Dear reader,
Something a little different from us this week in response to an email from audience member Emma Percy, who wrote: “I would like to know how Dominic and Tabby manage to find the time to read so much, so quickly.”
In response, we thought we’d share some of our favourite reading tips.
We’d love to hear how you lose yourself in a novel and what your best tricks are for concentrating. Email us at [email protected] and we’ll include the best messages in a special Reviewers’ Corner next week.
What’s the perfect reading spot?
Dominic: I’m pretty good at reading everywhere, though my favourite time and place is probably on a lazy Sunday morning, curled up on the sofa with a cup of coffee. I think the most common mistake people make is to leave reading till bedtime, when by definition you’re tired!
Tabby: These days, I read a lot on the tube, or just before I go to bed at night. But in an ideal world I’d find myself reading on my sofa at home on a Sunday morning; coffee in one hand, book in the other, usually with my legs sprawled over someone’s lap. Nothing to beat it.
Dominic’s current pile of books.
How can you get back into the reading habit if you’ve fallen out of it?
Dominic: I don’t think I’ve ever fallen out of the habit completely - I’ve always been reading a book of some kind, going right back to when I was a child. But I did get into a bad habit when I was younger of reading too much non-fiction. That was a waste of time because you never remember it, and most non-fiction is pretty boringly written.
Tabby: I have to say this has never really been the case for me. Reading has often been what I’ve done when I ought to be doing other, possibly more useful things. I did however go through a strictly non-fiction stage when I started working on The Rest is History, and tried to read along with the show. A joy to be sure, but then I stumbled across The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, (as a twin, I was intrigued), and that was it. I realised how much I’d missed the escapism of the imagination. The new rule was this: history in the day, fiction at night. I do live.
What's the perfect accompaniment to a great book?
Dominic: It depends on the book! Ian Fleming calls for a martini, Elena Ferrante for a negroni. Tolkien is best washed down with an honest pint of ale.
Tabby: I love coffee and music, particularly the latter. When reading on the tube on my way to and from work, I'm often listening to music, and sometimes my memories of the feel and voice of a book are laced with a certain melody. For instance, East of Eden lingers in my head alongside a song called ‘Lost for Words’, by Pink Floyd. I love it when that happens, and I’ll then try to listen to those same songs when I prepare my notes for that week’s recording of The Book Club.
How do you stay focused when reading?
Dominic: Leave your phone in the other room. And in my case, don’t read in the room where your son is playing video games and the other controller is lying invitingly on the table.
Tabby: Whether I need to usually depends on the book at hand, but if it does require a bit more concentration I'll put my phone on airplane mode and try to underline my favourite passages as I go. On the whole though, I’d say the very fact of trying to focus when reading can sap the pleasure from it. Just slip into it, and let the story or writing slowly draw you in. Before you know it, hours may have passed.
Now, onto Little Women which received Tabby’s lowest score since we started recording.
Still, we really enjoyed exploring the pious aims of the book, Alcott’s background and the deep tension between the two that lives at the heart of the novel. In fact, Dominic enjoyed the discussion so much, he upped his mark by a whole point.
The mailbox is open and waiting for your critical takedowns of our assertion that some parts of the novel were a little dull. Write in to [email protected] with your best assessment of why our analysis might be wrong - and tell us, did Laurie end up with the right sister? We’ll share some of the best emails in next week’s Reviewers’ Corner.
Keep reading for polls, recommendations and your thoughts on The Code of the Woosters, including a surprising suggestion for which character is most like Dominic.
There are also plenty of talking points in Book Notes if you’re considering holding a Little Women book club. If nothing else, we’re sure Jo would approve.
Until next time,
Tabby and Dominic.
If you enjoyed Little Women
Some more recommendations for your list
📚 A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott - Alcott wrote a number of Gothic novels and stories very different to Little Women under a pseudonym. This one was rejected by her publisher, but bought, restored and published in 1995. A Faustian tale, it begins with its heroine, Rosamond, declaring: “I often feel as if I'd gladly sell my soul to Satan for a year of freedom…”
📚 The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan - This 17th century Christian allegory is highly influential on Little Women. Though, a warning, Dominic did say: “I could live for a million years and I'd never read this book.”
📚 Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes - Dominic described this novel, set in a boarding school in the 1830s, as the equivalent of Little Women for boys in the UK.
📚 The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens - The March women’s favourite book and the inspiration behind their club.
📚 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë - The presenters analysed the parallels between the Brontë, Alcott and March sisters. Read Jane Eyre as a companion piece of a bildungsroman about a young women finding her place amidst society’s strangling norms.
📽 Little Women (2019) - In Greta Gerwig’s brilliant adaptation of Alcott’s novel, Saoirse Ronan is a perfect Jo. And if you’re in the mood for more, don’t forget the 1994 film too, with Susan Sarandon adding some glamour to Marmee alongside Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst and Claire Danes.
We need your vote
Tabby said that if she had to invite one of the little women to a dinner party, it would be Amy. Who would you have at the table?
Click to vote - and if you leave an extra comment, include your name so we can include your thoughts in Reviewers' Corner
Notes on… Little Women
While it’s safe to say Dominic and Tabby struggled with elements of Little Women, there’s no doubt it’s loved by millions worldwide - and some of those may be part of your book group.
Tabby acknowledged there were many moving moments that capture the transition from girlhood to womanhood. She called it “the ultimate coming of age story”.
If your book club wants to spend some wholesome time with the March sisters, Rhiannon has compiled some talking points to explore Alcott’s seminal novel.
Dominic said this is “one of the most important 19th century novels in the way that it shaped the imagination of generations of readers”. It has long been characterised as a must-read for young girls growing up.
Did you read Little Women when you were younger? What effect did it have on you? How did your view today compare with your recollections?
In her essay, Little Women: The American Female Myth, critic Elaine Showalter writes of the disparity between the views of women and men. “There can be few other books in American literary history which have had so enormous a critical impact on half the reading population, and so minuscule a place in the libraries or criticism of the other,” she says. Within your group, discuss whether you think men and women read this book differently.
Alcott had wanted to write a satirical novel about her family, but was urged by her publisher to instead create a guide for young girls. “I do not enjoy writing ‘moral tales’ for the young, I do it because it pays well,” she said.
Tabby said the “relentless moralising” and the “mythologised version of female piety” which “bleeds through every page” ruined this book for her. Do you agree? If so, what elements of femininity did you find to be mythologised?
Both presenters described moments of the book as moving - from Laurie’s proposal to Beth’s death. Did you think Alcott’s writing provided a realistic portrayal of love and grief?
“I think Jo is a pretty well realised character,” said Dominic. “I think she's a complicated person who is torn in different ways. She's not a caricature. She's not simple. She wants to be different things.”
Jo is the central character - Tabby argued the moments where she struggles with her identity are the most modern and relatable. What sections of the novel most resonated with you and why?
Little Women explores the idea of marriage being at the heart of bourgeois middle class existence in 1868 America. Tabby and Dominic explored whether a young woman could, at the time, reconcile artistic ambitions with a society that had strict roles for women. In this way, Jo is often viewed as an avatar for Alcott herself. Talk to your group about the similarities between Jo and Alcott as the second, tomboy daughter who wrote stories to keep her family afloat. You might find this article useful as part of that discussion. Could femininity and ambition live alongside each other in this era?
Feminist critics have disagreed on the topic of Jo’s marital fate. Some say Friedrich Bhaer smothers her, others see him as a man who allows her to be herself. In a letter to a friend, Alcott said she thought Jo should have remained a spinster but that she felt pressured by readers to have her marry. Should Alcott have resisted this neat ending?
“I will never, ever, ever forgive Louisa May Alcott for not letting Jo end up with Laurie,” said Tabby. Do you agree? Or was Amy the best fit after all?
This is widely considered to be one of the originators of young adult fiction (YA) in that it’s a book designed specifically for young girls, tracking their transformations and tribulations in the journey to womanhood.
Alcott works hard to put the reader in the mind of the young women and to not talk down to her characters. Is she successful in this? If you have teen children, how do you think they would see the March sisters in 2026?
This novel is “perhaps the earliest in fiction”, Dominic said, to address the idea that a teenager has to work out who they are, while Tabby said it was “a new kind of Bildungsroman”. Yet Meg “gets engaged to the dullest man in America” and Beth is simply a “saintly idealised version of the perfect Victorian woman”. Are the female characters given a believable arc? Is their “moral growth” realistic?
The sisters all have to compromise on their dreams. Did you find their fates hopeless? Or were there elements that you found satisfying and uplifting?
In contrast to today’s YA novels such as The Hunger Games, Little Women can appear twee. Yet it is still extremely popular and has cultural resonance. Why are we still rapt by the March sisters?
The quote that says it all
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
This quote, from Amy, captures the essence of Little Women, which has won so many fans over the years - the journey of understanding who you are. What quote stayed with you after you finished reading? Email us and let us know.
Who should you give this to?
“It would be a high risk to recommend Little Women, unless they're your enemy. Or you thought they really need some genuine kind of moral improving,” Tabby said.
But how about a teen girl struggling with direction? Or a boy who could do with putting himself inside the tortured brains of some little women for the week?
Tell us, who would you share Little Women with?
Recommended reads
We know you have a lot of thoughts about what Dominic and Tabby should cover - send your recommendations here instead so that we can share them with the Book Notes community! Tell us what this group should pick up next by sharing two or three sentences about your choice and we’ll feature as many as we can in future weeks… Email [email protected].
Harry suggests Eurotrash by Christian Kracht, “the best book I read last year and has become a bit of a cult hit.” He picked it for the book club at the bookshop he works at. “It sparked some very interesting conversations,” he says. “Lots to talk about in terms of autofiction, meta writing, wider historical themes of post war Europe and wealth.”
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke is “extraordinary” writes Penny. “I have a PhD in English literature, and I have never read such a compelling recreation of early 19th century prose… The book is certainly lengthy, but a master class in plotting that goes very fast.”
Bryan re-read All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren after listening to The Great Gatsby episode, as it reminded him of the novel. “Beyond its political themes, it is a deeply human story about ambition, idealism, moral compromise, and the consequences of our choices.”
Reviewers’ corner
We can’t wait to see your responses to Little Women - especially from our American audience members. (We’re pretty sure we have more than two now…)
Write to [email protected] with ‘review’ in the subject line and tell us…
Whether Tabby was wrong to be infuriated by the “relentless moralising”.
What life lessons did you take from Little Women?
If, like Alcott, you had to choose a pseudonym, what would it be?
The Code of the Woosters was a novel our presenters liked much more - and they weren’t alone in expressing their deep love for the British classic.
The Code of the Woosters poll results
It turns out you LOVED this book, with 64% of you giving it a 10/10. The winning Dominic comparison, meanwhile, was Bertie (because of his love of the school days).
Dominic the Stinker?
We enjoyed the notes you shared on our poll about which Wodehouse character Dominic is most like, especially this off-book suggestion from Stewart: “Definitely a mix of Bertie and Stinker Pinker. The absolute joy he gets out of ordinary life is something which comes across with Dominic. I suspect people think he's a curmudgeon before they've listened to and read his work but I think they're absolutely wrong - I think he enjoys life and that comes across in The Book Club.”
A fitting tribute
Thank you to Stephen for writing in with this touching note and thoughtful analysis.
“I’ve loved the Jeeves and Wooster stories since first picking them up around two years ago. My Gran was the only real reader in my family, and when she passed I discovered that she had some Wodehouse books in her house. I so wish we could have shared in the joy of these - to put it simply - sentences. I just love his sentences.
“This episode has deepened my appreciation for what Wodehouse was able to do. I used to think he just had a flare for language and was naturally funny, which of course he did and was, but your comparison of Jeeves and Wooster to the detective stories of the time has led me to a deeper appreciation of his cognitive ability. It must have been such a headache to try to tie all these different storylines together. Each scheme and wheeze seems to have so many more threads than necessary, that it seems like he just kept throwing more in to challenge himself, like a flame juggler who keeps getting another torch lobbed at him.
“I also used to wonder what he was trying to say about Britain or about the upper classes. It has taken me a long time to be at peace with the probability that he isn’t trying to say anything at all. He devoted his talent and intellect to just having a laugh. I too often forget the deep importance of just having a laugh.
“I think Jeeves makes me laugh the most, but my favourite achievement of Wodehouse’s is that I don’t dislike Bertie. I mean to say, I positively LIKE the old ass. I should, by all accounts, loathe the man. He is idle, contributes nothing to society, is melodramatic, had an elite education wasted on him, is waited on hand and foot by his intellectual superior, and is undeservedly stinking rich. But as I stand before you I am compelled to announce that he is all right. A goodish egg. As sound a cove as ever buttoned a mess jacket. Is he stupid? I think so. ‘Intellectually negligible’ as some would have it. But he has such a facility with words and seems an above average judge of character in the world Wodehouse created that I can’t help but like him.”
Book club pending…
Shirley writes: “I'm the leader of the Classic Book Club at Watermark Books in Wichita, KS. I've selected The Code of the Woosters for our January 2027 book because your discussion reminded me of how much I love Wodehouse. And I thought it would serve as a great ‘palate cleanser’ for the start of a new year.” We hope you find our notes in last week’s newsletter helpful, Shirley - let us know how it goes!
The Wodehouse test
Answering our weekly question about who you should pass these books onto, Kathy writes: “EVERYBODY!!! It is a litmus test of who might be a good friend. If they don’t think it’s the funniest, most enjoyable thing they’ve ever read, perhaps keep them in the ‘acquaintance’ category!”
She adds: “I never thought to give my current husband the Wodehouse test. We’re going on a road trip to visit the grandkids. He loves to drive and I’m packing The Code of the Woosters. I’ll give it my best Fry and Laurie impersonation as we motor down the highways of New England. 11/10 all the way!!!”
Scoreboard
We’ve started a weekly scoreboard, with the results Dominic and Tabby have given the last five books. Find out who is the harshest marker…
Book | Dominic’s Verdict | Tabby’s Verdict |
|---|---|---|
Code of the Woosters | 11/10 | 10/10 |
The Hunger Games | 6.5/10 | 7/10 |
Mrs Dalloway | 10/10 | 10/10 |
Beloved | 10/10 | 10/10 |
The Woman in White | 8/10 | 8/10 |
Next on The Book Club
If you want to read ahead, here’s what’s coming up on the podcast.
June 29: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
July 7: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
July 14: The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
July 21: Circe by Madeline Miller
July 28: The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
August 4: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
August 11: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Keeping score
This week, the scores were out of 10 Earnestly Pontificating Marmees 🙏. Dominic upped his number to 7 while Tabby gave it just 5. But tell us what you think…
Click to vote - and if you leave a comment, please add your name so we can consider your note for Reviewers' Corner.
See you next week for A Game of Thrones.
The Book Club Team
