drama, survival, action, bad guys, plutonium
Monty Python and the Holy Grail	comedy, slapstick, musical
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory	musical, comedy
Land that Time Forgot	fantasy, dinosaurs, drama, prehistoric man
Soylent Green	science fiction, dystopia, future
The Cat From Outer Space	science fiction, aliens, comedy
Scrooge	musical, Christmas
At the Earth's Core	science fiction, dinosaurs
1980s	Genre(s)
Philadelphia Experiment	science fiction, time travel, war
Escape from New York	action, dystopia, thriller
Something Wicked This Way Comes	fantasy, horror, spooky carnivals
Lethal Weapon	action, crime, holiday, drama
Lethal Weapon 2	action, crime, drama
High Spirits	comedy, slapstick, romance
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles	comedy, drama, road trip, Thanksgiving
Claymation Christmas	holiday special
Nightflyers	science fiction, aliens, horror, evil computers
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial	science fiction, drama, aliens
1990s	Genre(s)
Wing Commander	science fiction, space wars, aliens,
Lost World: Jurassic Park	science fiction, mad scientists, dinosaurs, action
Jurassic Park III	science fiction, dinosaurs, action
Fifth Element	science fiction, aliens, romance,
Dark City	science fiction, horror, mystery
Starship Troopers	science fiction, aliens, romance, war
Evita	period drama, musical,
Daylight	drama, survival, action
The Mummy	action, period drama, horror, adventure, romance
Lethal Weapon 3	action, drama, crime, romance
Lethal Weapon 4	action, drama, comedy, crime, romance
Heidi	book to movie adaptation, period drama, drama
Death Becomes Her	dark comedy, fantasy,
I Come In Peace (Dark Angel)	alien, science fiction, horror, mystery, Christmas
Borrowed Hearts	Christmas, romance
Stay Tuned	dark comedy, comedy, fantasy,
2000s	Genre(s)
The Core	science fiction, end-of-the-world, mad scientists, romance, action
Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou	dark comedy,
Day After Tomorrow	science fiction, disaster, survival, drama
Men in Black II	science fiction, aliens, comedy
The Mummy Returns	action, period drama, horror, adventure, romance
The Scorpion King	action, period drama, war, romance
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	musical, comedy, book to movie,
Kate & Leopold	time travel, romantic comedy
Undercover Christmas	Christmas, romance, comedy, drama
Surviving Love	disaster, blizzards, romance, drama
Poseidon Adventure (miniseries	drama,
Day the Earth Stood STill	aliens, science fiction
2010s	Genre(s)
The Host	science fiction, aliens, romance,
The Martian	science fiction, space, survival
Men in Black 3	science fiction, aliens, time travel,
Batman Return of the Caped Crusader	animated, super hero
Batman Vs. Two-face	animated, super hero
Free Birds	animated, time travel, animal fantasy
Hope at Christmas	Christmas, romance
Holiday Inn (Broadway)	Christmas, musical
2020s	Genre(s)
The Flash	science fiction, time travel, super heroes
Fantastic Four: First Steps	science fiction, super heroes
Wonka	musical, comedy

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

121. Anne's House of Dreams

Anne's House of Dreams. L.M. Montgomery. 1919. 227 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: “Thanks be, I’m done with geometry, learning or teaching it,” said Anne Shirley, a trifle vindictively, as she thumped a somewhat battered volume of Euclid into a big chest of books, banged the lid in triumph, and sat down upon it, looking at Diana Wright across the Green Gables garret, with gray eyes that were like a morning sky.

 ETA: I don't know how many times I've read this series--dozens??? scores???? My most recent read through is December 2025...and I listened to the audio book. It is just as magical as when I first discovered the series in the late 1980s. 

Premise/plot: Anne Shirley marries Gilbert Blythe in this oh-so-lovely, oh-so-charming book by L.M. Montgomery. Technically, it is the sequel to Anne of the Island! Anne of Windy Poplars was written in the 1930s, decades after Anne's House of Dreams. In this Anne book, the happily married couple settle down in their first home together near Four Winds Harbor and Glen St. Mary. 

Anne's House of Dreams introduces many new characters--some of my favorites I admit--Captain Jim, Miss Cornelia, Leslie Moore, Owen Ford. Marshall Elliot. Susan Baker. Who would ever want to forget their stories? Captain Jim's life-book. Leslie Moore's tragic past but enduring spirit. Miss Cornelia. She's got to be one-of-a-kind. Just a truly spirited character with so much heart and full of gumption. Practically everything out of her mouth is quotable. She sure is great at banter!

My thoughts: I love and adore this one!!! I love how emotionally satisfying it is. The Anne books may have sweet moments, but they pack in reality as well. No one can make me cry like L.M. Montgomery.

Quotes: 

“Stoutness and slimness seem to be matters of predestination,” said Anne.

Jane was not brilliant, and had probably never made a remark worth listening to in her life; but she never said anything that would hurt anyone’s feelings — which may be a negative talent but is likewise a rare and enviable one.

“I’ve heard you criticise ministers pretty sharply yourself,” teased Anne. “Yes, but I do it reverently,” protested Mrs. Lynde. “You never heard me NICKNAME a minister.” Anne smothered a smile.

Their happiness was in each other’s keeping and both were unafraid. 

“Miss Cornelia Bryant. She’ll likely be over to see you soon, seeing you’re Presbyterians. If you were Methodists she wouldn’t come at all. Cornelia has a holy horror of Methodists.”

“I know we are going to be friends,” said Anne, with the smile that only they of the household of faith ever saw. “Yes, we are, dearie. Thank goodness, we can choose our friends. We have to take our relatives as they are, and be thankful if there are no penitentiary birds among them. Not that I’ve many — none nearer than second cousins. I’m a kind of lonely soul, Mrs. Blythe.” There was a wistful note in Miss Cornelia’s voice.

“Were you able to eat enough pie to please her?” “I wasn’t. Gilbert won her heart by eating — I won’t tell you how much. She said she never knew a man who didn’t like pie better than his Bible. Do you know, I love Miss Cornelia.”

“Our library isn’t very extensive,” said Anne, “but every book in it is a FRIEND. We’ve picked our books up through the years, here and there, never buying one until we had first read it and knew that it belonged to the race of Joseph.”

A woman cannot ever be sure of not being married till she is buried, Mrs. Doctor, dear, and meanwhile I will make a batch of cherry pies.

“I wonder why people so commonly suppose that if two individuals are both writers they must therefore be hugely congenial,” said Anne, rather scornfully. “Nobody would expect two blacksmiths to be violently attracted toward each other merely because they were both blacksmiths.”

The p’int of good writing is to know when to stop.

There’s only the one safe compass and we’ve got to set our course by that — what it’s right to do.

Logic is a sort of hard, merciless thing, I reckon.

“Since you are determined to be married, Miss Cornelia,” said Gilbert solemnly, “I shall give you the excellent rules for the management of a husband which my grandmother gave my mother when she married my father.” “Well, I reckon I can manage Marshall Elliott,” said Miss Cornelia placidly. “But let us hear your rules.” “The first one is, catch him.” “He’s caught. Go on.” “The second one is, feed him well.” “With enough pie. What next?” “The third and fourth are — keep your eye on him.” “I believe you,” said Miss Cornelia emphatically.

Cats is cats, and take my word for it, they will never be anything else.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Week in Review #48

This week I read three books.

119. Anne of the Island. L.M. Montgomery. 1915. 272 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, classics, romance, friendship]

120. A Time Traveler's Masquerade. (McQuivey's Costume Shop Romance). Sian Ann Bessey. 2025. 296 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, historical romance, time travel]

77. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Barbara Robinson. 1972. HarperCollins. 128 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, realistic fiction, children's classic, children's book]

Century of Viewing #48

1940s

• 1949 The Perfect Woman. Comedy with elements of science fiction. An eccentric scientist--absent-minded at that--invents a robot-woman who responds to voice commands. She's not perfect, mind you, but she's a work in progress. He hires TWO guys (down-on their luck) to test-drive his robot in public. Can the robot fool the public? Will she pass as a woman? But the niece annoyed with her uncle AND a bit restless to get out of the house, changes place with the robot with hilarious results....

1950s

• 1951 The Thing From Another World. Didn't know quite what to expect. But I liked it. I did. It was mostly fun, not particularly gory, though that is because a good bit happens off-screen and viewers just discover it a bit later. Alien invasion, of sorts. Plenty of drama and sci-fi action.

1970s

• 1977 Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas. One of my absolute favorite Christmas specials. Jim Henson's adaptation of a picture book. Essentially a spin on a spin of Gift of the Magi.

1980s

• 1982 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Should I admit I never saw this one as a kid? Maybe not. But I am glad I watched it now. IT is good; it is intense in places. All the feels.
• 1988 Scrooged. I don't love, love, love this one. But I do enjoy it. I do. A modern day spin on The Christmas Carol. The President of a television network is visited by several ghosts trying to teach him a lesson.

1990s

• 1995 Mr Willowby's Christmas Tree. Muppets. Kermit the Frog narrates this adaptation of a picture book. It does star some humans--Robert Downey Jr.--and some muppets--woodland creatures. It's a musical. Definitely fun.

2000s

• 2004 Christmas with The Kranks. I enjoy this one. It's never quite love. A family decides to skip Christmas because their grown daughter will be out of the country....but on the day before Christmas Eve...or perhaps on Christmas Eve....she calls to say she's coming home for Christmas. The family rushes to prepare....

2010s

• 2012 Come Dance With Me. Hallmark movie. Definitely one of the better Hallmark movies. A man takes dance lessons....so he can surprise his girlfriend and her family at their big holiday party. Her dance studio is about to be closed....and it is his company that is handling that. AWKWARD if she knew...she doesn't for the longest time. Can these two find a way to be together.
• 2015 Merry Matrimony. Mediocre Hallmark, but not hideous. She works together with an ex-boyfriend....will these two fall in love AND MARRY before Christmas?
• 2019 A Cheerful Christmas. One of the worst Hallmark movies I've ever seen....ever. She is a "Christmas coach" hired by an extended-extended-extended-extended-extended-extended royal family member living in America. She's awed by his royal-ness. (57th in line for the throne?????, something stupid like that). She helps him feel all Christmas-y by forcing him to build snowmen, drink cocoa outside, and go Christmas shopping. Will he lose all logic and reason and fall in love with her despite her being the most annoying person in the world?

2020s

• 2025 Disney's Living Characters: A Broken Promise. A four hour documentary about Disney's Living Characters...these go beyond animatronics. It is well-researched and up to date.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews