An absolute gem. (The short answer is that you shouldn't let anyone tell you how to read a book!) Interesting musings on not just why we read, but also how being a reader is different than being a critic.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I absolutely loved this short essay! It read as if it was written in "modern times" and not in 1926. "To read a novel is a difficult and complex art."

I received a free digital advance review copy of this book from Laurence King Publishing Ltd via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Virginia Woolf's essay How Should One Read a Book? is a great reminder that readers should form their own opinions and engage with what they are reading without blindly relying on professional critics. This is a short but thoughtful piece of writing, well worth the time of an avid reader seeking to reflect on her approach to reading. As Shelia Hall's introduction points out, a reader's reaction to a book results from "some alchemy" between what the author created and the reader's life circumstances at the time of reading, with the result that we can have different reactions to the same book when we read it at different times. I also appreciated Woolf's admonishment to "[w]ait for the dust of reading to settle" and take the time to reflect on a book as a whole after finishing it. Woolf reminds readers how much work and talent is required to produce good writing, and Hall's afterword reflects on her own different experiences of reading a published book vs. reading a work in progress to provide feedback to a friend. As Hall concludes, "it's a special pleasure to know that my reading can change a book, not only that a book can change me."

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.”

I must admit, I enjoyed Sheila Heti’s introduction even more than Woolf’s essay itself, so I highly recommend reading this marvellous match! Where Heti describes the way in which books are fluid shapes, that change depending on where we are in life and that they continue to change shape through time. Simply beautiful.

“…while paintings and theatre and movies live in our memories as things we have witnessed, a book is undergone like a dream.”

Woolf’s essay is now almost a century old and so (sadly) much of the reference material was lost on me but, all in all, I found this a very thought-provoking read. I also very much enjoyed the irony where Woolf critiqued the art of critiquing writing.

“…nothing can be more fatal than to be guided by the preferences of others in a matter so personal.”

And on that note, I hope you enjoy it! How Should One Read A Book is out on the 12th of October, thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to share this feedback.

This short but absorbing essay written by the wonderful Virginia Woolf is a must for anyone who calls themselves a reader or who has ever picked up a book or made comment on one. Written originally to be given as a lecture at a girl's school in 1926 it is still powerful and relevant today. The writer does not give the reader advice but rather what she calls 'a few ideas and suggestions' which cause the reader to ask questions of themselves and how they read. The insightful introduction and afterword by Sheila Heti bring a different dimension to this book and I think it will prove itself to be a much sought after and debated book club book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this.

As always, Virginia Woolf's thoughts are as critically apt as the time where she wrote them (although in this case said them first). Incredibly thought provoking and critical on how we read books. It's made me think about a lot of my own habits. Sheila Heti's additional essays provide great commentary and support to Woolf's writing and as you can probably tell from my rambling I greatly, greatly enjoyed reading this.

Thank you netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review this copy :)

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 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 day thinking about that book.

Woolf rightly points out that as humans we make assumptions and pass judgments 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 judgments 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 was a very interesting, thoughtful, and quick read. Because it was so short, i dont think i took so much from it, other than the fact that each book is different and to become immersed in the book is to slowly and thoroughly become apart of it. I love Virginia Woolf and will always read anything she has to say!

A quick essay by Virginia Woolfe. This is her reflection on what it means to be a reader, a writer, and how to relate to a book. She shrugs off critics and makes many references to important literary characters and authors. It is fast paced and witty and you can tell she had a personal connection with her craft and doesn't appreciate people criticizing it. This can be most appreciated by writers and those that work in publishing that can really relate to the uphill battle of writing a book, personality and creativity in this realm.

*I received a free copy in exchange of my honest review.*

This essay is a speech Virginia Woolf once gave about reading. In this edition, it is prefaced by an introduction by Sheila Heti, who also wrote a short essay about the importance of having creative friends and the difference between friends criticizing your works and critiques.

Virginia Woolfs speech boils down to: Read more so you can understand more about what you're reading, and don't trust other people to think for you when you can easily do it yourself.
Apparently, it's also found in the Common Reader, which I haven't read yet, because you know it is - there are always so many books you'd like to read!

I liked all three parts. It was fun, it made me want to pick up the next book as soon as possible.
And I kept thinking about The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, both because of the name and also because it is about the love for literature, and sinking yourself into stories.

In the beginning of her speech, there are some parts that didn't age well, like the use of the generic masculine, but all in all, I was impressed by how relevant her words are still today.

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

How Should One Read a Book? by Virginia Woolf is a powerful essay that Woolf delivered to a group of girls at a private school in 1926. This essay details the importance of being critical of writing and realizing that different people will get different messages from a book and how that is okay. This essay will make me more aware of how I analyze and digest books in the future through a more understanding eye. Prior to reading this essay, I had only read Mrs. Dalloway by Woolf. While I didn't enjoy Mrs. Dalloway when I first read it, this essay makes me want to try re-reading the book and try more works by Woolf in the future.

The afterword by Sheila Heti add a nice analysis on the publishing process in our current society and the vital role that the writer's community shares in the finished product.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fantastic read! I love Virginia Woolf so was delighted to get my hands on this. Loved the essay. And the afterword was also a great accompaniment. A definite read for readers!

Virginia Woolf is brilliant, as the essay "How Should One Read a Book?" demonstrates unequivocally. What more could we ask for when it is written unabashedly for all the voracious readers? Every word is both poetry and prose, sharp and weighty with meaning. If I were to highlight lines, near every sentence deserves attention.

Woolf calls for us to be both sympathetic and severe readers, a class removed from the literary critics that treat one book after another as a succession of animals in a shooting gallery. She carries us on a voyage between great literary writers before her time, speaks of the fascinating window into human lives in biographies, and burrows into the striking clarity of poetry. In the multitudinous chaos of so many books, Woolf anchors our ability to make sense of our reading experience and appreciate its art form.

With a lovely introduction and afterword by Sheila Heti, "How Should One Read a Book?" is emphemeral but so memorable, a rare and direct conversational line from famed writer to you—the hungry, passionate reader.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Laurence King Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading about Virginia Woolf’s thoughts on the way we analyze and critique books, but I personally got a lot more out of the introduction and afterward in this edition by Sheila Heti. The way she talks about books changing through time in our memories and the shadow-shapes they make (since we each conjure a different image in our imaginations), the way that pieces of books and the time in which we read them can stick in our minds even when the characters or specific plot points don’t, and how writers edit their books through the influence of those who care about them (both with their feedback and anticipating their feedback).

Reading this book was very insightful. As someone who reviews books, this book was a very interesting one.
However, I couldn’t keep my full attention on the book while reading it. Once I got into the book, the book was a 100% read.

Virginia Woolf will always be one of the greatest writers to have ever lived and written, and this extended essay by her on the importance of literature and the feeling that literature provides is no different. I've always preferred her non-fiction writing to her fiction and I can see why in this short piece. She doesn't aim to be earth-shattering with her non-fiction, merely to provoke an inner stream of consciousness that you will struggle to find the ends of and could spend hours pondering over. I say that in a complimentary way, with endless possibilities.

I did a lot of highlighting quotes on my kindle while reading this, although I note now that a lot the highlighting actually came from the introduction and afterword by Sheila Heti. I found her short chapters really interesting, particularly what she calls a 'shadow shape' that a book leaves behind in your mind (intro) as well as the importance of reading and sharing drafts with others (afterword). I really liked the section where she discusses how you pay a different kind of attention to the drafts of other people's writing than you do to finished books you buy in a book shop, knowing the difference that you can make in that drafting stage. Even just the idea of sending a draft to someone makes you realise where it is wrong, where it needs more work and where you are proud of it, without them even reading it and telling you so. That really resonated with me. If anything, this short book that I read for Virginia Woolf has actually made me want to dive into Sheila Heti's other work.

The first thing I liked about this book was the title of the book. Being a reader from the from the deepest core of my heart, how could I ignore this book. Especially when it is Virginia Woolf who wrote this book.
How should One Read a Book is an essay in which Woolf talked about the correct way of reading a book, how could one reader connect to the writer just by reading the book. She explores the lives the of different author of Victorian London and reaches to the reader like no one esle did.
I really liked the book. It is a short read but a pretty amazing as well. Totally loved it.

<i> "The only advice … 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... After all, what laws can be laid down about books?" </i>

Virginia Woolf's "How Should One Read a Book?' was first given as a lecture to Hayes Court Common school girls in January 1926. This edition includes an introduction and afterword by Sheila Heti.

I find it to be as relevant now as it was the day it was given. Despite being an extremely quick read, I found the essay so illuminating. Woolf's advice manages to sound gentle but persuasive at the same time, urging the reader to be both sympathetic and open to a wide range of emotion, whilst still acting as a fair judge. Normally, I find it difficult to read essays, but Woolf's prose sounded so poetic and lyrical that I forgot I was reading non-fiction.

One idea in particular stood out to me- Woolf's idea of a 'shadow-shape'. That after reading a novel, the reader will resume life, but ultimately return to the memory of the book. And in this reminiscence lies not just the narrative, or its characters but pieces of the reader's life interspersed in the recollection of this 'shadow-shape'. As Woolf writes, 'A book is a watery sculpture that lives in the mind once the reading is done'.

Sheila Heti's introduction was particularly captivating, and a wonderful way to ease into the essay. This quote in particular made me smile, as it encapsulates everything I love about reading:

<i> "Virginia Woolf compares the pleasures of reading to the pleasure of being in heaven. In fact, God, who is stuck in his heaven, envies human readers- for while his heaven is one place, books offer multiple places. The reader doesn’t grow bored like God does." </i>

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.