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Selected Essays
Selected Essays | Virginia Woolf
10 posts | 1 read | 4 to read
'A good essay must draw its curtain round us, but it must be a curtain that shuts us in, not out.' According to Virginia Woolf, the goal of the essay 'is simply that it should give pleasure...It should lay us under a spell with its first word, and we should only wake, refreshed, with its last.' One of the best practitioners of the art she analysed so rewardingly, Woolf displayed her essay-writing skills across a wide range of subjects, with all the craftsmanship, substance, and rich allure of her novels. This selection brings together thirty of her best essays, including the famous 'Mr Bennett and Mrs Brown', a clarion call for modern fiction. She discusses the arts of writing and of reading, and the particular role and reputation of women writers. She writes movingly about her father and the art of biography, and of the London scene in the early decades of the twentieth century. Overall, these pieces are as indispensable to an understanding of this great writer as they are enchanting in their own right. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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LitDrivenGirl
Selected Essays | Virginia Woolf
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When I bought this at IKEA I only knew I wanted my pens to be better organized above my desk. Then I was cleaning in preparation for hanging the rail up and decided I should use one of the cups for all my bookmarks. No excuses for not knowing where one is now! I also learned I hate power tools and if I have a daughter I will find someone to teach her to use them...talk about frustration with your own lack of abilities 😝.

annahenke Love this set up! 6y
LitDrivenGirl @annahenke thank you 😊! 6y
Soubhiville It looks great! 6y
LitDrivenGirl @Soubhiville thank you 😁! 6y
10 likes4 comments
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merelybookish
Selected Essays | Virginia Woolf
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1. Freshly baked bread. (Carbs be damned.)
2. Virginia Woolf. Her fiction, her essays, her diaries, her letters. Sounds kind of amazing. 🤔
3. Nick 🦊 in Zootopia. Jason Bateman in any form. 👍
4. I'm transitioning from night 🦉 to early 🐦 🤷
5. Hey @gradcat @Beatlefan129 @RyeAnnUh
@jesshowreads #friyayintro

CouronneDhiver My job has me desperately trying to transition to early birding ... I feel jet lagged without the cool vacation to blame. 🤪 6y
merelybookish @CouronneDhiver I understand! It makes me sad but the reality of my life now is that early is when I can get the most peace and be productive. I can't get much done at night. 6y
LeahBergen Yes to # 1 and 2! 👏🏻👏🏻 6y
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gradcat I hate doing that transition...but I love Jason Bateman! 6y
Cathythoughts Carbs be damned is right ! I love it ❤️I could live on fresh crusty loafs 😋the best (edited) 6y
merelybookish @leahbergen @Cathythoughts Man may not live on bread alone but I could last a very long time!! 🥖🥖🥖🥖🍞🍞🍞🍞 6y
Gezemice Nick! 😍 6y
52 likes7 comments
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wanderlustforwords
Selected Essays | Virginia Woolf
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One of my favorite authors with a life that entrances and lures me. My favorite book so far is her feminist novella, A Room of One‘s Own. Are you in the 👍 or 👎 Woolf camp? #virginiawoolf #read #classic

15 likes4 comments
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Moray_Reads
Selected Essays | Virginia Woolf
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Professions for Women, 1931

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Moray_Reads
Selected Essays | Virginia Woolf
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saresmoore Whoa. Yes, I must read these essays! 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore My compilation is from the Folio Society (of course it is) and isn't on the Litsy database but I'm sure there are countless others and I'm certain they're all worth reading 7y
saresmoore I appreciate what you're actually saying, but all I can hear is, "Sara, get the Folio Society edition!" 7y
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Moray_Reads @saresmoore I put significant effort into not saying it but obviously it's beautiful and includes copies of paintings by Virginia's sister Vanessa Bell, amongst others. I got mine second-hand but pristine from abebooks 7y
saresmoore I found myself a fine second-hand copy from AbeBooks just moments ago! 😁 7y
rubyslippersreads @Moray_Reads @saresmoore Now I'm going to be hunting for the Folio edition. 😄 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore 🙌🙌 Hurray for the inexplicable people who sell their copies on! 7y
rubyslippersreads @saresmoore @Moray_Reads Is it A Room of One's Own & Other Essays? 7y
saresmoore @Moray_Reads It must be estate sales. But even then, did they never read them?? I'm just not that kind of bibliophile. 7y
LeahBergen Ooo, must buy. I've pretty much stopped buying Folio new and only buy second-hand now. 👍🏼 @saresmoore (edited) 7y
rubyslippersreads @LeahBergen I'm making an exception for the half-price sale. 😄 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore @LeahBergen @rubyslippersreads I buy then wherever I can get my hands on them 😬. This one is so good, we'll be causing a run on Virginia Woolf Folio books! 7y
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Moray_Reads
Selected Essays | Virginia Woolf
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Virginia Woolf urges female reviewers and writers to silence (by violence if necessary!) "the Angel of the House", that internal voice which urges you to moderate your opinions, conciliate and flatter ??

TrishB There is a book about Sylvia Plath called Killing The Angel in the House 😀 7y
saresmoore I love this! It's a significant and sadly timeless reminder. 7y
Moray_Reads @TrishB That seems very fitting! 7y
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Moray_Reads @saresmoore I am loving the collection of essays I'm reading. It's wide-ranging of subject, some are short, some are long, but every one is exquisitely written, insightful and often full of wonderful sly humour and irony. I ❤ Virginia, her sad life just breaks my heart 7y
LeahBergen @Moray_Reads @saresmoore After reading Mrs Dalloway last year, I picked up a biography of her (and Leonard) to read. Well, when I finally got to the suicide note she left for him ... oh, man. I SOBBED. I think it was the first time I actually ever cried in a biography. 7y
saresmoore @LeahBergen Wow. I can imagine! I think that'll be a must-read for me, too. 7y
batsy These excerpts are so amazing. I recently bought a book of her essays and really can't wait to dig into them without interruption. 7y
TrishB @Moray_Reads have to admit I haven't read much Woolf - but you are pricking my curiosity, sighs....more for the tbr. 7y
Moray_Reads @LeahBergen @saresmoore it's a terrible thing that a suicide note can be so beautiful. Max Richter had done an album of music inspired by her writing. It's wonderful and the final song includes the note read by Gillian Anderson (I think). It's really beautifully done but often I have to skip forwards because it's just so sad 7y
Moray_Reads @LeahBergen do you know the author of the Virginia/Leonard biography you read? There are a few and I'd like to get one recommended by someone I trust! 7y
41 likes10 comments
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Moray_Reads
Selected Essays | Virginia Woolf
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vivastory Your quotes are reminding me of how badly I need to read Virginia Woolf 7y
Moray_Reads @vivastory oh, so badly! Her essays are very accessible and relatable and there's a delightful humour in them that isn't always as clear in her fiction. But I've loved everything I've read so far, fiction and nonfiction 7y
vivastory @Moray_Reads I'm going to definitely read "Mrs. Dalloway" this week. I've been putting her off for far too long. 7y
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Moray_Reads
Selected Essays | Virginia Woolf
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KCorter 7y
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Moray_Reads
Selected Essays | Virginia Woolf
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Virginia Woolf on film adaptations

saresmoore Wow. I'd say that pretty well articulates it. 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore the aren't many films that manage to dig as deep, or at least express as subtly, as books 7y
saresmoore I think the medium of film holds up so much better on its own merits, rather than when it tries to mimic the storytelling of a great author. 7y
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Moray_Reads @saresmoore definitely. Not that the aren't some great adaptations out there but it's only when film contains everything within itself without such a profound debt to an outside influence that it really comes into its own 7y
Suet624 Books add such subtlety and nuance - inner thoughts and feelings - that simply can't be included in a film. They really are two different mediums, walking side by side. 7y
Moray_Reads @Suet624 beautifully put 7y
36 likes6 comments
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thursnext
Selected Essays | Virginia Woolf
Pickpick

Deliciosa colección de ensayos literarios sobre el proceso de escritura, nuestra posición como lectores, cómo enfrentarnos a la lectura, qué debemos pedirle a un libro y cómo hacer crítica. Aplicable a nuestros procesos de disfrute y reflexión ante cualquier tipo de obra. Recomendados; mis preferidos: ¿Cómo hay que leer un libro? y ¿Qué es una buena novela? ❤