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    hellosunshine: Fun fact: She wrote "Little Women" in the brownstone next to my old apartment. more »
    braak: You are, as usual, completely correct.: Oh, man, I'm not even a hardcore Alcott fan, and I knew all those things. Actually, the commune that she was raised on was run be her own father, who... more »
    tinydundie42: I bought a book of her short stories at her childhood home and they are great! I've always been a fan, ever since I did a presentation on her in elem... more »
    fridaphile: One of my fondest childhood memories is visiting the Alcott family home in Concord-Orchard House. I can't tell you how many times I've fantasized abo... more »
    colormeroutine: All of the Little Women books, and the Rose books, were my favorites as a kid. I had huge crushes first on Laurie then on Dan. But when I re-read them... more »
    ainsworth2: Behold, the woman behind Jo March rises again! Sigh. I always did want Jo and Teddy to get married though. I never did like Amy. I wish more people... more »
    clevernamehere: I used know someone who is related to Louisa May Alcott. I was way more impressed by this than she was. more »
    hamburgerhotdog: It should also be noted that they pushed back the release of this book until well after the movie had widespread release because the editor felt some ... more »
    whynotshesaid: You know, I can see why she'd be upset. The thing that kind of sucks about memoir is that, if someone doesn't like your book, it's easy enough to con... more »
    morninggloria: I am rubber and you are glue. Everything you say bounces off me and sticks on you. more »
    Chamalla,barren crone: I have to resist the urge to be bitchy about things like this - and it is a challenge. I want to be happy for a young woman writer who has a measure... more »
    funnyface: I feel like this book is the Julie Powell equivalent of a Disney teen queen getting caught sexting. She's all, you think you know, but you have NO IDE... more »
    funnyface: There's something declasse about feeling the need to rebut your own book reviews. Let your work speak for itself. more »
    PilgrimSoul: I don't understand why writers can't learn to IGNORE CRITICS. Your public hissy fits are entertaining, but not at all flattering. more »
    Rooo sez BISH PLZ: Awww ... snarky snarky whiny whiny now! *soothes Julie P.* Come on now pumpkin. Lots of authors do Sophomore Slump. Maybe if the book didn't suck. ... more »
  • #booknotes

    Invincible Louisa

    It must be said, devoted fans will already have known the "Five Things You Don't Know About Louisa May Alcott." But can you really hear enough about opium and transvestism? In short, we'll be watching the upcoming PBS biopic. [YouTube]
  • #booknotes

    Sticks And Stones

    Julie Powell: "Somehow, it seems to me, there's something particularly eye-opening about the pans for Cleaving...some way in which writing about the book seems to reveal as much or more about the reviewer as about the book being reviewed." [XX]
  • #booknotes

    Wrestlemania

    Late comedy auteur Andy Kaufman's career wrestling women, accompanied by mock-misogynistic rants, resulted in a lot of hate mail. And now, those screeds (with Polaroids!) have been gathered into the book Dear Andy Kaufman I Hate Your Guts [WSJ]
  • #booknotes

    Ex Libris

    A scientist has analyzed the "old book smell" based on tomes' volatile organic compound emissions. The results, published in the journal Analytical Chemistry, involve the word "lignin" and, misleadingly, do not involve any Moby Dick perfume whatsoever. [NYT]
  • #booknotes

    Gothic Archness

    Amazing, Friday-the-13th-apropos news: Edward Gorey's "lost" book, The Recently Deflowered Girl: The Right Thing to Say on Every Dubious Occasion, has been reissued - and released - by Bloomsbury. And Emily Post just rolled in her grave. [NYT]
  • #booknotes

    Munro Pulls A Heigl

    Alice Munro has taken her new collection "Too Much Happiness" out of the running for Canada's prestigious Scotiabank Giller Prize, which she's won twice before - thereby ending literary nerds' hopes for a showdown with Margaret Atwood. [NYT]
  • #booknotes

    Classics

    It makes a certain kind of aesthetic sense that Ruben Toledo should illustrate "Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions" of Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and The Scarlet Letter. Now, if we can just get his wife to costume them...[Nylon]
  • #booknotes

    Girl Power