CostasNarrativeXP 2026 Valentine's feature
"Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Published in June, 1908
Project Gutenberg Ebook edition

An imaginative orphan is unexpectedly adopted into a quiet rural community, where her vivid inner life and stubborn spirit gradually transform the people around her.

Chapter 9-12
00:30 9 After Mrs. Lynde insults Anne’s looks, Anne retaliates with a furious outburst. Marilla demands an apology, but privately empathizes with Anne’s hurt feelings while finding Rachel’s shock secretly hilarious.
15:40 10 Anne is punished but persuaded by Matthew to apologize. She delivers a dramatic apology, is forgiven, and finally feels Green Gables is truly her home.
31:21 11 Marilla gives Anne plain dresses. At Sunday school Anne feels out of place, unimpressed, and lonely. Her blunt criticism of church shocks Marilla, who secretly agrees.
42:36 12 Marilla scolds Anne for standing out, then introduces her to Diana Barry. The girls instantly bond, swear friendship, make plans, and Anne joyfully shares Matthew’s candy.

Characters
Anne Shirley - A thin, red-haired orphan with an incredibly vivid imagination and a "tongue fastened at one end." Overjoyed to finally have a home.
Matthew Cuthbert - A shy, awkward sixty-year-old bachelor who lives at Green Gables. Though he is terrified of women and girls, he finds himself strangely charmed by Anne
Marilla Cuthbert - Matthew’s sister. She is tall, thin, with a strict sense of duty. While Matthew is the heart of the duo, Marilla is the logic. She is the one who ultimately has to decide what to do about adopting Anne by mistake
Rachel Lynde - The town gossip and "notable" busybody, she represents the judgmental social standards of Avonlea
Alexander Spencer - She is the "middleman" whose misunderstanding of the Cuthberts' request led to Anne being brought to Prince Edward Island instead of a boy
Diana Barry - Anne’s kind, pretty, and conventional neighbour who becomes her first and dearest “bosom friend"

Costa's Wordbook
Grippe n arch. Influenza (grip)
Parthian shaft (shot) idiom a sharp, telling remark, act, gesture, made in departing; parthian is ancient iranian

Narcissi pl n of narcissus, the flower (Narc Ciss sigh)
Sateen n a cotton fabric woven like satin with a glossy surface (sat Teen)
Furbelow n a gathered strip or pleated border of a skirt or petticoat (Fur billow)
Dudgeon n a feeling of offence or deep resentment (Dud geon)

Fuchsia n a shrub with pendulous tubular flowers that are typically of two contrasting colours. They are native to America and New Zealand and are commonly grown as ornamentals (Few sia)

Caper n an illicit or ridiculous activity or escapade
Consumption n (dated) a wasting disease, especially pulmonary tuberculosis
Abet v encourage or assist (someone) to do something wrong, in particular to commit a crime
Fore and aft adv all the way; backwards and forwards
Deprecatory adj apologetic or appeasing; expressing disapproval (Dep pre catory)

Complete Features
Little Prince, Brave New World, Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Castbox, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn, Castro, Player FM

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 Valentine's feature
"Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Published in June, 1908
Project Gutenberg Ebook edition

An imaginative orphan is unexpectedly adopted into a quiet rural community, where her vivid inner life and stubborn spirit gradually transform the people around her.

Chapter 4-8
00:30 4 Anne wakes up cheerful but resigned to leaving. Despite Matthew’s subtle hints, Marilla remains firm and drives Anne away to return her.
18:50 5 Anne recounts her difficult past while traveling. Impressed by her spirit and resilience, Marilla begins rethinking her decision to return the girl.
48:14 6 To rescue Anne from the cruel Mrs. Blewett, Marilla decides to keep her at Green Gables as an "experiment," provided Matthew lets her handle the child’s upbringing.
48:14 7 Shocked by Anne’s lack of prayer, Marilla allows a quirky first attempt. Labeling her a "heathen," Marilla remains committed to raising Anne at Green Gables.
48:14 8 Marilla officially tells Anne she can stay. Anne contemplates a religious painting, dreams of a "bosom friend" in Diana Barry, and chooses her new reality over her romantic imaginings.

Characters
Anne Shirley - A thin, red-haired orphan with an incredibly vivid imagination and a "tongue fastened at one end." Overjoyed to finally have a home, unaware that it has been a major mistake
Matthew Cuthbert - A shy, awkward sixty-year-old bachelor who lives at Green Gables. Though he is terrified of women and girls, he finds himself strangely charmed by Anne
Marilla Cuthbert - Matthew’s sister. She is tall, thin, with a strict sense of duty. While Matthew is the heart of the duo, Marilla is the logic. She is the one who ultimately has to decide what to do about adopting Anne by mistake
Rachel Lynde - The town gossip and "notable" busybody, she represents the judgmental social standards of Avonlea
Alexander Spencer - She is the "middleman" whose misunderstanding of the Cuthberts' request led to Anne being brought to Prince Edward Island instead of a boy

Costa's Wordbook
Handle n nickname

Vim n energy, enthusiasm

Irreverence n a lack of respect for people or things that are generally taken seriously
Manse n a house provided for a minister of certain Christian Churches; a person’s home (Mans)

Scald v arch. rinse (a container) with boiling water (scold)

Complete Features
Little Prince, Brave New World, Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Castbox, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn, Castro, Player FM

CostasNarrativeXP 2026 Valentine's feature
"Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Published in June, 1908

An imaginative orphan is unexpectedly adopted into a quiet rural community, where her vivid inner life and stubborn spirit gradually transform the people around her.

Chapter 1-3
00:30 1 Rachel Lynde is shocked to discover that the elderly Cuthberts are adopting an orphan to help on their farm, despite her dire warnings about the risks involved.
18:50 2 Shocked to find a girl instead of a boy, shy Matthew brings the imaginative, talkative orphan home, dreading the moment of revelation.
48:14 3 Matthew brings Anne home. Marilla is cold but amused. Anne begs for diginity. Matthew softens. Marilla resists. Anne cries herself to sleep.

Characters
Anne Shirley - A thin, red-haired orphan with an incredibly vivid imagination and a "tongue fastened at one end." Overjoyed to finally have a home, unaware that it has been a major mistake
Matthew Cuthbert - A shy, awkward sixty-year-old bachelor who lives at Green Gables. Though he is terrified of women and girls, he finds himself strangely charmed by Anne
Marilla Cuthbert - Matthew’s sister. She is tall, thin, with a strict sense of duty. While Matthew is the heart of the duo, Marilla is the logic. She is the one who ultimately has to decide what to do about adopting Anne by mistake
Rachel Lynde - The town gossip and "notable" busybody, she represents the judgmental social standards of Avonlea
Alexander Spencer - She is the "middleman" whose misunderstanding of the Cuthberts' request led to Anne being brought to Prince Edward Island instead of a boy

Costa's Wordbook
Lady's Eardrops n any of several plants having pendent flowers thought to resemble earrings, as the jewelweed or the fuchsia
The whys and wherefores phr the reasons for something
by dint of phr by means of
Buggy n a light horse-drawn vehicle for one or two people, with two or (in North America) four wheels
Sorrel n a horse with a light reddish-brown coat (Sor rol)
Prim Lombardies - Lombardy Poplars, famous for their unique shape. Unlike most trees that spread out, Lombardies grow straight up like tall, thin pillars or spires (Lom ber dees)
The proverbial ‘perk of dirt’ - refer to old saying: "Every man must eat a peck of dirt before he dies." peck is old unit of measurement for dry volume (roughly 2 gallons) (pro Verb bee al)
Spry adj (especially of an old person) active, lively
Home boy - “British Home Children”. Almost exclusively white children from the United Kingdom were sent to the colonies to work. Between 1869- late 1940s, over 100,000 children were sent to Canada.

Balsamy adj like balsam, often associated with healing, fresh air, and a sense of peace
Sundry adj of various kinds, several (Sun dree)
Shingle n thin, flat pieces of wood or other material used in rows for roofs or walls
Sidle v walk in a furtive, unobtrusive, or timid manner, especially sideways or obliquely (Cy dle)
Preparatory n serving as or carrying out preparation for a task or undertaking (pre Pair ret tree)
Wincey n a strong, lightweight twilled fabric, typically a mixture of wool with cotton or linen (Win sea)
Lacy adj made of, resembling, or trimmed with lace
Tongue hung in the middle - idiom a very talkative or gossipy person
Crocus n a small spring-flowering Eurasian plant of the iris family, which grows from a corm and bears bright yellow, purple, or white flowers (Crow cus)

Deprecatingly adv one shows of little value or importance, or disapproval (Dep prec cating ly)

Complete Features
Little Prince, Brave New World, Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations

Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content

Patreon: costasaudiobook
YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Castbox, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn, Castro, Player FM