So You Want To Read Virginia Woolf? | Full Reading Guide
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- Опубліковано 3 лип 2024
- 🔍 Dive into the mesmerizing realm of Virginia Woolf's prose with our expert guide! 🕶️ In this captivating video, we unravel the secrets to reading and appreciating Woolf's groundbreaking works like never before. 🌟
From dissecting her innovative stream-of-consciousness style to decoding the hidden symbolism within her narratives, we'll equip you with the tools to navigate the complexities of her writing. 📖✨
Books in this video:
A Room of One's Own
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Orlando
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Mrs. Dalloway
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To The Lighthouse
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The Waves
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The links provided in this video are Amazon Affiliate links, which means if you buy a book through these links, it will not cost you extra, but it will earn me a small commission, which supports the channel. Do not feel obligated to buy through me, but if you do, thank you for your support!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:44 Who was Virginia Woolf? (animated)
02:18 Reading order & A Room of One's Own
04:00 Orlando: A Biography
05:05 Mrs. Dalloway
07:20 To The Lighthouse
08:52 The Waves
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Have you read anything by Virginia Woolf yet? Why (not)? Let's talk some more in the comments below!
I haven't read any Virginia Woolf before but she sounds TOTALLY up my street. I really enjoy stream of consciousness narratives with not so much plot. AND as you know I love feminist novels!! She is for me I think. Mrs Dalloway calls to me.
@@sniffingthesheets She sure ticks all of those boxes!
I'm a little intimidated by Virginia to be honest! I don't know if I'm ready to read her books, or if I'll even understand it... I saw some quotes from one of her books (can't remember which one) and I just fell in love with her... thank you for the video!!❤
I get it, a lot of people find it intimidating. Don’t overanalyse though…sometimes it’s nice to just enjoy the language without dissecting it and trying to understand it.
I love Virginia Woolf. I discovered her in college. I've read all the novels and short stories. Back in the eighties, I think, five volumes of her diaries were published. The diaries give a "behind the scenes" look at her personal life and creative talent. Her life was just as fascinating as her novels. The diaries are must reading for Woolf fans.
The diaries are indeed a must-read for anyone interested in her life…as are the many letters Vita and Virginia wrote each other.
"Kew Garden and other Short Fiction" may work for me as a way in. " A Spot on a Wall" seems like a personal challenge of imagination and a willingness to explore trivia (a la Nicholson Baker) "The New Dress" as a very accessible attempt at inner dialogue, the beginning of" Solid Objects" and the whole of "The Lady in the Looking Glass" show the ingenious use of a mobile camera-like view on a situation, one with various limitations in focus, zoom-lens qualities in which the narrator has to guess along with the reader on what is depicted before becoming more intimate and certain about it. The devices are obvious and innovative and (I think so far) offered me a good introduction to what I'm going to encounter in more mature, full-length works. Being enamored of other Modernists, at least I'm now tantalized to explore more Woolf.
I started reading Mrs. Dalloway but I just couldn’t finish it. It’s really challenging. Thanks for this video.
My Virginia Woolf collection has now filled two whole shelves. There are approximately 55 VW-related books on those shelves. The Waves is my favourite book of all time.
I was wondering the other day: Is there such a thing as too many different copies of To The Lighthouse? Asking for a friend :D
@@cafeaulivre Let your friend know that my friend says no, there is no such thing as too many copies/editions 😏 So far I have 8 copies of The Waves.
@@circleofleaves2676 Off to the bookstore!...I mean, my friend! Off to see my friend!!!!!
Great introduction! I personally wouldn't mind an even more in depth video about her.
I agree, this is merely an introduction. She was a very interesting person, had a tumultuous life, struggled on many levels but perhaps that was exactly what allowed her to write the books she did?
Hi Bart, just discovered your channel and thanks for your great content! I happen to be in a Virginia Woolf phase now - reading her books back to back .. finished A room of one’s own, Genius and Ink, A Writer’s diary, Mrs Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando - now in the midst of The Years and planning to get through her novels one by one. Tried The Waves a few times but somehow just couldn’t get into it.. will try again!
The Waves is not an easy read…it is a literary experiment and challenges many of the ‘rules’ of what we call a book. I read it as a play, a series of theatre monologues, where actors start off on their own, but eventually join each other on stage.
Bart, your videos are so good. Brilliantly edited and the content is such high quality. I always learn a lot and you keep me engaged! You deserve many more subs.
Thank you, such kind words. I still have a lot to learn, but as long as I'm talking about something I'm passionate about, I don't mind. And I am quite passionate about Virginia (and Vita, her not-so-secret female lover who was a brilliant gardener)
@@cafeaulivre I'm going to go down a Virginia rabbit hole this afternoon I think! 👀
@@sniffingthesheets Have fun...just, when you feel a sudden urge to start reading books like Joyce's Ulysses...do get help ;)
Paha okay@@cafeaulivre
I inherited my parent's library. Surprisingly, they had no Virginia Woolf. Perhaps my mother was afraid of the big bad Woolf. Of course, you have convinced me to find a few of hers....as if I need more books. You put together such nice video productions! Thank you.
Thank you, so kind of you. I got acquainted with Virginia Woolf at school, where we had to read Mrs Dalloway and I hated it. Later on, when no longer forced to read and analyse books, I tried again and she has been growing on me ever since. She’s not easy…none of the modernists are, but she’s worth the effort. Such an interesting and tragic life as well.
This was so wonderfully made, Bart. I genuinely really enjoyed it. I've had Orlando and To The Lighthouse on my shelves for a really long time but have been a little bit intimidated at the thought of picking them up. I think maybe I might give them a go sometime soon 😄
Thanks Aisling, so kind of you. I would say: do start with Orlando. It's a wonderful book that slowly introduces you to VW's style of writing. To The Lighthouse is much more difficult to read imo, although very much worth it as well!
@@cafeaulivre Thanks for the suggestion, Bart. I definitely felt much more called to Orlando so I’ll go for that first and let you know how it goes when I get there 😃
@@aiscahill Please do, I'm always curious to hear how other people perceive/experience books :)
I recently bought To The Lighthouse and am now a bit intimidated by the fact that it’s apparently not the best book to start ones Virginia Woolf journey with 😂 but I’m sure it’ll be fine, the things you’ve said about it made me even more curious to finally try reading it 😊
Then just go for it! 😊
Thank you for this video. I tried reading "A Room of One’s Own", but it wasn't a right choice for me back then and I left it dnf unfortunately. I'd love to retry with "To the Lighthouse" or "Orlando" based on your descriptions.
Then do start with Orlando. It’s much more accessible imo. It is based on Vita Sackville-West, Virginia’s lover and muse.
Great content - The Waves is amazing. Are you Dutch? If so from what part of Holland? I am an English man but my great soulmate is a girl from Rotterdam.
I’m from Belgium myself, but same language. I used to live and study a while in The Netherlands, all the way up north in the city of Leeuwarden.
Wow i started with the waves.. should have seen this video first... Fml...
That’s a bold start 😉 Did you enjoy it?
I'm going through her stuff slowly; I have read A Room of One's Own and Flush. I have just started the Voyage Out, (because it is her debut and a conventional novel,) I also have The Virgina Woolf Reader and I reading it along with the novel, right now I am reading the snap shots that would have become, (but didn't,) her autobiography. It is very interesting. I figure I would read her letters and then her diaries in it, then the short stories. Thank you for the suggestion of Orlando, I do have that, (I collected several of her works for this slow dive,) I was very interested in it because it is time travel and transmutation, which is a Hindu philosophy. And I am very interested in both. I was trying to figure out if I should read Mrs. Dalloway or Orlando. Thank you for helping me.
My pleasure, Virginia Woolf is one of my favorite authors, but her work can be a little intimidating at first.
@@cafeaulivre yes, it is. I did love the two I read. Don't laugh, I especially loved Flush. So, I knew if I took it slow, I would get to love all her books.
She was growing as an author as well: there’s a huge difference in between her first and later books, but it does offer the opportunity to make that journey alongside her as a reader
@@cafeaulivre Thank you, I just thought it better to go slow and since The Voyage Out is about her childhood and I am reading her beginning of her autobiography, I thought that was a good combination. Thank you for not insisting I start with Mrs. Dalloway, I own it but I want to take my time.
cool