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108 reviews for:
A Writer's Diary: Being Extracts from the Diary of Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf, Lyndall Gordon, Leonard Woolf
4.16 AVERAGE
108 reviews for:
A Writer's Diary: Being Extracts from the Diary of Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf, Lyndall Gordon, Leonard Woolf
4.16 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
This took me...4 months to get through. It's interesting seeing how much VW was in tune with her critics, and how they haunted her life. Maybe reading a diary is always a bit dry.
reflective
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
I'm not sure I can express all that I'm thinking about this book. pieces of Virginia's diaries, mostly on her writing process, her works, her essay, essentially her life. Because writing was clearly eveything for her. And she was suffering from something very dark, that at times drew her away. This is present in the entries, soft at first, silent and stronger later. Such a pity. She had a wonderful mind, so intelligent, so sharp and talented. Those minds usually feel too much. I've read three works of her and I loved 2 out of 3, for now..but one can't deny she was talented. she was writing at 50 like she was 20 and she really was extraordinaire. One of the women I would like to meet. I feel like I could talk about these diaries for a long time, but I invite you to read them instead. my words can never convey the feelings one feels while reading it.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
How am I to begin it? And what is it to be? I feel no great impulse; no fever; only a great pressure of difficulty. Why write it then? Why write at all? V writes this in one entry
Am I even capable of writing a review? trust me no one is, considering how deeply personal these extracts are to V; L who edited these made sure the image developed is rich, with ways and experiences which made Virginia who she was and is.
Flow of ideas that made into books and her self-criticism about her writing; how much she should re-write and revise to finalise book; how many copies shall each book sell; how her friends and family consider would think of all the work. We get a peak in her room after finishing her books how depression(as now it is generally considered she was suffering from bi-polar disorder) consumed her from within, how recovery was not so easy.
The last entry during the grotesque upheaval of the war and bomb raids around London and country leaves her to decide new occupations;
I insist upon spending this time to the best advantage. I will go down with my colours flying.
For someone who finds reading her books quite challenging (i coudn't finish Jacob's room and have only read A room of one's own) but loves V should read this.
Am I even capable of writing a review? trust me no one is, considering how deeply personal these extracts are to V; L who edited these made sure the image developed is rich, with ways and experiences which made Virginia who she was and is.
Flow of ideas that made into books and her self-criticism about her writing; how much she should re-write and revise to finalise book; how many copies shall each book sell; how her friends and family consider would think of all the work. We get a peak in her room after finishing her books how depression(as now it is generally considered she was suffering from bi-polar disorder) consumed her from within, how recovery was not so easy.
The last entry during the grotesque upheaval of the war and bomb raids around London and country leaves her to decide new occupations;
I insist upon spending this time to the best advantage. I will go down with my colours flying.
For someone who finds reading her books quite challenging (i coudn't finish Jacob's room and have only read A room of one's own) but loves V should read this.
Fulfills Reading Women challenge prompt 22. A Book by Either a Favorite or a New-to-You Publisher.
There is no secret that I love Virginia Woolf. In the past I have read her diaries and letters and have fallen in love with the personality of Woolf alongside with her use of words. A Writer's Diary is a good collection of Woolf's entries on writing and reading, and might be a good place to start if you want to read Woolf's nonfiction but feel too daunted with many editions of letters and diaries. She is ruthless towards writing, both her own and others', and that is one of the strongest points of her diaries. I don't really know if this is the best kind of book to read cover to cover but I really enjoyed this!
There is no secret that I love Virginia Woolf. In the past I have read her diaries and letters and have fallen in love with the personality of Woolf alongside with her use of words. A Writer's Diary is a good collection of Woolf's entries on writing and reading, and might be a good place to start if you want to read Woolf's nonfiction but feel too daunted with many editions of letters and diaries. She is ruthless towards writing, both her own and others', and that is one of the strongest points of her diaries. I don't really know if this is the best kind of book to read cover to cover but I really enjoyed this!
Ahhh this was amazing, and the kind of thing that made me want to write myself. Every now and then I woud feel slightly frustrated/paranoid/helpless by the fact that this is "selected"... Abridged stuff makes me a little anxious because you can only tell what's been cut out by reading the full thing! Have full entries been cut out, or all of them included but shortened? I can't quite decide which is worse. It's all well and good for Quentin Bell to point the reader to the full five volumes but too late this is the book I'm now reading, you see what I mean? And I'm the kind of Virginia Woolf nerd that would potentially read the full five volumes if they weren't slightly difficult to find and thus about £20 each...
But all this frustration with the "selecting" of the diaries only reveals my love of the diaries themselves. The prose is refreshingly snappy and clear and still manages to be so juicy and evocative and had me underlining and tabbing many a page. Such a good diary! Also if you find Woolf's intense modernist writing a bit too much (which is understandable), I would recommend this! It manages to completely contrast with all that while still getting at all the vibes from a different angle. And it educated me a lot about all history of the time, though I couldn't blame her for guiltily confessing that gossip is much better to write about in the diary. But some things were too all-encompassing to not delve into, like the wars, which were were sad but interesting to read about, as the only other war diary I've read is Anne Frank's. I found it hilarious to see Woolf use her diary as procrastination from writing, and this also explains why it's so different.
Trying to read 'Flush' in line with Woolf mentioning it in her diary was admittedly a bit of an underwhelming experiment as she barely mentioned it compared to most other writing, but in general I would sort of recommend that reading method? Maybe I will do some of that method when I read 'A Writer's Diary', which consists of all the entries relevant to her writing (selected by Leonard), the nature of which I can also foresee being frustrating, but then again, that selecting has more of a purpose I guess. It's strange how I was worried about finding spoilers about Woolf's life even though it's real in a sense.
But all this frustration with the "selecting" of the diaries only reveals my love of the diaries themselves. The prose is refreshingly snappy and clear and still manages to be so juicy and evocative and had me underlining and tabbing many a page. Such a good diary! Also if you find Woolf's intense modernist writing a bit too much (which is understandable), I would recommend this! It manages to completely contrast with all that while still getting at all the vibes from a different angle. And it educated me a lot about all history of the time, though I couldn't blame her for guiltily confessing that gossip is much better to write about in the diary. But some things were too all-encompassing to not delve into, like the wars, which were were sad but interesting to read about, as the only other war diary I've read is Anne Frank's. I found it hilarious to see Woolf use her diary as procrastination from writing, and this also explains why it's so different.
Trying to read 'Flush' in line with Woolf mentioning it in her diary was admittedly a bit of an underwhelming experiment as she barely mentioned it compared to most other writing, but in general I would sort of recommend that reading method? Maybe I will do some of that method when I read 'A Writer's Diary', which consists of all the entries relevant to her writing (selected by Leonard), the nature of which I can also foresee being frustrating, but then again, that selecting has more of a purpose I guess. It's strange how I was worried about finding spoilers about Woolf's life even though it's real in a sense.
Earlier this year I read the 'Selected Diaries' of Virginia Woolf, which were considerably more comprehensive but still selected and abridged. I am mildly infuriated by the fact that I have now read two different (occasionally overlapping) edited/abridged/selected versions of Virginia Woolf's diary, without knowing where the edits and omissions occur in either of them! The only passages I can be sure of are those quoted by Hermione Lee in her excellent biography (just finished). Lee even sticks to the original manuscripts' dodgy spelling and punctuation when Woolf is hectically writing her diary. One day I will read the full unedited five volumes of the diary, if I can get my hands on them. Because of these limitations I can't speak for the implications of Leonard Woolf's editing in 'A Writer's Diary'.
But enough of this mediation on editions! The book itself! Honestly, if you are not an academic or a strange VW obsessive like me, this is the book I would recommend if you want to read Virginia Woolf's diaries. Also, it is the book I would recommend – as well as '84, Charing Cross road' – if you are a bookworm and a nerd for writers talking about other books. There is something about Woolf using her diary as a procrastinatory writing space for complaining about her "proper" writing that makes it delicious to read. For example, on Saturday April 12th 1919, she writes, 'These ten minutes are stolen from 'Moll Flanders', which I failed to finish yesterday in accordance with my time sheet'. This quote amalgamates the reading and the procrastination elements quite nicely. For context, she was reading Defoe to write an article about him. Anyway all I have left to say is that if you can't enjoy Woolf's novels because they are too dense, too abstract, too "modernist", too difficult (I love them but fair enough), this is very different, and very readable. Not as much gossip as in the 'Selected Diaries', but still a decent amount, and more of the literary kind.
But enough of this mediation on editions! The book itself! Honestly, if you are not an academic or a strange VW obsessive like me, this is the book I would recommend if you want to read Virginia Woolf's diaries. Also, it is the book I would recommend – as well as '84, Charing Cross road' – if you are a bookworm and a nerd for writers talking about other books. There is something about Woolf using her diary as a procrastinatory writing space for complaining about her "proper" writing that makes it delicious to read. For example, on Saturday April 12th 1919, she writes, 'These ten minutes are stolen from 'Moll Flanders', which I failed to finish yesterday in accordance with my time sheet'. This quote amalgamates the reading and the procrastination elements quite nicely. For context, she was reading Defoe to write an article about him. Anyway all I have left to say is that if you can't enjoy Woolf's novels because they are too dense, too abstract, too "modernist", too difficult (I love them but fair enough), this is very different, and very readable. Not as much gossip as in the 'Selected Diaries', but still a decent amount, and more of the literary kind.