Lulu's Library, Volume 1

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 268K words
Chapters: 27

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Lulu's Library, Volume 1 (of 3) by Louisa May AlcottAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Sep 5, 2012

Editor's review

A short-story collection by Louisa May Alcott that has drawn less attention from Chinese readers than Little Women, this volume gathers warm-hearted stories suited to young readers and continues the author's familiar themes of family life and growing up. The pieces are short and the language plain, making the book a good entry point for reading in the original English. The Project Gutenberg edition is freely available, and is especially suited to readers curious about nineteenth-century American children's literature or looking for light English texts to practice reading. The stories center on kindness and responsibility in everyday life; they move at a gentle pace and do not depend on complex plots, so the book lends itself to reading in short sessions. Note that this is an English-language e-book, not a Chinese translation, and readers will need basic English reading ability. The Project Gutenberg text is a public-domain electronic edition with simple formatting and notes, and no introduction or translator's annotations, so it is better suited to readers who can plan their own reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Middle-school or university students with basic English who want to try children's literature in the original English
Readers who like Little Women and want to explore more of Alcott's work
English learners who need short English texts for daily extensive reading practice
Literature lovers interested in nineteenth-century American children's literature and family stories

Not a good fit for

Beginners who want a Chinese translation or detailed annotations
Readers expecting full-length plots and strong dramatic conflict
Classroom users who need a systematic literary introduction or teaching materials

Reading tips

Read one short story through first, note unfamiliar words, then review the plot to ease the pressure of reading in the original.
Set aside twenty minutes a day for one or two stories and keep a steady pace; don't look up every word—focus on the overall meaning.
After reading, briefly retell the story in Chinese to check comprehension and collect useful expressions.
Read alongside other works by Alcott and notice how she handles family themes in common.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?

According to the information, this is an English e-book released by Project Gutenberg; the language is English, and it is not a Chinese translation. Readers need basic English reading ability, and it is advisable to read a short passage first to see whether the difficulty suits you.

Can I read this without having read Little Women?

Yes. This is an independent collection of short stories and does not depend on the plot of Little Women. Still, knowing Alcott's usual themes of family and growing up will make it easier to appreciate the style and purpose of the stories.

What should I know about the Project Gutenberg edition?

The Project Gutenberg edition is a free public-domain electronic text that is easy to obtain, but it usually has no annotations, introduction, or polished formatting. It is advisable to have a dictionary tool at hand and to arrange the stories at your own pace rather than trying to finish the book in one go.

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About the author

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Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.