So You Want To Read Virginia Woolf?

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So You Want To Read Virginia Woolf? | Full Reading Guide

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Күн бұрын

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@cafeaulivre Жыл бұрын

Have you read anything by Virginia Woolf yet? Why (not)? Let's talk some more in the comments below!

@sniffingthesheets Жыл бұрын

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.

@cafeaulivre Жыл бұрын

@@sniffingthesheets She sure ticks all of those boxes!

@iaia2304 Жыл бұрын

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!!❤

@cafeaulivre Жыл бұрын

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.

@stevenpace1849 11 ай бұрын

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.

@cafeaulivre 11 ай бұрын

The diaries are indeed a must-read for anyone interested in her life…as are the many letters Vita and Virginia wrote each other.

@instantscratchchannel9477 Ай бұрын

I read To the lighthouse which was a bit tricky but did really love it!!

@cafeaulivre Ай бұрын

It’s not an easy book, I agree, but most certainly worth the effort

@anotherbeautifulday_emon 11 ай бұрын

I started reading Mrs. Dalloway but I just couldn’t finish it. It’s really challenging. Thanks for this video.

@nicholeschmidt4486 12 күн бұрын

I would have to say The Waves. Although I would say To The Lighthouse is considered her best work, The Waves, in my humble opinion, is her magnum opus. Stream of consciousness perfected. Thanks for the video

@cafeaulivre 12 күн бұрын

I tend to agree, although it’s not something I would recommend as the first VW title to pick up.

@circleofleaves2676 9 ай бұрын

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.

@cafeaulivre 9 ай бұрын

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

@circleofleaves2676 9 ай бұрын

@@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.

@cafeaulivre 9 ай бұрын

@@circleofleaves2676 Off to the bookstore!...I mean, my friend! Off to see my friend!!!!!

@instantscratchchannel9477 Ай бұрын

I'm reading Thomas Hardy at the moment he's interesting.The Return of the Native

@r.w.bottorff7735 11 ай бұрын

Great introduction! I personally wouldn't mind an even more in depth video about her.

@cafeaulivre 11 ай бұрын

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?

@bbbartolo 2 ай бұрын

"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.

@useupwearout5029 Жыл бұрын

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.

@cafeaulivre Жыл бұрын

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.

@saraloveslfc 5 ай бұрын

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 😊

@cafeaulivre 5 ай бұрын

Then just go for it! 😊

@hooimingng5924 10 ай бұрын

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!

@cafeaulivre 10 ай бұрын

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.

@sniffingthesheets Жыл бұрын

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.

@cafeaulivre Жыл бұрын

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)

@sniffingthesheets Жыл бұрын

@@cafeaulivre I'm going to go down a Virginia rabbit hole this afternoon I think! 👀

@cafeaulivre Жыл бұрын

@@sniffingthesheets Have fun...just, when you feel a sudden urge to start reading books like Joyce's Ulysses...do get help ;)

@sniffingthesheets Жыл бұрын

Paha okay@@cafeaulivre

@aiscahill Жыл бұрын

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 😄

@cafeaulivre Жыл бұрын

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!

@aiscahill Жыл бұрын

@@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 😃

@cafeaulivre Жыл бұрын

@@aiscahill Please do, I'm always curious to hear how other people perceive/experience books :)

@charveeagrawal1274 3 ай бұрын

Wow i started with the waves.. should have seen this video first... Fml...

@cafeaulivre 3 ай бұрын

That’s a bold start 😉 Did you enjoy it?

@yasaminyaldaei7357 Жыл бұрын

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.

@cafeaulivre Жыл бұрын

Then do start with Orlando. It’s much more accessible imo. It is based on Vita Sackville-West, Virginia’s lover and muse.

@sherrirabinowitz4618 7 ай бұрын

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.

@cafeaulivre 7 ай бұрын

My pleasure, Virginia Woolf is one of my favorite authors, but her work can be a little intimidating at first.

@sherrirabinowitz4618 7 ай бұрын

@@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.

@cafeaulivre 7 ай бұрын

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

@sherrirabinowitz4618 7 ай бұрын

@@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.

@andrewhemsley4323 11 ай бұрын

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.

@cafeaulivre 11 ай бұрын

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.