Little Women
Louisa May Alcotts classic novel, set during the Civil War, has always captivated even the most reluctant readers. Little girls, especially, love following the adventures of the four March sisters--Meg, Beth, Amy, and most of all, the tomboy Jo--as they experience the joys and disappointments, tragedies and triumphs, of growing up. This simpler version captures all the charm and warmth of the original.
Stats for nerds
4recommend
15mentions
15people
2010–2026years
27% recommend73% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- > I dread the moment my daughters find out about TikTok...
Tell her yourself. Explain why you hate it. And have something better to offer.
If your family culture is different (and stronger) than the culture around you, you have a decent chance at being able to intentionally shape her character.
That's where books and stories come in -- culture is transmitted primarily through engaging stories. My wife and I inherited reading as a top family practice from our parents, and we're passing it along. Every day we read to the kids ... it's been about 14 years now of that. My daughter in particular was deeply shaped by the book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - it gave her a aspirative vision for life, particularly as a future wife and mother -- and her vision transcends her family of origin, in a very good way.
- A few more great books that beget great films:
* The Silence of the Lambs * The Shining * Shawshank Redemption (novella but I'll allow it) * Brokeback Mountain (same) * No Country for Old Men * Little Women (there are a few versions to choose from but I would choose the 1994 adaptation myself, thought he 2019 version was very good) * Requiem For a Dream * Lolita * Roots (mini-series but I think we should allow it)
That's what I can think of off the top of my head.
- Just finished The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris. I can’t express strongly enough my gratitude that if I were to need surgery, it wouldn’t be in an operating room where “the screams of those struggling under the knife mingled discordantly with everyday noises drifting in from the street below: children laughing, people chatting, carriages rumbling by.”
Currently reading These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lapore where she argues for the pressing relevance of our foundational principles. It’s a hefty tome of about 800 pages, so I still have a ways to go.
Next up are two books which have been featured in several end of year lists: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe and Exhalation by Ted Chiang.
Reading aloud with my 10 year old daughter: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Penguin’s 150th anniversary annotated edition with a Patti Smith foreword). Enough said about how influential this experience is for both of us.
- There are definitely some odd choices on there. An obscure dime novel by Louisa May Alcott? How did that "shape America"? Her Little Women deserves a place on the list, certainly, but I'm not sure about this one.
- > Games are doomed by femininity. Across media, genres marketed toward women are deemed lesser than their masculine counterparts: romance novels are trashy, chick flicks are shallow, and pop idols are embarrassing
This idea is trotted out but is really blatantly false when you think of it. Jayne Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility. These books have all withstood the test of time and are considered fine literature but are absolutely feminine. Romance novels are considered less than because they are not good books, just in the sense that Conan the Barbarian is also considered not fine literature despite being dripping in masculinity.
Manhattan, Annie Hall, When Harry Met Sally. There are tons of "chick flicks" that are considered great films. Some directors like Catherine Breillat are extremely feminist in their works and well regarded directors with well regarded films in cinephile circles.
- Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
Our daughter counted AK as her favorite book for years, though now I suspect she'd choose Little Women or any of the last five William Gibson books as her fav.
She's read many of these books multiple times. Of course, she's never had a reading list to do, so I'm sure it helps that she chose them on her own. She also read Langston Hughes self-collected "Best of" treasury he released towards the end of his life. And, she has just bailed on other books, like effing Wuthering Heights, ick!
