How Should One Read a Book?

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Virginia Woolf, Sheila Heti: How Should One Read a Book? (Paperback, 2020, King Publishing, Laurence)

Paperback, 64 pages

English language

Published Jan. 7, 2020 by King Publishing, Laurence.

ISBN:
978-1-78627-752-7
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
1140731769
Goodreads:
51182084

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4 stars (1 review)

Published for the first time as a standalone volume, Virginia Woolf's short, impassioned essay, How Should One Read a Book? celebrates the enduring importance of great literature. In this timeless manifesto on the written word, rediscover the joy of reading and the power of a good book to change the world.

One of the most significant modernist writers of the 20th Century, Virginia Woolf and her visionary essays are as relevant today as they were nearly one hundred years ago.

Features a new introduction and afterword by Sheila Heti.

2 editions

Interesting ideas

4 stars

I've previously read, I think, five of Virginia Woolf's books including Jacob's Room and Mrs Dalloway which I loved, and The Waves in a soporific audio edition that repeatedly sent me to sleep! How Should One Read a Book? is a different prospect in that it is Woolf's 1920s equivalent of a TEDx talk, originally delivered to a girls' school audience. In a sign of the times a-changing, I was frustrated at Woolf's using male pronouns throughout her lecture. As a female author speaking to a female audience, I felt she should at least have identified her theoretical readers as women. Perhaps she could have included more than a token Jane Austen in her named authors too! Other than this, I was interested in her ideas around how we can hone our reading tastes and her concept of 'shadow shapes' which are the lasting impressions we carry away from each …

Subjects

  • Essays