{"id":85,"date":"2017-07-21T11:27:58","date_gmt":"2017-07-21T15:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=85"},"modified":"2021-03-25T09:41:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T13:41:26","slug":"friday-reads-1-little-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/friday-reads-1-little-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Reads #1: Little Women"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

For the foreseeable future, Fridays here will be the Friday Reads series (to go with the hashtag). What better way to start the weekend than the suggestion of a good book? I\u2019m sure there are hundreds, if not thousands of reviews on the different books I\u2019ll discuss, so I\u2019m not going to review them. Instead I\u2019m going to share what they mean to me. I\u2019m starting the series with the book that I think sealed my fate as a lifelong reader: <\/span>Little Women<\/span><\/i> by Louisa May Alcott.<\/span><\/p>\n

* ~ . ~ *<\/span><\/p>\n

My mom bought me several versions of <\/span>Little Women <\/span><\/i>as I grew up. I remember owning five different versions, three of which were quite literally read to death. And I\u2019m looking for a sixth, fancy, version to start my \u201cfavorite books\u201d bookshelf. Leave a comment if you\u2019d like to hear more about that. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Great<\/a>Anyway, I remember the first version I received when I was maybe 6. It was part of the Great Illustrated Classics series. Hardcover, illustrated, and abridged with large type. I thought the illustrations were so pretty. They were black line, like a coloring book, and I <\/span>so <\/span><\/i>wanted to color them all in, but I couldn’t bring myself to \u201cdeface\u201d a book like that, even then. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some time later, when my first version was looking a bit worse for wear from reading it so much, I received an unabridged paperback version. I can remember the bright yellow back cover, even now, although the front cover details are lost to me. It was illustrated as well, in a more elegant style. I specifically remember there being a fabulous stylized illustration of Meg in her borrowed ball gown with Laurie staring on disapprovingly. It was captioned with:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cDon\u2019t you like me so?\u201d asked Meg. \u201cNo, I don\u2019t,\u201d came the blunt reply.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This second version was roughly the same physical size as my first version, although perhaps a bit thicker. It might have even been a little smaller along the height and width. I didn\u2019t understand why. Shouldn’t it be much bigger if it was unabridged? Then I opened it. The text was tiny! It didn\u2019t matter, though. I think I finished reading it in a couple days. And I didn’t stop. Over the next few years, I read it so many times it fell apart. <\/span><\/p>\n

It was while I owned this second version that my mom took me to see the play version. It\u2019s the first play I remember seeing. Generally when we went to the theater it was for some type of dance (ballet, river dance, etc) or some other type of performance altogether, like STOMP! It was simple, the only set changes were during intermission, and our seats weren\u2019t the best in the world, but I remember being rather young, and, seeing as I don\u2019t have many other memories of that time period, it clearly meant a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n

I bought myself my third version of the book. An inexpensive paperback, as I fully expected to read it to death as well. But before I could, eBooks became a thing. So I bought myself an eBook version. And I\u2019ve read it a few times as well. Thankfully, the digital version won\u2019t fall apart.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the final days of my mom\u2019s battle against cancer, she was somewhat coherent, but couldn\u2019t really hold a conversation. I assume it must have been horrible for her to be stuck with no form of entertainment. Out of a loss of what to do, I decided to read to her, as she had done for me so often as a child. I chose <\/span>Little Women<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t her favorite book. I honestly don\u2019t know what her favorite book was. But it was comforting, and I hoped it would remind her of good times we\u2019d shared. Of all the times we\u2019d watched the different movie versions together. It may not have been the best decision, though, as I find the book rather difficult to read now. I haven\u2019t read it since she died in 2013. It\u2019s probably the longest I\u2019ve ever gone without reading it.<\/span><\/p>\n

But hopefully soon I\u2019ll find the strength to read it again and remember all the wonderful memories associated with it. Regardless, it\u2019s a very important book to me. So much so that I even reference it in my own upcoming book <\/span>The Most Special Chosen<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Click<\/a>I also recently discovered a Little Women graphic novel project that has some amazing artwork. I hope the artist continues it, as currently, only the first 7 chapters have been done. Go <\/span>take a look<\/span><\/a> and see what you think of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you ever read <\/span>Little Women<\/span><\/i>? Have you watched any of the movie versions? Which one is your favorite? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the foreseeable future, Fridays here will be the Friday Reads series (to go with the hashtag). What better way to start the weekend than…<\/p>\n

Keep ReadingFriday Reads #1: Little Women<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[39,42,184,96],"class_list":["post-85","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-blogger","tag-books","tag-classics","tag-friday-reads","tag-young-adult","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Z77k-1n","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":208,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/friday-reads-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":0},"title":"Friday Reads #5: Pride and Prejudice","author":"Rachel","date":"August 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome back to another installment of my Friday Reads series, setting you up for a great weekend of reading. If you haven\u2019t already, take a look at last week\u2019s installment on Indian Captive. Janeites are nothing new. Worldwide, there are innumerable fans of Jane Austen and her works. I wouldn\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blogger"","block_context":{"text":"Book Blogger","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/book-blogger\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pride and Prejudice","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/pridePrejudice2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":100,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/friday-reads-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":1},"title":"Friday Reads #2: Love You Forever","author":"Rachel","date":"July 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It's Friday again! Time for Friday Reads. Love you Forever by Robert Munsch is one of the first books I remember my mom reading to me as a child. She read it to me so many times, that at one point I had it memorized and would repeat it with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blogger"","block_context":{"text":"Book Blogger","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/book-blogger\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover of Love You Forever by Robert Munsch","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/LYF-Cover-295x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":264,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/friday-reads-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":2},"title":"Friday Reads #6: Harry Potter","author":"Rachel","date":"September 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome back to another installment of my Friday Reads series, setting you up for a great weekend of reading. If you haven\u2019t already, take a look at last week\u2019s installment on Pride and Prejudice. It only seems right to discuss what Harry Potter means to me on September 1, 19\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blogger"","block_context":{"text":"Book Blogger","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/book-blogger\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Goblet of Fire","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/9780439139595_p3_v3_s550x406-231x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":590,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/friday-reads-8\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":3},"title":"Friday Reads: The Other Boleyn Girl","author":"Rachel","date":"November 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow, it\u2019s November already! Where has the year gone? You know what the first Friday of the month means: Friday Reads! If you missed it, take a look at last month's Friday Reads on Crossroads in the Dark III: Monsters Under Your Bed. I\u2019m going back to Tudor England this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blogger"","block_context":{"text":"Book Blogger","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/book-blogger\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover of The Other Boleyn Girl","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/other_boleyn_girl.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":312,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/schedule-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":4},"title":"Friday Reads Schedule Change","author":"Rachel","date":"September 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello my Friday Reads readers! I'm sorry to disappoint you, but my Friday Reads schedule is changing. After 6 weeks of Friday Reads, I've come to the realization that a weekly series isn't sustainable for the long term.\u00a0So, it is with a heavy heart that I must curtail Friday Reads.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scar assumes the throne","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/hqdefault.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":874,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/friday-reads-12\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":5},"title":"Friday Reads: FanFiction","author":"Rachel","date":"March 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I can't believe February is over! March is going to be nuts! The Most Special Chosen is out tomorrow. You can pre-order it now on Amazon. And make sure you check out my Facebook release party on Sunday, there will be a ton of giveaways and takeovers by some fabulous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blogger"","block_context":{"text":"Book Blogger","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/book-blogger\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85\/revisions\/88"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}