As We Begin Reading About Louisa May

[Ashley]

Oh, how we’ve struggled to get up an running, no? But now we’re here.

Two questions: First, I'm curious as to what other Alcott works readers on this forum have read. I've read "Little Women" (of course, right?), "Work," and "An Old-Fashioned Girl." I liked "Work," but I didn't much care for "An Old-Fashioned Girl"--it was like a dowdy young adult novel (With A Message--ick), preaching for young girls to not get caught up with the materialistic things (like the latest bonnet!!) and instead listen to old people's stories. I kid you not.

Finally, I know the Alcotts were big on temperance, but I wanna know: As you've started reading our June book, what are y'all drinking? I started the book last night with a homemade margarita. A strong one, apparently.

[Meghan]

I have only read Little Women....and I am about 2/3 of the way through this novel. I have to say the farther I progress the more i enjoy the book. I have to say I am struggling with the Father character quite a bit...I am finding it hard to like him at all...even with the noble ideals.

[Carol]

I'll have to go get a copy. Just found you today. Been looking for another group for several months, and this seemed to fit the bill. I've read Little Women, and that's all. Will have to check the library system and Kindle/Amazon to see what is available and at what cost. Thanks for this idea. Sounds like a great idea. BTW, I might be boring in the drink dept, I'm a member of the LDS church, so alcohol is out for me, but I can enjoy a cool glass of water, good punch, a good soda, so Cheers to you all. Happy reading.

[Lauren]

Funny you ask - I was actually thinking last night I might try and crack open one of Alcott's books before discussing this (and as a way to kill time while I wait for Lost Summer to get off the hold list). I read Little Women and Little Men years and years ago (we're talking back when leggings and oversized shirts were first in style). I've also been debating re-watching Becoming Jane, as I think I'd like to be able to compare two different fictional accounts of famous authors' lives (or does that turn me into the annoying Monica of the book group?).

As far as drinking, a very nice cab for Memorial Day, although I've mostly been focusing on my quest to find the perfect hard cider (it's a rough job, but someone has to do it). Also, Meghan, are you not drinking? You, who introduced two innocent first years to the evils of alcohol?

[Ashley]

Lauren wrote: "Funny you ask - I was actually thinking last night I might try and crack open one of Alcott's books before discussing this (and as a way to kill time while I wait for Lost Summer to get off the hol..."

Yes, it turns you into the Monica of the group, but far from annoying. Every group needs a Monica! And if you're Monica, can I be Chandler?

[Meghan]

does that make me Pheobe?

[Cheryl]

I REALLY LIKE THIS BOOK. THE LAST 5 BOOKS I'VE READ HAVE BEEN RATHER HO HUM OR DOWNRIGHT CRAPPY. I FINISHED THEM ALL OUT OF STUBBORNNESS.

AFTER SPENDING 37 YEARS TEACHING AMERICAN LIT TO BORED JUNIORS, IT'S NICE TO FIND A BOOK THAT REFERENCES AUTHORS I KNOW AND LOVE AND A FORUM WHICH TO DISCUSS THEM WITH PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY READ THE BOOKS!

I'M ALMOST DONE. I LOVE THE CHARACTERS! THESE ARE SO MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE IN MANY WAYS THAN AUSTEN'S, AND I LOVE AUSTEN! JOSEPH SINGER IS JUST A POOR VERSION OF DARCY ONLY MUCH MORE OUTGOING!

[Cheryl]

BRONSON IS A SANCTIMONIOUS PRIG!

[Meghan]

Just finished it tonight.....can't wait to start chatting it up....

[Ashley]

Cheryl wrote: "I REALLY LIKE THIS BOOK. THE LAST 5 BOOKS I'VE READ HAVE BEEN RATHER HO HUM OR DOWNRIGHT CRAPPY. I FINISHED THEM ALL OUT OF STUBBORNNESS.

AFTER SPENDING 37 YEARS TEACHING AMERICAN LIT TO BORED J..."

Gasp! You mean high school juniors didn't always do all the reading?!

[Carol]

Yikes, some of you guys are already done! You're leaving me in the dust. Maybe you started this book when you were in the other club. Don't forget me. I'm working on it. Note: Was just looking at some of the reviews on Skippy. Should be a dynamic and thought provoking read. I forgot to compliment Miss Ashley on the rules/criteria of the group. That impresssed me very much. If we are having troubles getting done, you're not going to kick me out. I'm usually good about finishing. In the 5 years I've been in my other group, there were only two books I didn't finish. So I'm pretty good. I'm a working girl too, so that doesn't leave quite as much time for reading.

[Lauren]

Auntie Cheryl: Glad to know I'm not the only one who has been on a run of mediocre books. It gives me hope that I'm not hopelessly negative.

Carol: I haven't started the book either. I'm trying to finish a book that's been on my night stand for about three months (eighteen if you count the number of times I tried to start it) - my reward for finishing it is Lost Summer.

[Meghan]

Finishing this early just means I stay up too late reading when i should be sleeping.

[Nancy]

I don't even HAVE the book yet, and I'm also a poor working stiff. I didn't even have time to go to the library, so I just ordered it on Amazon and should have it delivered to my front door this week. Carol, don't feel like you're behind. I haven't even started yet.

[Carol]

I finished the book last evening. I hadn't read on this book for about 4 days and was only 22% done (kindle of course), so when I got home from work I started reading at about noon and finished just after 9:00. Not bad. Made some notes so I can have stuff to chat with you all about. Good read. That's one of the neat things about book clubs. It lets us read things we wouldn't maybe have selected on our own--broadens our reading experience. Thanks. Going to see if the Library has March when I go today. I've had Skippy on hold for about a week, and it's not in yet, so I'll see what March is up to.

[Julie]

Finished it as well. I am trying to remember if I ever actually read "Little Women" or just saw the movie... either way, I just got the movie (Winona Ryder style) from the library. (Wait- "Winona Ryder Style" could mean stealing. I actually meant the one starring her, ha ha). Anyway my stepdaughter and I are halfway through it and will likely finish it today. I do love that movie, and it's fun to experience it again with our book club book fresh in my mind.

[Lauren]

Chuckling at "Winona Ryder style."

Haven't started Lost Summer but am about a third of the way through Little Women - very glad I'm rereading it as it's a good deal different than what I remember reading as a child. (Partially because I keep picturing the actresses from the movie as the characters in the book ... )

[Ashley]

I pictured Susan Sarandon as Abba throughout all of Louisa May.

I've been reading Little Men to revisit Lousia May's writing style and tone to compare it to Lost Summer. Oh my gosh, what a yawn. I'm struggling through it, though.

[Cheryl]

OMG! THE TV BLEW UP! WHAT WILL I DO? THE TV REALLY DID BLOW A GASKET, AND NOW I'M READING AND COOKING AND READING AND COOKING! FINISHED THE DEBBA. LAUREN, IT'S ANOTHER CRAP NOVEL IN THE REFUSE PILE OF MY SUMMER READING. SO FAR, LOST SUMMER IS THE HIGHLIGHT. I'M 20 PAGES INTO THE CONFESSION, AND IT'S NOT TERRIBLE. HOPE IT GETS BETTER. THE HELP AND BROKEN FOR YOU ARE PROBABLY THE BEST BOOKS I'VE READ THIS YEAR. WHEN ARE WE TALKING ABOUT LOUISA? OKAY, SO I'M SENILE...

[Cheryl]

TRULY, I THINK ALCOTT WAS A ONE HIT WONDER. HER STORIES ARE FOR BORED 19TH CENTURY LADIES' MAGAZINES, AND I THINK THEY ARE REALLY CONTRIVED AND DULL. LITTLE WOMEN IS THE ONLY THING THAT HAS A GREAT POINT OF VIEW AND HEART. NOT FOND OF THE REST OF HER STUFF.

[Ashley]

July 1st! Unless everyone finishes before then, I suppose. Me, I've got about 30 pages left.

And yes, I think Alcott may indeed have been a one-hit wonder. Like I said at one point, I read "An Old-Fashioned Girl" and was sort of shocked at how little I enjoyed it.

[Lauren]

Contrived! That's the word I've been looking for to describe how I'm feeling about Little Women! Thank you!

I have to say, I don't remember Little Women being so preachy. (I'm pages past it, but I still want that uppity little Amy to get punished for what she did to Jo's manuscript. That was absolutely horrid, and what's even worse is making Jo out to be the bad guy.) Rereading this is making me appreciate how much of a sentimental favorite Little Women is - I mean, I'm reading a copy my grandmother gave to me that was hers when she was a little girl (in fact, it even includes her childhood address in D.C.).

Also, I'm mostly posting to say, if we might start before July 1, I'll hurry up and read Lost Summer so I don't hold up the whole discussion ...

[Nancy]

I finished the book Sunday night, and I really enjoyed it. Bronson made me want to slap him silly, and I find it so hard to believe that young women were ever really this virtuous and so "good." I'm just glad I never grew up in that environment. I'd have been toast for sure and would likely have brought my family eternal shame. Too bad Louisa May didn't have Elizabeth Bennett's paternal unit for her father instead of the egocentric narcissist, Bronson. I'm anxious to begin discussions at the end of the month, and just wish we could all meet for drinks to do it!

[Cheryl]

NANCY! WE AGREE! THIS IS A FIRST! I TOLD YOU THAT BRONSON WAS A SANCTIMONIOUS PRIG! I WANTED TO SLAP HIM SILLY, TOO. I NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONTAIN MY ANGER. I THINK THAT THE ERNEST EDUCATION OF WOMEN HAS BROUGHT SOME SANITY TO CIVILIZATION. WOMEN CAN NOW WITHHOLD SEX, MEALS, ETC. IN ORDER TO GET SOME CONSIDERATION WITHOUT HAVING GOD AND THE LAW ON THE OTHER SIDE. IT'S NICE TO BE MARRIED TO AN EDUCATED MAN WHO APPRECIATES THE OPINIONS OF WOMAN. ISN'T PART OF THIS EQUATION THE RE-EDUCATION OF MEN? IN A WAY, ISN'T THAT WHY LOUISA DIDN'T MARRY SINGER? SHE WAS EDUCATED AND SO WAS HE, BUT FOLLOWING YOUR DREAM ISN'T ALWAYS TO GET MARRIED AND LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER BAREFOOT, PREGNANT, AND IN THER KITCHEN. DURING THE 19TH CENTURY, WOMEN WHO WERE TEACHERS HAD TO QUIT WORKING WHEN THEY BECAME ENGAGED. AH, SPINSTERHOOD. AND WAS LOUISA REALLY HAPPY AS A SPINSTER? SURE YOU CAN SNUGGLE WITH A BOOK, BUT...

I AM SOOOOOO GLAD I LIVE NOW1

[Carol]

Cheryl/Nancy: I was quite old (46) when I got married for the first time. And to be secure with yourself is such an important part of this. Your comments are so true. I could have lived singly just fine, and lived out my days. There is something nice about having the companionship of my husband, but when they sit on their asses excuse me rear ends and watch me or any of us work our tails off around them, that's when my temper flairs. I realize that in that period of time, there were a lot more defined roles for men and women than there are today, and with women working too, if we don't get help from our husbands then we are the idiots for allowing that to happen. Whew, I feel better!!!

[Carol]

Me again! Cheryl's comment about "isn't that why Louisa didn't marry Singer?" They were both educated and smart people who had a direction in their lives. Who says we have to follow those rules. Gee I could have been married in my early 20's. I dated a lot of men and had been proposed to by quite a few. It just wasn't the right time for me. Even today, there are days that I miss being single. Marriage isn't necessarily for everyone. In our book, we saw that Singer was a very content man, but he never NEVER stopped loving Louisa. That was very tender and sweet to me. He learned to love Nora, and she him, and they made a happy life together. I don't think Louisa could have fit into that mold.

[Cheryl]

I AGREE. I COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN A SPINSTER IF MARRIAGE MEANT SOMETHING LESS THAN A PARTNERSHIP. PART OF A GOOD RELATIONSHIP IS ACKNOWLEDGING THE OTHER'S WORTH AND ALLOWING HIM/HER THE FREEDOM TO BECOME WHO HE/SHE COULD BE. I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO FIND 2 SUCH MEN, AND BRENT HAS STUCK FOR 34 YEARS. HE NEVER TOLD ME WHAT I COULD OR COULDN'T DO, AND I NEVER KEPT HIM FROM PURSUING AN ACTING CAREER--NOT THE MOST STABLE PROFESSIONS. I THINK THAT LOUISA SAW THAT HER LIFE AND JOSEPH'S WOULD BE OVERCOME WITH DUTY TO SOMETHING OTHER THAN THEIR DREAMS OF CAREER AND TOGETHERNESS. REALITY ALWAYS KILLS THE FANTASY...