What I finished this week:
I found out on Friday that I can now use my library card to access the Overdrives of two partner libraries. There are several books I have my eyes on, and the first one I read was Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters by Anne Boyd Rioux (2018). It discusses the book, the initial reaction to it, the various adaptations including some I didn't know existed. Florence Henderson was in a TV musical in 1958. Katharine Hepburn played Jo on radio in addition to on screen. Then the author discusses men who have read LW, whether kids still read it today, and books and movies influenced by it. Some of those are a bit of a stretch – LW sure played a role in popularizing the Four Girl Ensemble, but that doesn't mean every Four Girl Ensemble is based on it.
The one thing that annoyed me is that Rioux lists a number of women who said they loved the book and idolized or loved Jo, or saw her as a role model. But there is no mention of anyone who found Meg, Beth, or Amy more relatable or likable or enviable.
The sequels are mentioned although not in detail.
What I'm reading now:
Bleak House, which I first read back in 2009. There are a few characters I forgot about entirely. Also I didn't realize before that it's set earlier than its publication date. The introduction by Michael Slater says “Dickens sets the action of the novel in the prerailway England of the days shortly before the great Refrom Bill of 1832.” I'm on Chapter 20, where Young Smallweed first appears.
I found out on Friday that I can now use my library card to access the Overdrives of two partner libraries. There are several books I have my eyes on, and the first one I read was Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters by Anne Boyd Rioux (2018). It discusses the book, the initial reaction to it, the various adaptations including some I didn't know existed. Florence Henderson was in a TV musical in 1958. Katharine Hepburn played Jo on radio in addition to on screen. Then the author discusses men who have read LW, whether kids still read it today, and books and movies influenced by it. Some of those are a bit of a stretch – LW sure played a role in popularizing the Four Girl Ensemble, but that doesn't mean every Four Girl Ensemble is based on it.
The one thing that annoyed me is that Rioux lists a number of women who said they loved the book and idolized or loved Jo, or saw her as a role model. But there is no mention of anyone who found Meg, Beth, or Amy more relatable or likable or enviable.
The sequels are mentioned although not in detail.
What I'm reading now:
Bleak House, which I first read back in 2009. There are a few characters I forgot about entirely. Also I didn't realize before that it's set earlier than its publication date. The introduction by Michael Slater says “Dickens sets the action of the novel in the prerailway England of the days shortly before the great Refrom Bill of 1832.” I'm on Chapter 20, where Young Smallweed first appears.
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