Little Women

I have had goal every Christmas for the past 3 years to read the book Little Women.  I've never made it past chapter 5.  This Christmas I was really serious about it....really. 
I made it to chapter 6. 
Someone suggested I try listening to them on tape....which really....was a good idea.  My commute everyday is about 20-30 minutes depending on my clinical schedule and the loaner car from the parentals only has a tape deck.  ;)  HAHN  Yup.  Seriously.  And I hate that I always use the excuse that my reading time has to be studying for school....I want to read for fun again dang it!
   So I did it, I rented the tapes from the library, and I gotta say, it has been pretty excruciating.  The narrator's voice was horrible.  She did the worst man impersonation voice ever, and towards the end of the book when she's voicing for the small children....ugghhhh.  But guess what?  I finished it!! Yesterday morning on my way to school!!  I feel so good. Here's my thoughts:

When I first started the book I decided this was gonna be the first time that I actually liked a movie better than the novel.  My mind is slightly changed now, but really, the beginning of the book is so unrealistic.  All the girls are so proper and portrayed so angelically, it's just really hard to relate too, although I felt like that changed as they grew up, especially Jo, she becomes much more real and fallible towards the end of the book. So I'm torn.  It's worth making it to the end for sure even though the character's at the beginning are so bothersome.

I LOVE the story.  Beth's death makes me cry like nothin else.  She's my favorite character by far, although I sympathize with her the least. Amy's realness and shallowness are just, real.  She is the epitome of little sister....me I guess.  haha.  shoot.  Meg is totally oldest sister....I love you Shawsh ;)  And Jo is a definite middle child. Well rounded, spunky and unique.

Toward the end of the book I got really mad at one part. Jo goes off about how now that she's 25 years old she's resigned herself that she's just going to be an old maid (she decides to be a happy old maid) and it made me cringe.  Granted I understand that times were much different then, and people married much younger, and if you didn't marry before 25ish there was something wrong with you, and you'd never be a girl that men pursued, but, have things really changed that much?  How many 25 year-olds do I know that seem to have given up and become bitter man-haters (In the church at least)?

Most of all, I just love the story of these 4 sisters who are so close and go through so much of family life together, and the way that the author portrays it is so nostalgic and happy.  I love it.  I love my family and my sisters, sometimes I wish I would have lived back then when things were so much more simple, and yet, so much more difficult. 

Well, I'm hooked on audio books.  I used to only get them on road trips, and Panda helped me find some great ones for those times, but now.....Smiley offered to give me Peter Pan because she has the audio version on her ipod (I've wanted to read that book forever) and.....Tacoma sold me her itouch....don't tell anyone I finally gave in and bought my first mp3 player.....I had to do one exciting thing with my tax return for goodness sakes!!  Paying off student loans just isn't that....fun ;)  Let's see if I can keep up this goal!