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Welcome to March’s Online Book Club. This month, we’re reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. 

The Online Book Club, if you’ve never joined us before, is a book discussion group that takes place entirely online. Each week, I write a new blog post that talks about different aspects of the book, and you can interact directly with me and other readers by leaving your comments. Check back each week and see what new topics we’re talking about.

Little Women is the story of the March sisters and their lives in New England during the Civil War. The sisters are all different and distinct, but they love each other deeply and have a lot of fun together. Throughout the book, readers encounter the sisters experiencing heartache and joy all while growing up from young girls to women. 

If you want to follow along with us but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the 2019 movie version starring Saoirse Ronan.  Check out the trailer above if you want to get a feel for the movie. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you’re only watching the movie and not reading the book.

This book has two distinct sections that are sometimes published as two separate books. Both books together are very long, so I thought it would be best to just read the first part for the book club this month. There are many editions of the story that only feature the first part of the story, but if you have an edition that contains both volumes, know that we won’t read past chapter 23 this month. 

For next week, make sure to read the first 8 chapters! I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments section. 

Little Women – Online Book Club

March is Women’s History Month, and we’re excited to bring you a host of interesting, fun, and educational books, programs, and resources all month long! Your librarians will be highlighting amazing women authors, women in business, and more. Among these programs is the Online Book Club (we refer to it as ‘OBC’) hosted by Cedarville Adult Services Librarian Erin K.

They discuss a new book each month beginning with a blog post every Monday. Erin fuels great discussions with insights and food for thought for each week. Book club members engage an open forum for a fun book discussion! I was excited to learn some of Erin’s favorite aspects of her book club.

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How has moving you club online changed your experience of what book clubs can be?

I love the fact that we can be completely self-paced. Readers can check out the blog posts whenever they like, and they can comment whenever works best for them. I really enjoy the fact that readers can continually access all the book club information and aren’t just limited to one meeting.

What do you think are the best parts for book club members?

I hope the best parts of the book club for members are the blog posts. I truly enjoy finding video clips, interviews, and websites to add to the blog posts, and I hope readers enjoy all those “extras.” I also think readers enjoy the relaxed nature of it since there’s no pressure to finish or comment on a particular date.

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For Women’s History Month, Erin chose Little Women. I had the opportunity to chat with Erin about the significance of Little Women on women’s history.

Originally published in 1868, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott follows the trials and tribulations of the March sisters throughout their childhood into adulthood. The March family unit is strong, but each sister’s individuality shines through – Jo yearns to be a published writer; Meg is a wonderful actress; Amy wishes to master painting; and Beth is musically inclined. When discussing what makes this story so pertinent to women’s history, Erin remarks “Each one of the female characters is distinct and independent while also staying true to the time in which they lived. I think this book is important to women’s history because it shows that women were full, complete people with dreams and passions.”

Erin goes on to discuss that depicting women as “people with dreams and passions” was groundbreaking at the time of publication due to societal norms. “[Women] weren’t always able to implement those passions due to social restraints,” said Erin. It was common for men to have numerous aspirations, but for women, not so much, since they were typically bound to their societal duty of becoming wives and mothers. The book’s author Louisa May Alcott herself was revolutionary; she was a notable woman author among the male-dominated literary world at the time. Alcott also never married, never had children and was an early American suffragette. Consistently going against societal norms, Alcott was a life-long advocate for herself and women alike.

Little Women’s popularity and significance persists today. With numerous film/television adaptations, readers and watchers alike can enjoy this timeless tale. At its core, this story is about women and family from a woman’s perception; readers relate to the March sisters and the familial story line, allowing the story to resonate today. “This [March] family, while enduring hardships and heartache, are close-knit and loving, and the family relationship feels very reassuring. And the fact that each girl is so different makes the book everlasting,” Erin says.

Just for fun, Erin and I joked that everyone identifies with at least one of the March sisters. Buzzfeed has an abundance of March sisters personality quizzes, especially after Greta Gerwig’s most recent film adaptation of the story in 2020, which Erin says is her favorite version. “When I was younger, I would have said that I identified with Jo because I wanted to be a writer, and I loved how creative she was. As an adult, I think I still identify as Jo, less because of her creativity and much more because she loves her family deeply and desperately wants to keep them close,” Erin says.

Join Erin’s online book club and look for weekly blog posts every Monday at greenelibrary.info/blogs!

Welcome to the final discussion of If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin. 

How did you feel about the end of the book? Did it end like you expected it would? I wish there could have been a happier ending, but that wouldn’t be true to life or true to the experiences of so many people. 

At the beginning of this section, we finally begin to understand how Fonny got on the radar of the corrupt cop, Officer Bell. Tish is attacked by a man on the street, and she slaps him and spits in his face/ This causes Fonny to beat the man up, and it catches the attention of Officer Bell. Bell assumes that Fonny started the whole fight, and then, he is publically reprimanded by lady who owns the store where the incident occurred. I think, because he was embarrassed and insulted by that lady, he decided to reclaim his power by later arresting Fonny without cause. Is that how you interpreted the incident. It’s hard not to wonder if the shop owner made the situation worse, but, then again, Bell was set to take Fonny off to jail right then, so he would be in jail either way. It was a lose-lose situation. It’s especially sad that all of this started because a man hurt Tish and Fonny was just trying to protect her. I was surprised by how many times Officer Bell crossed paths with Fonny and Tish before he finally arrested Fonny. He was just biding his time until he could find a crime to pin on Fonny. He was such a scary man. 

What did you think of Tish’s mom’s experience in Puerto Rico? Did everything go the way you thought it would? I had a hard time thinking Victoria would change her story. She was a scared woman who had endured violence, and who knows what the police officers from her case threatened her with. I couldn’t imagine that she would revisit the incident and change her accusation. It was hard to read how Sharon tried so hard to get Victoria and Pietro to see her side of the story, but they can’t. They are too broken and scared. 

In this section, Tish commits to visiting  Fonny every day to keep his spirits up. I’m sure it wasn’t fun for her to see Fonny in that position every day, but he lost so much hope when she couldn’t come every day. It was hard to read the discussions between Fonny and Tish at the end of the book. They love each other so much, and Tish really wants to help, but I think they both understand that they can’t do anything to clear Fonny. It was hard to read their conversation. And, it was hard to see Fonny deteriorate in jail. 

I was shocked when Fonny’s dad was found dead at the end. I didn’t see that coming. It was just more heartbreak in a really sad book. 

The end of the book is pretty ambiguous. Do you think Fonny was able to get out on bail? We learn that Ernestine got the rest of the money, but do you think it was enough? Do you think he stayed in prison and missed the birth of their baby? I don’t know how to interpret the ending, but I find it hard to imagine that he would be let out of jail on bail. I just feel like the powers that be were determined to leave him in prison. 

I hope you enjoyed readng along with us this month! If you enjoyed this book and want to read or watch something similar, check out this list I created. Make sure to let me know if you check out anything on the list. 

Finally, if you’d like to watch a really interesting interview about the book with the movie’s director, check out the clip below. And, if you’d like more information about the actors from the movie, check out this clip. 

Thanks for following along this month! Make sure to leave a comment to let me know how the reading experience was for you this month! And, join us again next month as we read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. 

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin.

What did you think of the reading this week? Did you feel like you got a better understanding of all of the characters, or do you feel like you still have a lot of questions? 

At the beginning of this section, we see the scene where Fonny and Tish announce to her family that they would like to get married. I thought the way her family reacted was very realistic. They were cautious because both Tish and Fonny are young, and they understood that the pair would face a lot of difficulties, but they realized that they were in love and could not be torn from each other. I appreciated the love that Tish’s parents showed to her. They were very concerned about her and her needs and wants. 

Then, the story jumps back to the present, and we see that the woman who has accused Fonny of rape has disappeared. What do you think her disappearance means? Do you think she disappeared because the police officer who claims to have seen Fonny running from the crime knew that her accusations wouldn’t hold up in court? Did he want to be the only voice in the case? Officer Bell is a corrupt police officer, for sure. He appears to have told the victim who to accuse, and he has been accused of racist behavior in the past. In fact, later in this section, we find that Officer Bell has been accused of killing a young boy, and instead of being prosecuted, he was transferred to another precinct. 

One thing that I found to be so sad in Fonny’s case was the fact that his alibi was not considered to be trustworthy because the only people who could corroborate his story were Black. Isn’t that heartbreaking? The police didn’t even care about the story of two human beings who could vouch for Fonny because they were Black. 

At the end of this section, we find out that Tish’s mother is going to travel to Puerto Rico to try to find the woman who accused Fonny, and they’re hoping that this woman will change her story. Do you think that will happen? One thing I appreciated in this section was the fact that Tish brought up the question of whether or not the woman was raped, and her sister shut down that line of questioning. I think in this situation, it would be really easy to shame or attack the victim, but Ernestine gave this woman her dignity and reminded Tish that the police officer is the one who is in the wrong, not a woman who was violently attacked and was pressured to pick her attacker in a line-up. What do you think Tish’s mother will find in Puerto Rico? Do you think she will be able to exonerate Fonny? 

Did you catch the part where Tish explains how different people treat her when they are smelling the perfume she sells. The white men definitely treat her differently than the other men do. It was really sad to read how they made her feel uncomfortable. And, it was sad how, when she was in the crowded subway, she had to wonder if a man was pushing up against her because they meant her harm or if they just had to be close because of the nature of the subway. 

This section ends with both Fonny and his friend Daniel looking pretty hopeless. Fonny is desperate to get out of jail, and Daniel is still healing from his former jail sentence and now is in custody again. It doesn’t look like either one is going to be treated justly, and I’m not sure how the story can end happily for either. What do you think? Is there hope for either man? 

If you’d like to see some of the actors who played parts in the movie version talk about the movie, check out the clip below. 

Make sure to finish the book for next week! I’m excited to hear your thoughts about this section. Make sure to leave a comment to tell me what you thought!

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of If Beale Street Could Talk.

What did you think of the reading experience this week? Did you connect to the characters right away? Did this feel like any story that you had read before? 

I think before talking about the book, it’s important to understand more about James Baldwin and how his life experiences informed his writing. Check out the video clip below to see a small glimpse of the apathy that Baldwin had to continually fight against during his lifetime. And, if you’d like to watch a longer, more in-depth interview with him, check out this clip. 

From these clips, you can see that Baldwin used his characters to express his worldview and opinions. Baldwin experienced and witnessed a lifetime of prejudice and injustice, so it makes sense that his main characters would be fighting against that in this book. In the first section, when Tish is explaining about how Fonny got into sculpture, she says that he tried to go to a vocational school, but the powers that be at that school treated him as if he were dumb and only wanted him to work for someone else. She continues by stating that if a Black person does not work under a white person or is not “owned” by a white person, they are dangerous. She believes that Fonny’s freedom and lack of ownership led him to his arrest. Can you see Baldwin’s experiences and encounters with systemic racism in those sections? Does understanding more about Baldwin help understand the book a little better? 

Right from the beginning of this book, we know that Fonny and Tish are going to have a baby. And, we know that Fonny hopes to be out of prison by the time the baby is born. Tish believes that Fonny has been falsely accused and imprisoned, but we don’t know what he’s been accused of. Right after that, the narrative moves backwards, and we learn how Fonny and Tish met when they were little. What did you think about the narrative moving around like that? Were you confused? Did you want the story to stay in the present time, or did you think it was helpful to get more background information on the characters? 

One outdated thing that stood out to me in this first section was the fact that everyone kept giving Tish alcoholic beverages, even after they found out she was pregnant. Did you notice that while you were reading? It was a small detail, but it really stood out to me!

What did you think of Tish’s family? I liked how supportive and close they were. Right from the beginning, it was evident that they loved Tish a lot and were willing to do anything to help her. I appreciated that they didn’t pressure her to end things with Fonny; instead, they understood the system that entrapped him, and they trusted what they knew about him as a man. I also appreciated that they did not look down on Tish when she told that she was pregnant. They were understanding and supportive. Fonny’s family, on the other hand, were not supportive or helpful. ?His mother hopes that the baby will shrivel up in Tish’s womb, and she completely blames Tish for seducing and influencing her son. In this scene, I believe Tish’s mother and sister would have killed to protect her. They were terrifying. What did you think of this scene? Could you believe that Fonny’s mother and sister had such intense reactions to the news? 

Do you think Fonny and Tish will have a chance to be as happy as they were during some of the flashback scenes? What do you think will happen with Fonny and his jail time as the story progresses? Do you think this is the last we’ve heard of Fonny’s mother and sisters? 

I hope you’re enjoying the book so far and were able to watch both of the Baldwin clips Next week, read through page 132. I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments section!

Welcome to February’s Online Book Club. This month, we’re reading the If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin.

The Online Book Club, if you’ve never joined us before, is a book discussion group that takes place entirely online. Each week, I write a new blog post that talks about different aspects of the book, and you can interact directly with me and other readers by leaving your comments. Check back each week and see what new topics we’re talking about.

If Beale Street Could Talk is the story of Fonny and Tish, a couple who are deeply in love and are going to have a baby. Their plans for the future are derailed, however, when Fonny is wrongly accused of a violent crime. Throughout the book, Tish attempts to clear his name while also trying to maintain her relationship with Fonny. It’s a moving story about love and injustice. 

If you want to follow along with us but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch the  Check out the trailer above if you want to get a feel for the movie. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you’re only watching the movie and not reading the book.

This book is a little different than other books we have read because it doesn’t have chapters. So, we’re just going to read the first 75 pages and talk about that for next week. I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments section!

Welcome to Week 4 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Did you enjoy the ending of the book? Were any parts a surprise to you? Did you feel like you could see how the story would end before you got to the last pages? 

This section starts with the children meeting Aslan. Is he what you expected? It is hard to imagine a lion being so kind and gentle. At the end of chapter 12, Peter doesn’t hesitate when he is tasked with rescuing Susan from a wolf. Were you surprised that he was able to kill the wolf so quickly? I can’t imagine that he had ever used a sword before, so it was a little surprising that he knew what to do with it. He was very brave, though, to jump in to help Susan without worrying what could happen to him. 

When Edmund comes back, he is immediately forgiven. What do you think he and Aslan talked about? What do you think Aslan could have said that would make Edmund so changed? Did you feel a little confused when Aslan and the White Witch were talking with each other? I was a little confused about the dynamics of society in Narnia. I couldn’t really figure out how The Witch got her power, and I couldn’t figure out if the Witch and Aslan had met before. Do you think they knew each other? Did you understand all of the intricacies of the magic and laws of Narnia? Where do you think Aslan was before he showed up? 

The killing of Aslan scene is pretty brutal. Did you laugh to yourself when you read the line where C.S. Lewis said he couldn’t describe all of the creatures because they were so gross and parents wouldn’t let children read about such things? I thought that was a nice little moment because it interrupted the tension a little bit. I’ve read this book before, so I knew that Aslan would not stay dead, but still, it’s hard to read about his humiliation and death. It was hard to read about all of the glee that everyone had while they were shaving him and hurting him. What did you think about the scene? Didn’t you feel so sorry for Lucy and Susan because they had to see everything? At least they got to be the first ones to see Aslan alive again. That kind of made up for the trauma they experienced. 

In the last battle, Peter and Edmund fight bravely, and Edmund is pretty hurt. Lucy is able to heal him with her gift from Father Christmas. They free all of the statues, and everyone rejoices that the White Witch is gone. Were you surprised that the siblings claimed the throne and grew up in Narnia? Were you doubly surprised that they didn’t lose any time at all when they came back home? 

What was your favorite part of the last section? What stuck out to you the most? Do you have any favorite scenes? 

If you’d like to see the stars of the movie version reunite, try to check out the Disney+ show, Prop Culture, and watch the Narnia episode. Check out this article to find out more about the show. 

If you liked this book and are excited to read more like it, check out this list I created with similar books and movies. Make sure to let me know if you check out anything on the list!

Finally, before you go, check out the video clip below to see differences between the book descriptions of the characters and the movie actors. What do you think of the casting choices for the movie? 

Thanks for following along all month! I hope you’ll join us again next month as we read If Beale Street Could Talk. I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments section.