What do you think?
Rate this book
How Should One Read a Book?
In 1926 Virginia Woolf wrote an essay entitled, "How Should One Read a Book?" to deliver as a lecture at a private girls' school in Kent, England. In revised form it appears to have been first published in The Yale Review, October, 1926. Along with other essays, it first appeared in book form in Woolf's The Common Reader: Second Series in 1932.
20 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1926
51 people are currently reading
3547 people want to read
About the author
Virginia Woolf
1,913 books28.1k followers(Adeline) Virginia Woolf was an English novelist and essayist regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century.
During the interwar period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and Orlando (1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One's Own (1929) with its famous dictum, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
During the interwar period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and Orlando (1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One's Own (1929) with its famous dictum, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 372 reviews
October 17, 2020
This little book includes a lovely Introduction and Afterword by Sheila Heti in addition to the Virginia Woolf lecture originally delivered to Hayes Court Common’s female students in Kent on 30 January, 1926, and then a later, revised and edited version was published, and then revised and edited again in 1932.
The original lecture section of this consists of about 20 pages, overall, this copy consists of 64 pages, but I found all of it to be extremely worthwhile.
”A book is a watery sculpture that lives in the mind once the reading is done. When I think back on the books I have loved, I rarely remember the names of the characters, the plot, or most of the scenes. It is not even the tone or mood I remember, but some residue remains – and that unlikely word is appropriate here – of a unique shape.” - Introduction
”...paintings and theatre and movies live in our memories as things we have witnessed, a book is undergone like a dream.” - Introduction
I loved this, loved reading Woolf’s thoughts on reading, the shadow-shape they leave us with. I think lately, that I have become even more aware of how much of our own life influences how we read a book, internalize a message, fall into the pages, or struggle to be able to concentrate for more than a few moments.
”Are they not criminals, books that have wasted our time and sympathy” is a quote by Woolf that I think most of us can relate to, and the following closing quote is one that I believe I will always remember, if only as a ’shadow-shape.’
In the Afterword, Sheila Heti shares the joys and frustrations of writers, the choosing, or being chosen to be a reader by another author for feedback, critiques, ideas exchanged as an idea slowly morphs into a story, a book that will – hopefully – end up on a shelf, and in the hands of a reader. I think this has to about a moment as fraught with emotion as handing someone your heart and allowing them to break it, while hoping they will see the beauty you were hoping to share, assisting you in better delivering your vision.
Published: 13 Oct 2020
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Laurence King Publishing Ltd
#HowShouldOneReadaBook #NetGalley
August 29, 2020
I’ve never really “got” Virginia Woolf. I read Mrs Dalloway around about the time The Hours, that Nicole Kidman movie, came out and wasn’t that impressed with it - it’s about a lot of rather dull upper-middle class people having tea and a soldier suffering from PTSD. The praise for Woolf seems to be more of her stream-of-consciousness style rather than the substance of what she wrote.
So it goes with her essay How Should One Read a Book? which is as underwhelmingly insubstantial as anything I’ve read by her before. She poses a rather pointless question and provides an obvious answer: for enjoyment, basically. There isn’t a lot here that I disagree with but everything Woolf talks about is so self-evident to anyone who’s ever thought passingly about reading that it seems bizarre that any of it needed to be articulated at all.
For example:
- A great writer transports the reader to another world with their words and characters, as well as introduces new experiences and new ways of thinking by seeing through others’ eyes.
- Thinking about a book after you’ve finished reading it is different from the experience of reading it because so many details are missing and what’s left behind are scraps of the whole.
- We should read with an open mind and read widely - not just the acknowledged classics (and Woolf quotes all the bland, safe choices, eg. Shakespeare, Austen, Hardy) but also the ones that don’t stand the test of time, the books Woolf rather snobbishly labels “rubbish-reading”, if only to see different perspectives from different times and pick up occasional forgotten syntax from back then.
- Though professional book critics have their place, ordinary readers should not let them make up their minds for them - if you like a book, then that’s all that matters. Similarly, writers should bear ordinary readers in mind rather than let critics’ views colour their perception of a book’s response.
Is any of this blowing anyone’s mind?? I always try to keep in mind the context but I’ve got to think that even in 1926, when this essay first appeared as a speech Woolf gave, this stuff can’t have been the least bit remarkable to hear.
Sheila Heti contributes an intro and outro to the essay, probably to beef up the slight book, and doesn’t really offer up much beyond saying that she sends her friends drafts of her novels and that reading drafts is different from reading finished books. So there’s that I guess: how one should read a draft is with kindness more than anything. Great…
Reading, for Virginia Woolf, was heavenly, as it is for me and I’m certain for many others, you included, but reading her specifically is not. If you’re after a lot of elementary observations confirming your bias for reading, look no further than this tedious essay!
So it goes with her essay How Should One Read a Book? which is as underwhelmingly insubstantial as anything I’ve read by her before. She poses a rather pointless question and provides an obvious answer: for enjoyment, basically. There isn’t a lot here that I disagree with but everything Woolf talks about is so self-evident to anyone who’s ever thought passingly about reading that it seems bizarre that any of it needed to be articulated at all.
For example:
- A great writer transports the reader to another world with their words and characters, as well as introduces new experiences and new ways of thinking by seeing through others’ eyes.
- Thinking about a book after you’ve finished reading it is different from the experience of reading it because so many details are missing and what’s left behind are scraps of the whole.
- We should read with an open mind and read widely - not just the acknowledged classics (and Woolf quotes all the bland, safe choices, eg. Shakespeare, Austen, Hardy) but also the ones that don’t stand the test of time, the books Woolf rather snobbishly labels “rubbish-reading”, if only to see different perspectives from different times and pick up occasional forgotten syntax from back then.
- Though professional book critics have their place, ordinary readers should not let them make up their minds for them - if you like a book, then that’s all that matters. Similarly, writers should bear ordinary readers in mind rather than let critics’ views colour their perception of a book’s response.
Is any of this blowing anyone’s mind?? I always try to keep in mind the context but I’ve got to think that even in 1926, when this essay first appeared as a speech Woolf gave, this stuff can’t have been the least bit remarkable to hear.
Sheila Heti contributes an intro and outro to the essay, probably to beef up the slight book, and doesn’t really offer up much beyond saying that she sends her friends drafts of her novels and that reading drafts is different from reading finished books. So there’s that I guess: how one should read a draft is with kindness more than anything. Great…
Reading, for Virginia Woolf, was heavenly, as it is for me and I’m certain for many others, you included, but reading her specifically is not. If you’re after a lot of elementary observations confirming your bias for reading, look no further than this tedious essay!
September 23, 2020
Virginia Woolf first delivered this as a lecture in 1926 before having it published in The Yale Review later that year. Essentially she’s saying that everyone can be a critic, analysing and comparing authors and their work, but that the love of reading mustn’t be lost in the process. She encourages us to ‘give yourself up to the delight of rubbish-reading’. She rather snobbishly says it has no value and ‘is negligible in the extreme’ yet it can be absorbing for a short while, provided you recognise it as such and return to the masters afterwards.
Reading is seen as a complex process. To enjoy a book to its fullest, we must ‘wait for the dust of reading to settle’ before we can really judge it, as severely as possible, and compare it with the greatest books written - ...even the .... least of novels has the right to be judged with the best’. And yet, we must never lose sight of the main reason we read. She finishes by saying that she imagines the scene at the gates of heaven on the Day of Judgement. ...the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when he sees us coming with our books under our arms, ‘Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading.’. And so say all of us!
Bearing in mind this was a speech delivered to schoolgirls, it’s aimed at encouraging reading in the young rather than being a profound critique on the reading process. It’s full of ideas, however, and even after reading it over a few times (it’s very short), I am still finding new ones.
With thanks to NetGalley and Laurence King Publishing Ltd for a review copy.
Reading is seen as a complex process. To enjoy a book to its fullest, we must ‘wait for the dust of reading to settle’ before we can really judge it, as severely as possible, and compare it with the greatest books written - ...even the .... least of novels has the right to be judged with the best’. And yet, we must never lose sight of the main reason we read. She finishes by saying that she imagines the scene at the gates of heaven on the Day of Judgement. ...the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when he sees us coming with our books under our arms, ‘Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading.’. And so say all of us!
Bearing in mind this was a speech delivered to schoolgirls, it’s aimed at encouraging reading in the young rather than being a profound critique on the reading process. It’s full of ideas, however, and even after reading it over a few times (it’s very short), I am still finding new ones.
With thanks to NetGalley and Laurence King Publishing Ltd for a review copy.
August 3, 2022
5 stars / 5 stars
“The only advise, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions. If this is agreed between us, then I fell at liberty to put forward a few ideas and suggestions because you will not allow them to fatter that independence which is the most important quality that a reader can posses.”
This is one of my first reads, in it's totality and fullness, by Viginia Woolf. I've read snippets of her writing and thoughts plastered through the internet quite many times, often, and loved them. But this, thanks to my local indie bookstore's beautiful cover and self publication, I picked up and read in one sitting. This essay of pages merely over 15, is a beautiful insight into not just how the author viewed reading as an art to be complex and impalpable, even more than buildings and bricks; but it also is something that every reader out there can and will resonate with.
She vocalizes her words with ink and displays emotions and even responsibilities that are bound upon the readers' as, well, readers. From talking of off the intensity poems feed us with to the impact a good, great memoir of great women and, well, men, can be: she covers them all.
“You must be capable not only of great fineness of perception, but of great boldness of imagination if you are going to make use of all that the novelist – the great artist – gives you.”
Though it may only pertain to a well over almost-twenty pages, this essay, but I felt the waves and urges to annotate almost every one of this thin file, given how every page had something admirable and practical, as well, that one as a reader can learn and appreciate with.
From talking about how 'art' as a spectrum or title for books is something fleeting but also solid, despite not having every genre get the privilege of fitting in it, to disclosing her thoughts on what perspectives can and do bring to the table of readers and writers. Of how one needs to not over sympathize but should also be wary of being way too stern, as a judge would be careful to, whilst reading and ranking a book. Sparking examples with great literary workwomen and men alike: from Jane Austen to Hardy, from Peacock to Trollope, from Scott to Meredith. She plays strong on imagery when she describes how the works of these writers transports one from London, the scene changing to a street that narrows, where the house becomes small, cramped,
diamond-paned, and malodorous. We see a poet, Donne, driven from such a house because the walls were so thin that when the children cried their voices cut through them. We can follow him, through the paths that lie in the pages of books, to Twickenham; to Lady Bedford’s Park, a famous meeting-ground for nobles and poets, alike.
These visual playgrounds Woolf goes through, and marking their significance as also prime when it comes to enjoying the complex and utterly satisficing task or pleasure of reading, is a joy to witness.
Her last paragraph, if not the entire 20 pages, honestly, is what stood out the most to me;
“I have sometimes dreamt, at least, that when the Day of Judgement dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards – their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble – the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when he sees us coming with our books under our arms, ‘Look,
these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading.’ ”
“The only advise, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions. If this is agreed between us, then I fell at liberty to put forward a few ideas and suggestions because you will not allow them to fatter that independence which is the most important quality that a reader can posses.”
This is one of my first reads, in it's totality and fullness, by Viginia Woolf. I've read snippets of her writing and thoughts plastered through the internet quite many times, often, and loved them. But this, thanks to my local indie bookstore's beautiful cover and self publication, I picked up and read in one sitting. This essay of pages merely over 15, is a beautiful insight into not just how the author viewed reading as an art to be complex and impalpable, even more than buildings and bricks; but it also is something that every reader out there can and will resonate with.
She vocalizes her words with ink and displays emotions and even responsibilities that are bound upon the readers' as, well, readers. From talking of off the intensity poems feed us with to the impact a good, great memoir of great women and, well, men, can be: she covers them all.
“You must be capable not only of great fineness of perception, but of great boldness of imagination if you are going to make use of all that the novelist – the great artist – gives you.”
Though it may only pertain to a well over almost-twenty pages, this essay, but I felt the waves and urges to annotate almost every one of this thin file, given how every page had something admirable and practical, as well, that one as a reader can learn and appreciate with.
From talking about how 'art' as a spectrum or title for books is something fleeting but also solid, despite not having every genre get the privilege of fitting in it, to disclosing her thoughts on what perspectives can and do bring to the table of readers and writers. Of how one needs to not over sympathize but should also be wary of being way too stern, as a judge would be careful to, whilst reading and ranking a book. Sparking examples with great literary workwomen and men alike: from Jane Austen to Hardy, from Peacock to Trollope, from Scott to Meredith. She plays strong on imagery when she describes how the works of these writers transports one from London, the scene changing to a street that narrows, where the house becomes small, cramped,
diamond-paned, and malodorous. We see a poet, Donne, driven from such a house because the walls were so thin that when the children cried their voices cut through them. We can follow him, through the paths that lie in the pages of books, to Twickenham; to Lady Bedford’s Park, a famous meeting-ground for nobles and poets, alike.
These visual playgrounds Woolf goes through, and marking their significance as also prime when it comes to enjoying the complex and utterly satisficing task or pleasure of reading, is a joy to witness.
Her last paragraph, if not the entire 20 pages, honestly, is what stood out the most to me;
“I have sometimes dreamt, at least, that when the Day of Judgement dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards – their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble – the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when he sees us coming with our books under our arms, ‘Look,
these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading.’ ”
January 18, 2023
5/5
Oi miela Virginia, kokie juokingi tau būtų pasirodę visi pasiskirstymai, kam ką skaityti galima, o kam ką – nelabai. Kas ką suprato beskaitydami, o kas malonumą patyrė. Kam galima tavo knygas leisti, o kam – ne. Bet jei ką ir įrodo šis puikus, puikus straipsnis/kalba/esė, tai kad problemos, ar dabar, ar prieš šimtą metų, tiek skaitytojų, tiek šiaip bet kokių intelektualų tarpe (terpėje, hihi), visada buvo tos pačios. Kas svarbiau – ką galvoja kritikas, ar paprastas skaitytojas? Kuriam rašytojas rašo – pirmam, antrajam, abiem, sau, nei vienam? Kaip knygą reikia suprasti, o gal svarbiau tiesiog pajausti? Ko reikia skaitytojui, kad gebėtų padaryti ir viena, ir kita? Ir kokią formą turi (ar turi?) įgauti knyga? Skaitydama tikrai negalėjau nesijuokti, prisiminusi visą garsiąją Woolf/Svajonių knygų dramą. Kai man šią knygą dovanojo labai mielas, labai svarbus ir protingas žmogus, man sakė: „Žiūrėk, viską ji jau buvo numačiusi, viską pergalvojusi, viskam jau atsakymą turėjo.“ Ir tikrai, jei ką Woolf grabe ir darė, tai ne vartėsi, o juokėsi.
Nes priekaištų paprastam skaitytojui ji neturi. Tačiau turi kritikams – tiek jais abejodama, tiek apie juos svarstydama. Kritikams, kad ir kokią formą jie įgautų – profesionaliems ir nebūtinai. Knygų ir ne tik. Prilygina juos medžiotojams, prieš kuriuos laksto daugybė gyvūnų. Ir kritikas turi tik vieną vienintelį šūvį. Į ką pataikys? Ar pataikys? Ar bandęs prigauti vilką iš tiesų neužkliudys triušiuko? Tokio gerumo tekstas, kad norėčiau jį įduoti kiekvienam skaitančiam, kiekvienutėliausiam. Ar sėdinčiam filologyne, ar besirenkančiam knygą bibliotekoje. Ar pradedančiam, ar jau artėjančiam prie karjeros pabaigos. Visi turi ko iš Woolf pasimokyti. O ji juoktųsi, oi juoktųsi.
Oi miela Virginia, kokie juokingi tau būtų pasirodę visi pasiskirstymai, kam ką skaityti galima, o kam ką – nelabai. Kas ką suprato beskaitydami, o kas malonumą patyrė. Kam galima tavo knygas leisti, o kam – ne. Bet jei ką ir įrodo šis puikus, puikus straipsnis/kalba/esė, tai kad problemos, ar dabar, ar prieš šimtą metų, tiek skaitytojų, tiek šiaip bet kokių intelektualų tarpe (terpėje, hihi), visada buvo tos pačios. Kas svarbiau – ką galvoja kritikas, ar paprastas skaitytojas? Kuriam rašytojas rašo – pirmam, antrajam, abiem, sau, nei vienam? Kaip knygą reikia suprasti, o gal svarbiau tiesiog pajausti? Ko reikia skaitytojui, kad gebėtų padaryti ir viena, ir kita? Ir kokią formą turi (ar turi?) įgauti knyga? Skaitydama tikrai negalėjau nesijuokti, prisiminusi visą garsiąją Woolf/Svajonių knygų dramą. Kai man šią knygą dovanojo labai mielas, labai svarbus ir protingas žmogus, man sakė: „Žiūrėk, viską ji jau buvo numačiusi, viską pergalvojusi, viskam jau atsakymą turėjo.“ Ir tikrai, jei ką Woolf grabe ir darė, tai ne vartėsi, o juokėsi.
Nes priekaištų paprastam skaitytojui ji neturi. Tačiau turi kritikams – tiek jais abejodama, tiek apie juos svarstydama. Kritikams, kad ir kokią formą jie įgautų – profesionaliems ir nebūtinai. Knygų ir ne tik. Prilygina juos medžiotojams, prieš kuriuos laksto daugybė gyvūnų. Ir kritikas turi tik vieną vienintelį šūvį. Į ką pataikys? Ar pataikys? Ar bandęs prigauti vilką iš tiesų neužkliudys triušiuko? Tokio gerumo tekstas, kad norėčiau jį įduoti kiekvienam skaitančiam, kiekvienutėliausiam. Ar sėdinčiam filologyne, ar besirenkančiam knygą bibliotekoje. Ar pradedančiam, ar jau artėjančiam prie karjeros pabaigos. Visi turi ko iš Woolf pasimokyti. O ji juoktųsi, oi juoktųsi.
December 9, 2021
"How Should One Read a Book?" by Virginia Woolf is a short essay that describes the way one must approach the book as a reader. It lists the differences between a professional critic and someone who reads and reviews for pleasure. It also stresses on the importance of all kinds of readers, and makes one think in terms of what a writer expects when they offer their work to be read and judged.
Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC.
Verdict: Recommended.
Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC.
Verdict: Recommended.
September 24, 2018
Me ha encantado, es de los discursos mas sustanciales que hay sobre la lectura sin duda me deja mucho en que pensar, sobre todo en como los libros enriquecen nuestra vida llenándola de todo lo que tiene que aportar el autor. Además de que creo que ser más crítica y exigente en cuento a lo que leo es algo bueno, quiere decir que vamos por buen camino.
December 18, 2022
If the moralists ask us how we can justify our love of reading, we can make use of some such excuse as this. But if we are honest, we know that no such excuse is needed. It is true that we get nothing whatsoever except pleasure from reading; it is true that the wisest of us is unable to say what that pleasure may be. But that pleasure—mysterious, unknown, useless as it is—is enough. That pleasure is so curious, so complex, so immensely fertilizing to the mind of anyone who enjoys it, and so wide in its effects, that it would not be in the least surprising to discover, on the day of judgment when secrets are revealed and the obscure is made plain, that the reason why we have grown from pigs to men and women, and come out from our caves, and dropped our bows and arrows, and sat round the fire and talked and drunk and made merry and given to the poor and helped the sick and made pavements and houses and erected some sort of shelter and society on the waste of the world, is nothing but this: we have loved reading.
October 7, 2020
This book is really good. It gives a totally elaborate idea of how writers work. I absolutely enjoyed this essay.
Even though it is a short essay, this provides many good points. It does not only give the insight of the writers but readers as well. Overall, it's informative.
Arc provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Even though it is a short essay, this provides many good points. It does not only give the insight of the writers but readers as well. Overall, it's informative.
Arc provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
July 9, 2020
What a mind-opening pleasure-pumping read this was for a bookworm!
I had no idea Woolf had written an essay so powerful as this. I loved the fact that it was brought into daylight by an experienced author with an introduction so worthy of the book itself. I enjoyed every bit although sadly, I found it rather too short.
In the introduction, Heti warms us to the theme of effectively reading and reviewing books as Woolf intended under the concept of “shadow-shapes”, the mental sculptures books leave in our minds after we read them.
And then the stage is left to Virginia Woolf. Woolf offers us insights in her unique style how to become an efficient reader. How one should read a book creates an enlightening path for us to follow:
.“To read a novel is difficult and complex art. You must be capable not only of great fineness of perception but of great boldness of imagination if you’re going to make use of all that the novelist - the great artist - gives you”
This powerful little book explains how conscious reading can profoundly enhance our rreading experience and increase the amount of pleasure we reap from each genre. An amazing literary non-fiction recomended for bibliophiles. I especially loved the final words of Woolf and cannot pass the opportunity to share it in my review:
.“I have sometimes dreamt ... that when the Day of Judgment dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards -- their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble -- the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when He sees us coming with our books under our arms, "Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading.” .
(Special thanks to Laurence King Publishing Ltd and NetGalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review)
I had no idea Woolf had written an essay so powerful as this. I loved the fact that it was brought into daylight by an experienced author with an introduction so worthy of the book itself. I enjoyed every bit although sadly, I found it rather too short.
In the introduction, Heti warms us to the theme of effectively reading and reviewing books as Woolf intended under the concept of “shadow-shapes”, the mental sculptures books leave in our minds after we read them.
And then the stage is left to Virginia Woolf. Woolf offers us insights in her unique style how to become an efficient reader. How one should read a book creates an enlightening path for us to follow:
.“To read a novel is difficult and complex art. You must be capable not only of great fineness of perception but of great boldness of imagination if you’re going to make use of all that the novelist - the great artist - gives you”
This powerful little book explains how conscious reading can profoundly enhance our rreading experience and increase the amount of pleasure we reap from each genre. An amazing literary non-fiction recomended for bibliophiles. I especially loved the final words of Woolf and cannot pass the opportunity to share it in my review:
.“I have sometimes dreamt ... that when the Day of Judgment dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards -- their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble -- the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when He sees us coming with our books under our arms, "Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading.” .
(Special thanks to Laurence King Publishing Ltd and NetGalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review)
August 28, 2021
English Review Below.
A very short speech by Virginia Woolf, adapted to a book format, in the vain of her famous speech "A Room of One's Own". In this short piece, she talks about the process of reading, and how that process differs according to the type of literature we're reading (fiction, poetry, biography, etc) and how we become better readers, she also addresses the notion of reading for fun and how it doesn't matter how much you read. I feel this essay should become a mandatory reading piece for any book reviewer or booktuber or blogger, because though the examples are dated, it's still relevant. This edition also includes two short essays by Sheila Heti, who I didn't read before, but I liked her perspective.
A very short speech by Virginia Woolf, adapted to a book format, in the vain of her famous speech "A Room of One's Own". In this short piece, she talks about the process of reading, and how that process differs according to the type of literature we're reading (fiction, poetry, biography, etc) and how we become better readers, she also addresses the notion of reading for fun and how it doesn't matter how much you read. I feel this essay should become a mandatory reading piece for any book reviewer or booktuber or blogger, because though the examples are dated, it's still relevant. This edition also includes two short essays by Sheila Heti, who I didn't read before, but I liked her perspective.
April 16, 2022
To admit authorities, however heavily furred and gowned, into our libraries and let them tell us how to read, what to read, what value to place upon what we read, is to destroy the spirit of freedom which is the breath of those sanctuaries. Everywhere else we may be bound by laws and conventions—there we have none.
June 9, 2023
Wat ik heel bijzonder vind en zeker meeneem vanuit dit essay, is het idee van een “shadow-shape”, of schaduwvorm; datgene wat er overblijft van het boek in je hoofd nadat je het gelezen hebt. Deze schaduwvorm is een totaalbeeld van enerzijds het boek: het verhaal, de personages, de stijl en structuur; maar daarnaast kleuren ook onze persoonlijke impressies tijdens het lezen deze ervaring: tijdstip en plaats waar we het boek lezen, onze emotionele gemoedstoestand van dat moment, onze ervaringen tussen de verschillende leesmomenten door. Zo laat elk boek bij iedere lezer een eigen schaduwvorm na, die we ons verdere leven meedragen, die in ons hoofd leeft, en waaraan we soms terugdenken.
Wanneer ik dit toepas op mezelf weet ik inderdaad meestal nog steeds voor elk boek dat een bewuste herinnering naliet (soms komen boeken vluchtig voorbij en verlaten ze na een bepaalde periode mijn bewuste herinneringsmodule), waar ik het boek las en wat er toen speelde in mijn leven. Die elementen kleuren natuurlijk de leeservaring en zorgen ervoor dat elke boek een andere schaduwvorm genereert in het hoofd van iedere individuele lezer, ook al is de fysieke vorm, het boek zelf, dezelfde.
Het voorwoord van Sheila Heti, die dieper op dit onderwerp ingaat, was dan ook een meerwaarde. Het nawoord van haar hand kon me minder boeien.
En het essay van Woolf zelf heb ik heel graag gelezen, en keer ik zeker nog naar terug.
“I have sometimes dreamt, at least, that when the Day of Judgement dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards – their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble – the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when He sees us coming with our books under our arms, “Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading”.”
Wanneer ik dit toepas op mezelf weet ik inderdaad meestal nog steeds voor elk boek dat een bewuste herinnering naliet (soms komen boeken vluchtig voorbij en verlaten ze na een bepaalde periode mijn bewuste herinneringsmodule), waar ik het boek las en wat er toen speelde in mijn leven. Die elementen kleuren natuurlijk de leeservaring en zorgen ervoor dat elke boek een andere schaduwvorm genereert in het hoofd van iedere individuele lezer, ook al is de fysieke vorm, het boek zelf, dezelfde.
Het voorwoord van Sheila Heti, die dieper op dit onderwerp ingaat, was dan ook een meerwaarde. Het nawoord van haar hand kon me minder boeien.
En het essay van Woolf zelf heb ik heel graag gelezen, en keer ik zeker nog naar terug.
“I have sometimes dreamt, at least, that when the Day of Judgement dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards – their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble – the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when He sees us coming with our books under our arms, “Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading”.”
September 14, 2020
How Should One Read a Book?
By Virginia Woolf
A delight to be able to check in with Virginia Woolf on the proper and correct way to read a book. Her observations release everything a dutiful reader may have clenched, having taken on this hefty title. It was a surprise and gift to read the author’s thoughts on my passion for reading. It blew my mind, in a happy way!
The bonus that accompanies this short book is the afterward by Sheila Heti, who also weighs in with her thoughts on this topic, which are also mind broadening, and an absolute treat.
A Sincere Thanks to Laurence King Publishing and NetGalley for providing an ARC to read and review.
By Virginia Woolf
A delight to be able to check in with Virginia Woolf on the proper and correct way to read a book. Her observations release everything a dutiful reader may have clenched, having taken on this hefty title. It was a surprise and gift to read the author’s thoughts on my passion for reading. It blew my mind, in a happy way!
The bonus that accompanies this short book is the afterward by Sheila Heti, who also weighs in with her thoughts on this topic, which are also mind broadening, and an absolute treat.
A Sincere Thanks to Laurence King Publishing and NetGalley for providing an ARC to read and review.
January 12, 2023
“Yet who reads to bring about an end, however desirable? Are there not some pursuits that we practise because they are good in themselves, and some pleasures that are final? And is not this among them? I have sometimes dreamt, at least, that when the Day of Judgment dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards--their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble--the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when he sees us coming with our books under our arms, "Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading."
January 17, 2019
Most commonly we come to books with blurred and divided minds, asking of fiction that it shall be true, of poetry that it shall be false, of biography that it shall be flattering, of history that it shall enforce our own prejudices.
Perhaps the quickest way to understand the elements of what a novelist is doing is not to read, but to write; to make your own experiment with the dangers and difficulties of words.
Would it not be wiser, then, to remit this part of reading and to allow the critics, the gowned and furred authorities of the library, to decide the question of the book’s absolute value for us? Yet how impossible! We may stress the value of sympathy; we may try to sink our identity as we read. But we know that we cannot sympathise wholly or immerse ourselves wholly; there is always a demon in us who whispers, “I hate, I love”, and we cannot silence him.
Perhaps the quickest way to understand the elements of what a novelist is doing is not to read, but to write; to make your own experiment with the dangers and difficulties of words.
Would it not be wiser, then, to remit this part of reading and to allow the critics, the gowned and furred authorities of the library, to decide the question of the book’s absolute value for us? Yet how impossible! We may stress the value of sympathy; we may try to sink our identity as we read. But we know that we cannot sympathise wholly or immerse ourselves wholly; there is always a demon in us who whispers, “I hate, I love”, and we cannot silence him.
February 17, 2021
What a gorgeous edition this book is of a brilliant essay.
Woolf explores how we should read books, think about them, critique them, write them— and ultimately renders them as a slice of heaven. As someone who spends most of my day thinking about when and what I’m going to read next, it was a lovely treat. Sheila Heti’s foreword and afterword were both a pleasure to read, too.
All in all, a sweet treat of a book that I feel certain I’ll revisit again and again when I want to muse upon my love of literature.
I really do think reading is a bit of a superpower and this book made me want to hug all of my books and thank them for what they’ve shown me. The books we read in our lives form who we are and influence the way we see the world...and I just think that’s something really special.
Woolf explores how we should read books, think about them, critique them, write them— and ultimately renders them as a slice of heaven. As someone who spends most of my day thinking about when and what I’m going to read next, it was a lovely treat. Sheila Heti’s foreword and afterword were both a pleasure to read, too.
All in all, a sweet treat of a book that I feel certain I’ll revisit again and again when I want to muse upon my love of literature.
I really do think reading is a bit of a superpower and this book made me want to hug all of my books and thank them for what they’ve shown me. The books we read in our lives form who we are and influence the way we see the world...and I just think that’s something really special.
October 11, 2023
På gårsdagen bokklubb prøvde jeg å snakke om dette essayet og om Wolfs shawod-shape, men fikk ikke helt fram hva jeg mente om dette. Legger ved dette sitatet fra introduksjonen
”A book is a watery sculpture that lives in the mind once the reading is done. When I think back on the books I have loved, I rarely remember the names of the characters, the plot, or most of the scenes. It is not even the tone or mood I remember, but some residue remains – and that unlikely word is appropriate here – of a unique shape.” - Heti
Så tenk litt på dette om bøkene dere har lest. Hele eassayet kan dere finne her som er absolutt verdt å lese.
In the first place, I want to emphasise the note of interrogation at the end of my title. Even if I could answer the question for myself, the answer would apply only to me and not to you. The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions
Og, notat til meg selv: Les mer Virgina Wolf
”A book is a watery sculpture that lives in the mind once the reading is done. When I think back on the books I have loved, I rarely remember the names of the characters, the plot, or most of the scenes. It is not even the tone or mood I remember, but some residue remains – and that unlikely word is appropriate here – of a unique shape.” - Heti
Så tenk litt på dette om bøkene dere har lest. Hele eassayet kan dere finne her som er absolutt verdt å lese.
In the first place, I want to emphasise the note of interrogation at the end of my title. Even if I could answer the question for myself, the answer would apply only to me and not to you. The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions
Og, notat til meg selv: Les mer Virgina Wolf
October 19, 2020
A ver, desde mi punto de vista no tiene mucho sentido adquirir este libro (unos 7-8 folios, sin exagerar) separado de los demás ensayos sobre literatura de la autora (y recopilados en un solo ejemplar, si mal no recuerdo). Dentro de ese compendio de piezas sí creo que su significado puede crecer y ser más valorado.
El texto es curioso y, por supuesto, de una redacción impoluta, pero no considero que contenga puntos de vista reveladores o indague en algo concreto con suficiente hondura. Lo que, seguramente, tampoco era la intención de la autora.
El texto es curioso y, por supuesto, de una redacción impoluta, pero no considero que contenga puntos de vista reveladores o indague en algo concreto con suficiente hondura. Lo que, seguramente, tampoco era la intención de la autora.
October 24, 2020
Five stars for Woolf, four stars for Heti
#Readathon book number 2 done! A beautiful edition of Woolf's lecture/essay with an introduction and afterword by Sheila Heti. Woolf's writing is full of her typical nuggets of wisdom and unearthly beautiful writing.
"Are they not criminals, books that have wasted our time and sympathy?"
"Facts are a very inferior form of fiction."
"We are consumed with curiosity about the lives of people"
"[Writers] light up and solidify the vague ideas that have been tumbling in the misty depths of our minds."
I liked Heti's afterward "Other Readers," where she writes about the importance of early readers/friends of her work and how influence they have and how crucial their brutal honesty is. It had hardly any explicit connection to Woolf, except the topic of readers (fine by me); the intro, which did, felt rambly and convulated and didn't illuminate or add anything to Woolf for me.
Perhaps as she and Woolf both comment, the job of a critic is very difficult and not the same as a writer or a reader--it doesn't seem to suit Heti here.
#Readathon book number 2 done! A beautiful edition of Woolf's lecture/essay with an introduction and afterword by Sheila Heti. Woolf's writing is full of her typical nuggets of wisdom and unearthly beautiful writing.
"Are they not criminals, books that have wasted our time and sympathy?"
"Facts are a very inferior form of fiction."
"We are consumed with curiosity about the lives of people"
"[Writers] light up and solidify the vague ideas that have been tumbling in the misty depths of our minds."
I liked Heti's afterward "Other Readers," where she writes about the importance of early readers/friends of her work and how influence they have and how crucial their brutal honesty is. It had hardly any explicit connection to Woolf, except the topic of readers (fine by me); the intro, which did, felt rambly and convulated and didn't illuminate or add anything to Woolf for me.
Perhaps as she and Woolf both comment, the job of a critic is very difficult and not the same as a writer or a reader--it doesn't seem to suit Heti here.
December 28, 2023
teen vuodesta 2024 mun virginia woolf -vuoden, harva kirjottaa näin älyllisesti ja luovasti taidokasta tekstiä <3
February 18, 2018
This chapbook edition of a Virginia Woolf lecture was a bonus included in the first package of this year's inaugural edition of the Parisian bookstore Shakespeare and Company's Year of Reading subscription series. The subscription provides 12 books (chosen by the store) over the course of the year in 3 mailings with assorted bookbags, poems typed by the store's "tumbleweeds," bookmarks & posters (based on my 1st package).
I was enormously pleased with the first package which included Exit West (signed edition), Her Body and Other Parties, In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses and The Territory Is Not the Map as well as the Woolf chapbook bonus.
The essay itself makes for a pleasant read with an uplifting, though perhaps somewhat smug, ending. The edition although beautifully presented in its 16 page chapbook format is not the easiest of reading for the eye however. It uses red ink and a rather tiny font (the dies of which were recreated based on samples of the originals which had been thrown into the Thames (based on the historical footnote provided). Of historical interest yes, but not necessarily a favour for the reader.
I was enormously pleased with the first package which included Exit West (signed edition), Her Body and Other Parties, In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses and The Territory Is Not the Map as well as the Woolf chapbook bonus.
The essay itself makes for a pleasant read with an uplifting, though perhaps somewhat smug, ending. The edition although beautifully presented in its 16 page chapbook format is not the easiest of reading for the eye however. It uses red ink and a rather tiny font (the dies of which were recreated based on samples of the originals which had been thrown into the Thames (based on the historical footnote provided). Of historical interest yes, but not necessarily a favour for the reader.
April 23, 2022
Woolf suggests we should read as people who like reading and not like critics who treat books like shooting targets. The introduction and afterword by Sheila Heti is great and I think I liked it more than Virginia's essay. She says she writes for the beta readers, if that's the right term, because she cherishes their opinion more than the final readers.
Η Γουλφ ως συγγραφέας κι η ίδια προτείνει να διαβάζουμε επειδή αγαπάμε την ανάγνωση κι όχι ως κριτικοί, που θεωρούν τα βιβλία στόχους για σκοποβολή.
Αυτό που μου άρεσε περισσότερο, όμως, σ' αυτήν την έκδοση είναι η εισαγωγή και το επίμετρο της Σίλα Χέτι, η οποία απ' ό,τι έψαξα θεωρείται επίσης σημαντική σύγχρονη συγγραφέας. Η Χέτι προσπαθεί να ερμηνεύσει το "σχήμα των βιβλίων" που αναφέρει η Γουλφ κι ως συγγραφέας κι η ίδια λέει ότι γράφει περισσότερο για τους φίλους που διαβάζουν τα βιβλία της σε πρώιμη μορφή και της λένε τη γνώμη τους την οποία εκτιμά ιδιαιτέρως, παρά για τον τελικό αναγνώστη. Μου αρέσει πολύ ο τρόπος που γράφει η τελευταία και θα ψάξω γι' άλλα βιβλία της, μάλλον κι αυτά αμετάφραστα.
Η Γουλφ ως συγγραφέας κι η ίδια προτείνει να διαβάζουμε επειδή αγαπάμε την ανάγνωση κι όχι ως κριτικοί, που θεωρούν τα βιβλία στόχους για σκοποβολή.
Αυτό που μου άρεσε περισσότερο, όμως, σ' αυτήν την έκδοση είναι η εισαγωγή και το επίμετρο της Σίλα Χέτι, η οποία απ' ό,τι έψαξα θεωρείται επίσης σημαντική σύγχρονη συγγραφέας. Η Χέτι προσπαθεί να ερμηνεύσει το "σχήμα των βιβλίων" που αναφέρει η Γουλφ κι ως συγγραφέας κι η ίδια λέει ότι γράφει περισσότερο για τους φίλους που διαβάζουν τα βιβλία της σε πρώιμη μορφή και της λένε τη γνώμη τους την οποία εκτιμά ιδιαιτέρως, παρά για τον τελικό αναγνώστη. Μου αρέσει πολύ ο τρόπος που γράφει η τελευταία και θα ψάξω γι' άλλα βιβλία της, μάλλον κι αυτά αμετάφραστα.
July 22, 2021
Came to this via a recent article by Richard Hughes Gibson on he "idiosynchratic school of reading". Woolf's essay begins by saying that there cannot be any one-glove-fits-all rule about reading, and this essay is in no-way a guidebook on reading. Rather, she offers some suggestions which she feels will help readers derive more pleasure out of reading. Through the essay, she speaks of different genres, what sets them apart and how one can get the most out of it. She encourages readers to step into the authors' shoes in order to enjoy it the best. However, in her section on "rubbish-reading" she seems to imply that stories about mundane facts of life, do not add much value in the long-run. (I would have to disagree with her on this one). Similarly, suggests we compare works with the greatest of the kind to encourage and elevate the general standard of literature, which raise questions of what is the greatest, who decides it, etc. But the most important point of this essay is that reading can be an immensely pleasurable activity and need not be done only for academic pursuit, or chasing some higher goal - a very important and necessary point or us to note.
All in all, a very interesting essay. This will be helpful for academics and those wanting to write book reviews. Particularly recommending to those starting out reading or hesitate to do so because of the immense pressure to read "smart and serious books". Read what makes you happy.
All in all, a very interesting essay. This will be helpful for academics and those wanting to write book reviews. Particularly recommending to those starting out reading or hesitate to do so because of the immense pressure to read "smart and serious books". Read what makes you happy.
July 3, 2020
Absolutely loved reading this gem of a an essay by Woolf, published with a very interesting and engaging Introduction as well as an Afterword. Right from the opening of the essay to its closing lines, i was completely immersed. A must read for all readers. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the ARC.
July 21, 2020
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I had just finished Flush when I came across How Should One Read a Book? and I immediately got the chance of making good on my promise to read more Virginia Woolf.
It would seem that after reading hundreds if not thousands of books, I would have figured out how to read a book. The essay is not so much a guide to reading as a reminder that one should look at their own enjoyment of a book to determine its worth, rather than meekly follow the professional critic. (I always try to do this and have hated many a book steeped in praise and vice versa - the main critique I received at my literature defense was I might have been too stubborn). Many a good book might have been lost to time because of it.
This is a concern which is still present today, as just last weekend I read a modern essay covering much of the same issues. Personally, I'm usually not so much influenced by the professional critic (I don't get a newspaper and they hardly discuss the books I'm interested in reading any way) - at least I don't think so. I get much more from the readers who review books or read from Netgalley, as I do this myself as well. I would probably rate how much I'm influenced as follows: family/friends/colleagues > community reviews > booksellers > the phase of the moon > professional critics.
This edition also contains a for- and afterword by Sheila Heti - which takes up most of this edition, and was also quite interesting to read.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I had just finished Flush when I came across How Should One Read a Book? and I immediately got the chance of making good on my promise to read more Virginia Woolf.
It would seem that after reading hundreds if not thousands of books, I would have figured out how to read a book. The essay is not so much a guide to reading as a reminder that one should look at their own enjoyment of a book to determine its worth, rather than meekly follow the professional critic. (I always try to do this and have hated many a book steeped in praise and vice versa - the main critique I received at my literature defense was I might have been too stubborn). Many a good book might have been lost to time because of it.
This is a concern which is still present today, as just last weekend I read a modern essay covering much of the same issues. Personally, I'm usually not so much influenced by the professional critic (I don't get a newspaper and they hardly discuss the books I'm interested in reading any way) - at least I don't think so. I get much more from the readers who review books or read from Netgalley, as I do this myself as well. I would probably rate how much I'm influenced as follows: family/friends/colleagues > community reviews > booksellers > the phase of the moon > professional critics.
This edition also contains a for- and afterword by Sheila Heti - which takes up most of this edition, and was also quite interesting to read.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
February 15, 2023
Nažalost, nisam video da je neko ovo preveo. Na prelep način nam pokazuje da se svakom piscu kao i delu, prilazi na drugačije načine.
Pokreće mnogo interesantnih pitanja vrednih razmišljanja.
Pokreće mnogo interesantnih pitanja vrednih razmišljanja.
October 21, 2017
(...) Eppure sono poche le persone che chiedono ai libri quello che possono dare. Più comunemente ci ritroviamo davanti ai libri con le idee incerte e confuse, chiedendo alla narrativa di essere vera, alla poesia di essere falsa, alla biografia di essere lusinghiera, alla storia di rafforzare i nostri pregiudizi. Se, quando leggiamo, potessimo mettere da parte tutti questi preconcetti, sarebbe già un buon inizio. Non date ordini al vostro autore, provate a immedesimarvi in lui. Siate per lui un compagno di lavoro e un complice. Se fin da subito vi mostrate riluttanti, dubbiosi e critici, vi precludete di apprezzare nel modo migliore ciò che leggete. Ma se aprite la mente più che potete, allora, fin dal dispiegarsi delle prime frasi, segni e accenni di una sottigliezza quasi impercettibile vi condurranno alla presenza di un essere umano diverso da chiunque altro. Immergetevi nel libro, familiarizzate, e presto scoprirete che il vostro autore vi sta dando, o sta tentando di darvi, qualcosa di più definito.
(...) Mentre leggiamo, possiamo intensificare al massimo il nostro coinvolgimento, possiamo cercare di annullare il più possibile la nostra identità, ma sappiamo pur sempre che non possiamo aderire del tutto o annullarci del tutto; in noi c'è sempre un demone che sussurra: «Io odio, io amo», un demone che non riusciamo a far tacere. Infatti, è proprio perché odiamo e amiamo che il nostro rapporto con i poeti e i romanzieri è così intimo da non ammettere la presenza di nessun altro. E anche se i risultati sono esecrabili e i nostri giudizi errati, nondimeno il nostro gusto – il nervo della sensibilità che ci trasmette gli impulsi – resta la nostra fonte principale: noi apprendiamo attraverso il sentimento, non possiamo mettere a tacere le nostre idiosincrasie senza impoverirlo. Ma con l'andar del tempo potremo forse educare il nostro gusto, magari tenerlo un po' sotto controllo. Solo dopo essersi nutrito con abbondanza e avidità di libri di ogni genere – poesia, narrativa, storia, biografia – ed avere smesso di leggere per contemplare a lungo la varietà, l'incongruità del mondo vivente, solo allora ci accorgiamo che il nostro gusto un po' è cambiato: non è più così avido, è diventato più riflessivo. Inizierà allora non solo a fornirci giudizi sui singoli libri, ma ci dirà anche che tra certi libri esiste una caratteristica comune.
(...) Tuttavia, come lettori abbiamo le nostre responsabilità e la nostra importanza. I criteri da noi scaturiti, insieme ai giudizi da noi espressi, si insinuano nell'aria fino a diventare parte dell'atmosfera respirata dagli scrittori durante il loro lavoro. Si viene a creare un'influenza che, pur non approdando mai all'onore della stampa, finisce per incidere su di loro. E quella influenza, se ben preparata, vigorosa, originale e autentica, può anche rivestire una grande importanza ora che la critica è inevitabilmente vacante: quando i libri vengono passati in rassegna come animali in processione in un poligono di tiro, e il critico ha a disposizione solo un secondo per caricare, puntare e far fuoco, allora lo si può scusare se scambia i conigli per tigri, le aquile per fagiani, oppure li manca del tutto, sprecando il suo colpo su una pacifica mucca che bruca in un campo lì accanto. Se dietro all'erratico mirino della stampa l'autore sentisse che c'è un altro tipo di critica, l'opinione della gente che legge per puro amore della lettura, lentamente e liberamente, e che giudica con grande indulgenza ma anche con grande severità, non potrebbe forse questo migliorare la qualità del suo lavoro? E se grazie a noi i libri dovessero diventare più solidi, più ricchi e più vari, questo sarebbe un fine ben degno di essere perseguito.
(...) Mentre leggiamo, possiamo intensificare al massimo il nostro coinvolgimento, possiamo cercare di annullare il più possibile la nostra identità, ma sappiamo pur sempre che non possiamo aderire del tutto o annullarci del tutto; in noi c'è sempre un demone che sussurra: «Io odio, io amo», un demone che non riusciamo a far tacere. Infatti, è proprio perché odiamo e amiamo che il nostro rapporto con i poeti e i romanzieri è così intimo da non ammettere la presenza di nessun altro. E anche se i risultati sono esecrabili e i nostri giudizi errati, nondimeno il nostro gusto – il nervo della sensibilità che ci trasmette gli impulsi – resta la nostra fonte principale: noi apprendiamo attraverso il sentimento, non possiamo mettere a tacere le nostre idiosincrasie senza impoverirlo. Ma con l'andar del tempo potremo forse educare il nostro gusto, magari tenerlo un po' sotto controllo. Solo dopo essersi nutrito con abbondanza e avidità di libri di ogni genere – poesia, narrativa, storia, biografia – ed avere smesso di leggere per contemplare a lungo la varietà, l'incongruità del mondo vivente, solo allora ci accorgiamo che il nostro gusto un po' è cambiato: non è più così avido, è diventato più riflessivo. Inizierà allora non solo a fornirci giudizi sui singoli libri, ma ci dirà anche che tra certi libri esiste una caratteristica comune.
(...) Tuttavia, come lettori abbiamo le nostre responsabilità e la nostra importanza. I criteri da noi scaturiti, insieme ai giudizi da noi espressi, si insinuano nell'aria fino a diventare parte dell'atmosfera respirata dagli scrittori durante il loro lavoro. Si viene a creare un'influenza che, pur non approdando mai all'onore della stampa, finisce per incidere su di loro. E quella influenza, se ben preparata, vigorosa, originale e autentica, può anche rivestire una grande importanza ora che la critica è inevitabilmente vacante: quando i libri vengono passati in rassegna come animali in processione in un poligono di tiro, e il critico ha a disposizione solo un secondo per caricare, puntare e far fuoco, allora lo si può scusare se scambia i conigli per tigri, le aquile per fagiani, oppure li manca del tutto, sprecando il suo colpo su una pacifica mucca che bruca in un campo lì accanto. Se dietro all'erratico mirino della stampa l'autore sentisse che c'è un altro tipo di critica, l'opinione della gente che legge per puro amore della lettura, lentamente e liberamente, e che giudica con grande indulgenza ma anche con grande severità, non potrebbe forse questo migliorare la qualità del suo lavoro? E se grazie a noi i libri dovessero diventare più solidi, più ricchi e più vari, questo sarebbe un fine ben degno di essere perseguito.
September 20, 2023
If the sum of Virginia Woolf’s works were represented as an ornate ring, this miniature essay would be an impossibly tiny diamond among many, overshadowed by the larger diamonds in the center of the ring. The few half-carat stones steal the show, perhaps rightfully so, but we tragically miss the intricate detailing that goes into the faceting of such a small piece.
I will trust the jurisdictions of the duly accredited Virginia Woolf on how one should approach a book. Considering the year—1926–and the audience—young girls—the prospect of delving into the intimidating realm of literature is daunting. How could a young woman not feel apprehension towards reading when it seems only a very select few of the population are privy to the understandings of books? How could one ever amount to a meritorious literary critic, one who is seemingly more omniscient in the story than the author himself? How ashamed she will be when she opens up any book hailed as a masterpiece—say, The Odyssey, or Great Expectations—and finds that she doesn’t understand all of the references and nuances that the masters of reading do. It is not necessarily the books or the authors themselves that set up the hobby to seem like there is no room for error, but the critics themselves that present their opinions as if that is the one Way?
To summarize, Virginia Woolf does not want readers to exalt critics, or any outside influence for that matter, but to instead embrace their own opinions and takes, even if they are not necessarily unbiased or impersonal. There is great value in any and every opinion. Certainly, the opinion of a passionate reader is more valuable than the opinion of someone who cranks out books on a quota as if on an assembly line.
So, how should one read a book? Woolf doesn’t impose her process of reading so much as she simply outlines it. She believes there are two steps to reading. The first step is intimating openly and earnestly with the author’s words, and indirectly, the unspoken. The other step is digesting what you have learned from the pages. You do not complete the book when you read the last word and close the cover; it is finished when you recognize the book not as many cogs and screws, but rather a machine in its whole. Instead of seeing the book as lines and chapters, you see it as the big picture, the message, the abstraction. She also believes that it is worth reading books of all kinds of genres because even books written as informational as opposed to artistic still capture the beauty in the mundane, and it is also worth our time to broaden our knowledge and better our capacity judge the value of the books we have read.
It is always a good reminder to readers that their opinions are sufficient enough, and that they do not need to live up to any critic or “earn” the right to have thoughts on the books they have read. After all, comparison is the thief of joy.
I will trust the jurisdictions of the duly accredited Virginia Woolf on how one should approach a book. Considering the year—1926–and the audience—young girls—the prospect of delving into the intimidating realm of literature is daunting. How could a young woman not feel apprehension towards reading when it seems only a very select few of the population are privy to the understandings of books? How could one ever amount to a meritorious literary critic, one who is seemingly more omniscient in the story than the author himself? How ashamed she will be when she opens up any book hailed as a masterpiece—say, The Odyssey, or Great Expectations—and finds that she doesn’t understand all of the references and nuances that the masters of reading do. It is not necessarily the books or the authors themselves that set up the hobby to seem like there is no room for error, but the critics themselves that present their opinions as if that is the one Way?
To summarize, Virginia Woolf does not want readers to exalt critics, or any outside influence for that matter, but to instead embrace their own opinions and takes, even if they are not necessarily unbiased or impersonal. There is great value in any and every opinion. Certainly, the opinion of a passionate reader is more valuable than the opinion of someone who cranks out books on a quota as if on an assembly line.
So, how should one read a book? Woolf doesn’t impose her process of reading so much as she simply outlines it. She believes there are two steps to reading. The first step is intimating openly and earnestly with the author’s words, and indirectly, the unspoken. The other step is digesting what you have learned from the pages. You do not complete the book when you read the last word and close the cover; it is finished when you recognize the book not as many cogs and screws, but rather a machine in its whole. Instead of seeing the book as lines and chapters, you see it as the big picture, the message, the abstraction. She also believes that it is worth reading books of all kinds of genres because even books written as informational as opposed to artistic still capture the beauty in the mundane, and it is also worth our time to broaden our knowledge and better our capacity judge the value of the books we have read.
It is always a good reminder to readers that their opinions are sufficient enough, and that they do not need to live up to any critic or “earn” the right to have thoughts on the books they have read. After all, comparison is the thief of joy.
July 8, 2020
I have always been a reader but if I look back, my years of reading are interspersed with periods where I didn't see the point of escapism. Life was engaging then, less things to worry about, nights when I would fall in bed tired and overwhelmed. But books have a way of entangling themselves with your soul. They breach your personality and mind in a way that you feel empty if a day goes by without them in your hands, maybe a page read, but better a page than no reading at all.
This morning I picked up Woolf's '𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅?' and as insightful as it is, it also gave me a new way to look at books, especially memoirs and biographies, books that tend to get boring, devoid of artistic writing and full of facts.
Woolf wants us to be a friend, but also a judge of sorts. Harshness should be paired with a sensitive and emotional analysis of a book, a thing that the authors would appreciate. As a reader we must 'try to become him' [the author], his 'fellow-worker and accomplice'. One must be prepared to revisit the past with verve. 'Rubbish-reading' can be fun if you look at it from the author's perspective.
"Facts are all they can offer us, and facts are a very inferior form of fiction."
When it comes to poetry, the poet 'is our contemporary'. We let the lines seep in and pull us into a whirlwind of emotions, the specific ones the poet is trying to recreate. But be it any form of literature, it's true nature and its impact can only be felt after the dust has settled and we have spent many a days thinking about that book.
Woolf rightly points out that as human we make assumptions and pass judgements too early, but that is the nature of the people privileged enough to call themselves 'critics'. As readers, it is imperative to read 'for the love of reading' because 'The standards we raise and the judgements we pass steal into the air and become part of the atmosphere which writers breathe as they work'.
This essay by Virginia Woolf gives you a perspective. The goal is to do justice to what we read, to judge not too harshly but fairly, our idiosyncrasies kept aside as we read.
This morning I picked up Woolf's '𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅?' and as insightful as it is, it also gave me a new way to look at books, especially memoirs and biographies, books that tend to get boring, devoid of artistic writing and full of facts.
Woolf wants us to be a friend, but also a judge of sorts. Harshness should be paired with a sensitive and emotional analysis of a book, a thing that the authors would appreciate. As a reader we must 'try to become him' [the author], his 'fellow-worker and accomplice'. One must be prepared to revisit the past with verve. 'Rubbish-reading' can be fun if you look at it from the author's perspective.
"Facts are all they can offer us, and facts are a very inferior form of fiction."
When it comes to poetry, the poet 'is our contemporary'. We let the lines seep in and pull us into a whirlwind of emotions, the specific ones the poet is trying to recreate. But be it any form of literature, it's true nature and its impact can only be felt after the dust has settled and we have spent many a days thinking about that book.
Woolf rightly points out that as human we make assumptions and pass judgements too early, but that is the nature of the people privileged enough to call themselves 'critics'. As readers, it is imperative to read 'for the love of reading' because 'The standards we raise and the judgements we pass steal into the air and become part of the atmosphere which writers breathe as they work'.
This essay by Virginia Woolf gives you a perspective. The goal is to do justice to what we read, to judge not too harshly but fairly, our idiosyncrasies kept aside as we read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 372 reviews