books 2007: Moments of Being, by Virginia Woolf

[supercheesegirl]

This is a collection of Woolf's autobiographical writings. She didn't write a lot about herself, but what's here is terrific. The first piece is not spectacular--she wrote it when she was younger and still learning, and before she got to be brutally honest with herself. The second piece covers almost the same time period as the first, but was written towards the end of her life, so she's very candid. The two are completely different and each illuminates the other. The last three pieces were written for her memoir club, where the members were required to write memoirs that are honest, funny, and entertaining, and to read them aloud to the group. These three pieces were my favorites--the first two pieces are more introspective, and they're lovely, but the last three were very funny and very clever. For all that she never polished these stories for publication, the writing overall is artful and good. It'd be great if the crap I wrote for fun came out this well. Highly recommended for people who care about Woolf; probably won't be that interesting if you don't.

I was working on this one for a couple of weeks. It's hard to read Woolf at 8AM on a train; I kept falling asleep, at least until I got to the later pieces in the book. I'm going to take a few weeks off from Woolf but my next book of hers will be To The Lighthouse. It's currently packed in my Top Priority box.

I think, after the move is over, I will celebrate by ordering some things from amazon and having them delivered to my new address. It's definitely been too long since I had a new Mrs. Pollifax book. And there are lots of other things I want to get, and I have gift certificates. I will probably be good and get a new Woolf book as well, since she's my current ongoing project. But definitely Mrs. Pollifax, and at least one fantasy novel. Is it a little pathetic that I'm already excitedly planning what books I'm going to order after I move? (Especially since I just bought 15 new books at that sale last weekend?)

::edit:: Ten books already this year! Four of them were YA fiction, but I also read two nonfiction, two mainstream novels, and two "smart" books (Gilgamesh, and Woolf). That's not a bad balance, I don't think.

Comments

[sleepyworm.livejournal.com]

I've read six books this year already myself! of course, 5 of those were from the Series Of Unfortunate Events, and one (Lockpick Pornography) was more of a novella than a novel. But still, actually reading for a change. It's nice!

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Have you finished the Snicket books yet? I'm dying to know what happens at the end! I can't imagine what he'll do. Other than kill them all. It can't possibly be a happy ending, or anything that Snicket would construe as happy.

[sleepyworm.livejournal.com]

I did finish the series! Do you want me to tell you what happens?

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

I... kind of!

[sleepyworm.livejournal.com]

You know I need a more emphatic response before I reveal the ending of a book!

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Is it worth me reading the whole series through again? You know me, you know the kind of books I like--is the ending going to satisfy me?

[sleepyworm.livejournal.com]

urg...that's really a hard thing for me to say. I know it's obvious to say this, but there is a LOT of sadness on the road to the end of the series. There are also some things that never really get resolved. I could see it bringing you down in a big way.

How far had you gotten in the series?

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

Um, I got a couple books past where the triplets were kidnapped. So... the boarding school, and then the ersatz elevator, and then maybe one more past there.

[sleepyworm.livejournal.com]

The Vile Village? The Hostile Hospital? I owned up through The Carnivorous Carnival, so if you read mine, you could have gotten through that one.

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

I know for sure I didn't read all the ones you own. It's possible I stopped after The Ersatz Elevator. I know I didn't make it to the hospital; I don't remember anything about the village.

[sleepyworm.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I think the rest of the journey would be too painful for you. If you want the cliffs notes version of each book, you can just read the wikipedia entries for them. Here is the one for the Vile Village. So many horrible things happen, and so few moments of joy.