The Art of Talking to Your Dad - Part 2

The book in question.  It has a lot of pages. 

My dad called me after reading my post, "The Art of Talking to Your Dad - Part 1".  He said the post brought a tear to his eye and then immediately started in, expressing crippling disappointment over my continuing to read Anne of Green Gables over Moscow Nights.  He wanted to understand how I could choose fictitious Anne Shirley over Van Cliburn, who changed the trajectory of the Cold War with his mad piano playing skills.
  

Of course I had to give him a summary of my day's reading.  I read chapter 16 which was titled:  Diana is Invited to Tea with Tragic Results.  Here you go - - -   

Anne had invited over her bosom friend, Diana, for tea. (Remember, this book was published in 1906 and the term BFF hadn't been introduced to our lexicon.) Marilla was going to a meeting of the Aid Society in Carmody, so she said Anne could serve Diana raspberry cordial in addition to fruit cake and raspberry preserves. Super exciting.  Well.  It turns out that Anne served Diana currant wine instead of raspberry cordial.  Diana was greedy and drank three glasses of wine and went home reeling drunk!!!  Oh boy. Now Diana's strict mother is no longer letting Diana and Anne play together and Anne is simply heartbroken.  Here are two excerpts from their touching "good-bye scene."  (Textual evidence for all you reading teachers.)

“Ten minutes isn’t very long to say an eternal farewell in,” said Anne tearfully. “Oh, Diana, will you promise faithfully never to forget me, the friend of your youth, no matter what dearer friends may caress thee?”


I realized something important after summarizing chapter 16 to my dad, it was a ridiculous book to be spending my precious summer reading.  This book has already sucked up four days of reading.  I am reworking the design of my summer reading today.  I am pretty sure it will include something by Willa Cather, Lincoln in the Bardo, and, yes, Moscow Nights.  

I am open to recommendations.

Prairie Eydie