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Orlando
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
With an Introduction and Notes by Merry M. Pawlowski, Professor and Chair, Department of English, California State University, Bakersfield. Virginia Woolf's Orlando 'The longest and most charming love letter in literature', playfully constructs the figure of Orlando as the fictional embodiment of Woolf's close friend and lover, Vita Sackville-West. Spanning three centuries, the novel opens as Orlando, a young nobleman in Elizabeth's England, awaits a visit from the Queen and traces his experience with first love as England under James I lies locked in the embrace of the Great Frost. At the midpoint of the novel, Orlando, now an ambassador in Costantinople, awakes to find that he is a woman, and the novel indulges in farce and irony to consider the roles of women in the 18th and 19th centuries. As the novel ends in 1928, a year consonant with full suffrage for women. Orlando, now a wife and mother, stands poised at the brink of a future that holds new hope and promise for women.
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IndoorDame
Orlando | Virginia Woolf
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#AboutABook #ClassicYouRead @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I was so excited to finally get a chance to read this past classic this winter!

Eggs Beautiful 😍 3mo
58 likes1 comment
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Leniverse
Orlando | Virginia Woolf

"But if rapiers are forbidden, one must have recourse to toads. Moreover toads and laughter between them sometimes do what cold steel cannot."

(Orlando wishes she could challenge an unwanted suitor to a duel, but gets rid of him by dropping a small toad down his collar and laughing at him.)

sarahbarnes One of my favorite books of all time. 4mo
36 likes1 comment
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Leniverse
Orlando | Virginia Woolf

'"The sky is blue,' he said, 'the grass is green.' Looking up, he saw that, on the contrary, the sky is like the veils which a thousand Madonnas have let fall from their hair; and the grass fleets and darkens like a flight of girls fleeing the embraces of hairy satyrs from enchanted woods."

(Orlando tries, and fails, to purge himself of metaphor ?)

25 likes3 stack adds
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Leniverse
Orlando | Virginia Woolf

'But worse was to come. For once the disease of reading has laid hold upon the system it weakens it so that it falls an easy prey to that other scourge which dwells in the inkpot and festers in the quill. The wretch takes to writing.'

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Daisey
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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“Better was it to go unknown and leave behind you an arch, a potting shed, a wall where peaches ripen, than to burn like a meteor and leave no dust.”
- Virginia Woolf, Orlando

#1001books #quote

BookmarkTavern Love this quote. 💕 6mo
Daisey @BookmarkTavern Agreed! I marked it early in the book and kept coming back to it. 6mo
49 likes2 comments
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Daisey
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Pickpick

This book took me a long time to read but only because I set it aside a few times when life was busy. I‘m not generally a fan of Woolf‘s style, but I liked this the best of her books I‘ve read so far. It‘s an intriguing take on life, gender, and time. I found it fascinating how Orlando seemed perfectly able to fit into every period of time, and no one questioned these random people living hundreds of years.

#1001books #SerialReader

merelybookish I'm reading her diaries right now and she's writing Orlando. She considered it a lark and had fun writing it. I think that comes through! 6mo
BarbaraBB My favorite Woolf too! 6mo
Daisey @merelybookish I can complete see that. It really does just feel fun in many places. 6mo
47 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Nathan_Opland-Dobs
Orlando | Woolf, Virginia
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Mehso-so

🙄

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Daisey
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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teg: (noun) a sheep in its second year

I know a decent number of livestock terms, but this was a new one for me.

#WeirdWords #WeirdWordWednesday

PaperbackPirate That‘s a new one for me too. Thanks for sharing! 🤓 9mo
CBee Nice! Thanks for sharing 😊 9mo
45 likes2 comments
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IndoorDame
Orlando | Virginia Woolf
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Pickpick

I‘ve always been a fan of Woolf‘s writing style so it‘s not a surprise that I loved this. She manages to fit all the hallmarks of an epic story into this 235 page novel, and she explores some of the questions about identity and self that I‘m most interested in. #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

Karisa 😍 10mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Pretty photo! 💜🤎 10mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 10mo
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IndoorDame
Orlando | Virginia Woolf
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#midwintersolace

Settling into my blanket nest for tonight‘s #hyggehour with my #doublespin book. I left off in the middle of the Frost Fair and I can‘t wait to get back to that magic scene!

Chrissyreadit 🤍🤍🤍🤍 10mo
TheBookHippie ♥️ 10mo
AllDebooks Wonderful ❄️ 🩵❄️ 10mo
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GatheringBooks
Orlando | Virginia Woolf
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#BookBinge Day 31: We share #BookishQuote(s) every Tuesday over at GatheringBooks. Here is yesterday‘s quote and also seen here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-pyq

Eggs Serene☺️ 1y
50 likes1 stack add1 comment
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broughtyoubooks
Orlando | Virginia Wolf
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Bookfest Day 1: found a few good books, have previously read Crimson and the Dubliners section of James Joyce

Soubhiville Old Clive Barker! I used to devour his books. This one was 😱 2y
wanderinglynn Great haul! 2y
broughtyoubooks @Soubhiville friend picked this one up and basically threw it to me, since I'm trying to get into Clive Barker 🥰 2y
72 likes3 comments
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Tonton
Orlando | Woolf V.
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Cover of the first Japanese translation of Virginia Woolf‘s Orlando (1931, trans. Oda Masanobu).

batsy Perfect cover ♥️ 2y
Tonton @batsy 🌟❣️ 2y
29 likes2 comments
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Paus0312
Orlando | Virginia Woolf

“La vida es sueño. El despertar nos mata. Quien me roba los sueños,me roba la vida…”

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Paus0312
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf

“Las ilusiones son al alma lo que la atmósfera es a la tierra”

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SkeletonKey
Orlando | Woolf, Virginia
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Zooming through Orlando. 🥰

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Paus0312
Orlando | Virginia Wolf
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Finally been able to enjoy a great book and listen to the waves

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SkeletonKey
Orlando | Virginia Wolf
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First trip to any kind of theatre in two years. The precautions made me feel safe and I really couldn‘t pass up this interpretation of a favorite. I enjoyed it so much!

Clare-Dragonfly That‘s wonderful! I really need to read this. 3y
Palimpsest I haven‘t read this and just know a smidge about it, but I love the cover design on your program. 3y
SkeletonKey @Clare-Dragonfly - I‘m going to read it next I think! 3y
SkeletonKey @Palimpsest - Agreed, they did a really great job! 3y
28 likes4 comments
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Pastelsandpages
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Mehso-so

I‘ve read better classics. Started off good but got confusing towards the end and it was pretty uneventful after Orlando became a woman tbh. Also, I understand it was written during a time filled with different social standings, but all evident gender roles and assumptions of what makes a man and what makes a woman was difficult for me to absorb, even though the discussion of such in the book makes it important.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#orlando #virginiawoolf

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effani
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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My February #BookSpin list! @TheAromaofBooks

I'm joining @xicanti in taking February off from reading American authors, so the list looks a little different this time.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Looks great!! 4y
xicanti Love it! 4y
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Liz_M
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Knock, knock.
Who‘s there?
Orlando.
Orlando who?
Knock, knock.
Who‘s there?
Orlando.
Orlando who?
Knock, knock.
Who‘s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
ORANGE YOU GLAD I DIDN‘T SAY ORLANDO!

#12ColoursofDecember #wintergames2020 #merryreaders, @Clwojick
+10 +1 points

Rehesina This is such a beautiful colour! 4y
vivastory 😂LIZ 4y
BarbaraBB 😂😂 4y
sarahbarnes Beautiful edition! 😍😍 4y
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GatheringBooks
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Jari-chan
Orlando | Woolf, Virginia
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Panpan

And again I'm visiting town #unpopularopinion

I'm aware that this book is an important add to the LGBT community and that Woolf wrote an important book.

But it just wasn't mine. Precisely, I couldn't read her language. Or the language of the translation. This just wasn't my way of getting into a story. Not at all.

I got through with it, because it's my #DoubleSpin for the #BookSpinBingo

@TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Great progress! 4y
Jari-chan @TheAromaofBooks Thank you ❤️ 4y
charl08 I can't imagine how anyone would translate this book - the meaning is very slippery/ opaque in the original, I think. 4y
Jari-chan @charl08 Maybe I'll try to read it in the original whrn it comes to happen 😊 4y
21 likes4 comments
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sleepy.ash87
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Pickpick

Vita Sackville-West posing as Orlando. I am captivated by the photographs and illustrations in this book! What a gem for Virginia Woolf to leave us.

This book is a pick for me. It helped motivate me to learn more about Woolf and this time of her life. This story is a reflection on identity, balancing the masculine and the feminine, sexuality, and the politics of expression. It is emotive and insightful; beautiful, important like all her work.

Tanisha_A Great review! I love Virginia Woolf, very excited to read this. 🙂 4y
sleepy.ash87 @Tanisha_A I am excited for you! It was quite experimental. I hope you enjoy! 4y
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sleepy.ash87
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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I love this passage because I see so much of myself in Orlando, the woman. I am feminine in that I am sensitive and emotional (though I think many of us would have trouble seeing a "donkey beaten or kitten drowned"), yet I also detest housework, love riding horses, and take pride in my knowledge of plants and ecology, having grown up on a longleaf pine farm and now live on my husband's family's longleaf pine farm. Please, no math, though!

(Cont.)

sleepy.ash87 Our definitions of "male" and "female" expressions have changed to some degree since Virginia. We are all a happy blend of both... Even if this causes strain for some who conform rigidly to cisgender norms 4y
sleepy.ash87 I am not sure why I am sharing this... I should be cleaning the kitchen right now, really. I just think I would have enjoyed Orlando and perhaps the actual Vita, who inspired Orlando's making! 4y
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sleepy.ash87
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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"No passion is stronger in the breast of man than the desire to make others believe as he believes. Nothing so cuts at the root of his happiness and fills him with rage as the sense that another rates low what he prizes high."

❤️❤️"It is not love of truth, but desire to prevail that sets quarter against quarter and makes parish desire the downfall of parish. Each seeks peace of mind...rather than the triumph of truth and...virtue."

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sleepy.ash87
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Perhaps Woolf comes to us when we most need her. I was so inspired by my recent read of 'To the Lighthouse,' I have checked out this little yellow book from the library. I was aware of my oppression as a woman before, yet Virginia's narratives bring new, emotional light to these ancient issues. I hope I'll find another Lily Briscoe in 'Orlando.' Also, my husband recorded the movie on the DVR for when I finish the book. Very exciting.

sleepy.ash87 @SamAnne -- !!!!!! Thanks for the recommendation 📚 4y
SamAnne @sleepy.ash87 Hope you enjoy it. I‘ve been wanting to rewatch the movie. 4y
sleepy.ash87 @SamAnne It will be my first time! I am curious! 4y
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Paperback.Propensity
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Pickpick

Orlando is pretty good. Not my favorite Woolf novel, but I enjoyed it.

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Liz_M
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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I don't reread often, but here are #3books that I have read more than once.

@OriginalCyn620, @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

OriginalCyn620 👍🏻📚👍🏻 4y
17 likes1 comment
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AvidReader25
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Mehso-so

I can't believe this book was published in 1928 almost 100 years ago! It‘s a fascinating classic, particularly in its views on gender & the roles assigned to women and men in our society. It feels very modern though I didn‘t care deeply about Orlando.

“As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects to a woman thinking.”

“By the truth we are undone. Life is a dream. 'Tis the waking that kills us. He who robs us of our dreams robs us of our life.”

SamAnne I loved this book when I read it 20 plus years ago and am planning a reread in the next year. So before it‘s time. (edited) 4y
AvidReader25 @SamAnne I completely agree it‘s way before it‘s time. I was left wishing I cared more deeply about Orlando‘s life, but I loved her reflections on gender roles in society. 4y
19 likes2 comments
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charl08
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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I was sorely tempted.

Tanisha_A Wow! That copy has my eyes 😍 4y
charl08 @Tanisha_A I was tempted to take it home. 4y
SamAnne Oh, love that one. 4y
readordierachel Gorgeous! 4y
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Addison_Reads
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Pickpick

This is the first Virginia Woolf I've read, and although I gave it a pick, I can't say that I loved it as much as others.

The writing is certainly beautiful, but at times I got a bit bored with the overall momentum of the story.

I will certainly be reading more by this author though because her execution of the written word is something of a masterpiece.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks I've never read anything by Woolf somehow! 4y
34 likes1 comment
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Abailliekaras
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Writing my review for Orlando - sooo many tags! 😂💕

SamAnne I‘m planning a reread his year! 4y
Abailliekaras @SamAnne I just loved it. I never re-read but this would be an exception. 🥰 4y
36 likes2 comments
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bookaddict30
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Panpan

Rating: 3 ⭐⭐⭐
Review:
It's so hard how to review this since so !uch bothered me while reading this book.

The old time language speaking was bothersome to me. I'll read more books by Virginia Woolf but this one just wasn't for me!!

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bookaddict30
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Starting Book 14 of July and Book 109 of 2020!!

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Abailliekaras
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Matching book and outfit 😜

SamAnne Love Orlando! 4y
batsy Beautiful copy! 4y
Abailliekaras @batsy it‘s a Folio edition. 💕 @samanne I loved it! 4y
28 likes3 comments
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Qpri
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Swimming in lyrical prose! 🤓

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Valhalla
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Pickpick

A very different book. But all in all I loved it...don't mind pictures they can be deceiving

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Nute
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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I don‘t think that I have ever said this on Litsy before:
I GOT BOOK MAIL!😆 Many thanks to @EclecticReaders for this lovely gift. The #11thHourReadathon was a wonderful way to end my reading pleasure for 2019 and then to be gifted a book of choice on top of that..I‘m ecstatic and grateful!💕

Lcsmcat Loved this one! You have a treat in store. 5y
EclecticReaders Yay! Glad it arrived and hope you enjoy it! 5y
Tanisha_A 😍 5y
MemoirsForMe Yay for you! 🎉👏🏻👏🏻 5y
100 likes4 comments
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merelybookish
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Pickpick

I know I read this as an undergrad but don't remember much beyond watching the Tilda Swinton adaptation in class. I expect I found it all strange. But now, in another age, I marvel at Woolf's wit, invention, and prescience. As Orlando moves through historical periods, transforming from man to woman, Woolf explores the shifting gender constructs in ways that still feel radical while also being fun and whimsical. And, as usual, her prose dazzles.

merelybookish Only one more novel, and I will have read all Woolf's novels. But still a ton of her essays, letters and diaries remain for 2020. 5y
Liz_M I also read this in college and then again this year. I had forgotten how delightful it is! 5y
merelybookish @Liz_M I don't think I realized how delightful it was at 20. But I sure do now! And it's playful in a way her other novels aren't. 5y
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batsy Nicely put! 💜 This was my first Woolf, in my late teens ... loved it but definitely due for a revisit to appreciate all that I missed the first time. 5y
LeahBergen I‘ve been meaning to read this ever since reading more about Vita Sackville West (and that she was the inspiration for Orlando and Woolf gifted her the manuscript). 5y
merelybookish @batsy I think one of my takeaways from reading her novels is that they merit multiple re-readings! 5y
merelybookish @LeahBergen Yes, I'm curious about that as well. I couldn't help but wonder at in-jokes, and if all the compliments heaped upon Orlando aren't really meant for Vita. Plus I think it accounts for the playful tone, which feels different from her other works. 5y
youneverarrived I love this cover. Which novel have you got left to read? Have you got a favourite so far? 5y
merelybookish @youneverarrived I love this cover too! (Not mine, unfortunately.) I have her last one left, Between the Acts. It might have been published posthumously, not sure. As for a favourite...I have a few but I still think To the Lighthouse is her masterpiece. But I'm hoping to do a ranking post once I'm done. 🙂 5y
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jmtrivera
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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Pickpick

This is a difficult book to review. It reminds me of being in college. It's full of layers & asides & just a million details, big & small, that made me think. Orlando's early days as a young man are set up as a clear contrast to her later days as a grown woman; at the same time they flow together naturally. It was a slow beginning, but when I found my flow, I found it. I didn't always enjoy it, but it's worth pondering & discussing more.

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merelybookish
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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#weeklyforecast brought to you by my 1960s angel that I love. 😀
Finish: 📗 Orlando 📗 She Loves You 🎧Your House Will Pay
Start: 📗The Expendable Man 📗Between the Acts 🎧 A #TOB longlister (or maybe two 🤞)
@Cinfhen

Centique What a gorgeous angel! 5y
Prairiegirl_reading That angel is so adorable!!! 5y
BarbaraBB Such good reading plans! I hope you enjoy Orlando and The Expendable Man. And I hope #ToB will publish it‘s shortlist this week! 5y
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Aimeesue She's lovely! 5y
merelybookish @Centique @Prairiegirl_reading Thank you! I bought her on sale last year after Xmas so enjoying her this year! 👼 5y
merelybookish @BarbaraBB Announcing the short list would definitely simplify my TBR! 😂 5y
LeahBergen I love that angel! ❤️ 5y
batsy She's lovely 💚 5y
merelybookish @batsy @LeahBergen Glad you guys think so too! 5y
56 likes9 comments
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merelybookish
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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You know, I don't even mind the movie tie-in cover. But did they have to put the sticker on her face?! 🙄
(What I get for buying cheap books online.)

Liz_M 😕 But at least the contents are excellent -- it is such a fun book of you are okay with magical realism! 5y
LeahBergen Gahhh! 😠 5y
merelybookish @Liz_M Yes, I read it years ago for a class, but it's been so long it's almost like I'm reading it for the first time! 5y
See All 6 Comments
Lcsmcat A hairdryer blown on the sticker can often loosen the glue enough to remove them without damaging the cover. 5y
readordierachel Ugh! A little lighter fluid and a blade can remove most stickers. 5y
Liz_M @readordierachel Or lighter fluid and a match will really make the sticker (and the book and maybe the table...) disappear. 😂 5y
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Lcsmcat
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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merelybookish Still true. 🙄 5y
Graywacke Oye 5y
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EclecticReaders
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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In this month‘s episode, Susan, Tara, and Meredith talk all about the Non Fiction genre in celebration of #NonFictionNovember, announce the next #11thHourReadathon, and discuss the gender-bending Classic Orlando. Listen at eclecticreaders.fireside.fm/71 or on podcast apps under Eclectic Readers! #EclecticReaders #Podcast #NFNov

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Merethebookgal
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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I had so much fun discussing the Non Fiction genre for #NonFictionNovember and the gender bending novel Orlando in this episode! Listen at eclecticreaders.fireside.fm/71 or podcast apps under Eclectic Readers #EclecticReaders

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BarbaraBB
Orlando: A Biography | Virginia Woolf
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“Near London Bridge, a wrecked wherry boat was plainly visible, lying on the bed of the river where it had sunk last autumn. The old bumboat woman, who was carrying her fruit to market on the Surrey side, sat there in her plaids and farthingales with her lap full of apples, for all the world as if she were about to serve a customer, though a certain blueness about the lips hinted the truth."

Cinfhen Lovely images 5y
JennyM Bumboat woman - what a description ❄️ 5y
batsy Love this quote and image! 5y
See All 10 Comments
BarbaraBB @JennyM @batsy I‘ll never forget Woolf‘s descriptions of the frozen Thames. So vivid ❤️ 5y
Billypar One of my all -time favorites, and I love the frozen Thames part! 5y
KarenUK Love this 😍💕 5y
merelybookish Beautiful! I'm hoping to re-read this before the month ends! 5y
BarbaraBB @Billypar It‘s unforgettable 💙 5y
youneverarrived This scene is so vivid 💙 5y
Severnmeadows A very beautiful picture! 5y
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