tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post8473013247866929034..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: Louisa May Alcott's Hospital Sketches: Pigs also possessed attractions for meAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-13270545463655874982012-12-02T21:08:14.005-06:002012-12-02T21:08:14.005-06:00Ah geez, Good Wives, which I have mashed up with L...Ah geez, <i>Good Wives</i>, which I have mashed up with <i>Little Men</i>!<br /><br />I want to be clear - the reason I keep insisting that what is commonly collected as <i>Little Women</i> is actually two novels is so I can count it as two books when I tally up how many books I have read this year.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-13877375396172014312012-12-01T14:54:19.757-06:002012-12-01T14:54:19.757-06:00Yes, yes, if you mean Good Wives you are absolutel...Yes, yes, if you mean <em>Good Wives</em> you are absolutely correct. My edition simply labels the two volumes "Part One" and "Part Two," so I have the hardest time remembering to refer to the two as two rather than one.amanda @ simplerpastimeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14127945915013121105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-45490446649529189732012-12-01T14:52:04.780-06:002012-12-01T14:52:04.780-06:00I can't make any promises, but I think I'l...I can't make any promises, but I think I'll try, Bellezza. At the start of the year I had actually intended to reread LW in December, but I sort of kicked all plans to the wind this summer. amanda @ simplerpastimeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14127945915013121105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-56894599750950389292012-11-30T14:06:32.414-06:002012-11-30T14:06:32.414-06:00Why, I wrote about just that scene in the next pos...Why, I wrote about just that scene in the next post! But how could I skip it - it is the centerpiece of the book.<br /><br />What a wonderful site you have created. I have dropped it into the old blog readeroo. I hope you will follow along as we write about <i>Little Women</i>. You can offer gentle corrections. "Are you sure that is actually in the book?" - that is always a good one to have ready for me - see my week on Laura Ingalls Wilder.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-84062585350207611382012-11-30T13:15:42.066-06:002012-11-30T13:15:42.066-06:00I've been a lifelong student of Louisa May Alc...I've been a lifelong student of Louisa May Alcott, spending more time learning about her life than reading her works. Go figure! Anyway, Hospital Sketches was the first book of hers that I read and I found it remarkably frank and poignant. The scene with dying soldier John Suhre whom she loved (in one form or another) was just amazing. HS was apparently one of the first works published that detailed everyday life during the war so it was in high demand. You're right, it's a good book!<br /><br />I maintain the only blog exclusively about Louisa if you'd like visit - http://www.louisamayalcottismypassion.com. Come and join the conversation! :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-6164504311582581052012-11-29T22:25:43.916-06:002012-11-29T22:25:43.916-06:00The (lack of) length is exactly what drew me to th...The (lack of) length is exactly what drew me to this book (plus Mr. Velella's recommendation)! Quick, pleasing, moving.<br /><br />I suspect, by the way, that you mean you have not read the final chapters of <i>Good Men</i>. I am going to emphasize this distinction well beyond the point where everyone is sick of it.<br /><br />Briony is only a puppet dancing to the direction of her puppeteer. Slap Mr. McEwan if you must slap someone. He's used to it.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-9010079018503801342012-11-29T21:02:05.629-06:002012-11-29T21:02:05.629-06:00He's sure to find more than one aspect I'l...He's sure to find more than one aspect I'll miss as well! Read with us? It appears we won't be posting til January. ;)Bellezza https://www.blogger.com/profile/18073864187188953633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-42020321572953547172012-11-29T21:00:33.027-06:002012-11-29T21:00:33.027-06:00I'm not violent by nature, but herr's anot...I'm not violent by nature, but herr's another girl I'd love to slap: Briony from McEwan's Atonement. <br /><br />And, please forgive the ridiculous amount if typos in my previous comment; I shouldn't type on my iPhone while teaching and then not double check what I typed.<br /><br />Thanks for making me aware of Hospital Sketches, and sorry I can't send you Little Women.Bellezza https://www.blogger.com/profile/18073864187188953633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-91785645583794073132012-11-29T18:30:35.518-06:002012-11-29T18:30:35.518-06:00You're tempting me here, Tom. How did I not kn...You're tempting me here, Tom. How did I not know you and Bellezza were reading this next month? I believe I've technically never finished the last chapters of <em>Little Women</em> despite reading the sequels. I've never read <em>Hospital Sketches</em> though, but I mean to--especially now you tell me how short it is. I look forward to your posts, as I'm sure you'll find some new aspect to LW I'd miss.amanda @ simplerpastimeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14127945915013121105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-42383299474155357102012-11-29T14:41:29.644-06:002012-11-29T14:41:29.644-06:00Thanks for the kind offer, but I see that the Sign...Thanks for the kind offer, but I see that the Signet Classics edition is only $3.95. I guess I can let the little girl keep her library book.<br /><br />Why are book bloggers so violent? I don't want to slap anybody!<br /><br />I could be convinced to read the Alcott pot-boilers - it is easy to convince me to read something - but I have not yet come across a convincing argument.<br /><br /><i>Hospital Sketches</i> really is pretty good, well written and even, although not visible in this post, meaningful.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-54277527399618070872012-11-29T13:56:18.737-06:002012-11-29T13:56:18.737-06:00I know who I most want to slap, and I haven't ...I know who I most want to slap, and I haven't ever finished the book in lo the thirty plus years I've begun it. (Yes, I started when ten years of age. ;) That would most definitely be...but, we'll chat. So glad you're still planning on reading it with me, whenever it is that we have our discussion up. No rush. <br /><br />p.s. Shall I sent you my paperback? I have it on my nook, and I'm be most glad to 'gift' you with my real edition. bellezza.mjs@gmail.com if you want to send me your address.Bellezza https://www.blogger.com/profile/18073864187188953633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-66306231149183125982012-11-29T10:45:58.298-06:002012-11-29T10:45:58.298-06:00There's also the "why isn't Beth dead...There's also the "why isn't Beth dead yet?" drinking game.<br /><br />The quoted snippet makes <i>Hospital Sketches</i> look pretty good. I'm sure we have it around the house. <i>Ma femme</i> has as much Louisa May as she's been able to put her hands on over the years. Which turns out to be a considerable pile. I haven't read any of the Turkish love-slave stories.scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-72078370316847828622012-11-29T08:44:48.842-06:002012-11-29T08:44:48.842-06:00Another option: I buy a copy, read it, and then do...Another option: I buy a copy, read it, and then donate it to the library. They clearly do not have enough copies of <i>Little Women</i>.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-77648493062372664812012-11-29T08:40:26.955-06:002012-11-29T08:40:26.955-06:00Oh Tom, you cracked me up. I look forward to findi...Oh Tom, you cracked me up. I look forward to finding out who you think Jo should marry and who you most want to slap. Hopefully whoever has borrowed the book from the library gives it up soon. It is most certainly for the great good of book blogging!Stefaniehttp://somanybooksblog.comnoreply@blogger.com