I have started Rereading Books

Much to my surprise in my old age I have started rereading books, something that I vowed never to do with the exception of The Bible.

The book that started it all was Still Life by Sarah Winman. This book is a 5 star standout for me. Based across 50 years it follows the lives of 2 disparate but connected people through their shared love of Florence and art. The book commences in the last days of the second world war in Florence when Temps, a British soldier in his twenties meets Evelyn, a noted British art historian sent to recover and restore art works to their rightful owners. Temps has been the driver for an upper-class English officer, Captain Darnley, a very cultured man, who has introduced his driver to works of art as they have followed the English Allies up Italy as far as Florence.

Temps is a bar man from the Est End of London and Evelyn is an educated academic in her 60's.

There is a very satisfying cast of characters in support. A must read for those who love travel, art, history, wine, Florence and cross cultural experiences.

So far I have read the book 4 time and I'm on my 5th run through now. I have also listened to the audiobook twice. I am captivated and in love with this book. Each read has brought out new things.

You might like to try it for yourself.

DK

Virginia Woolf on Second hand bookshops

Books are everywhere; and always the same sense of adventure fills us. Second-hand books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in vast flocks of variegated feather, and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack.

A quote from The Death of the Moth and other essays

I like most keen readers like to forage in second hand bookshops. They are great places full of surprises and often serendipitous discoveries.

My favourite second hand bookshop is in Alnwick. I found a pristine first edition of Flush by Woolf there.

The Perfect Gift for a Woolf Lover

Woolf delighted in the physical act of writing words on paper. From the age of 11, she was continually experimenting with different kinds of pens in hope of finding one that would provide the perfect sensation. So what better gift for a Woolf lover than a pen named for her. The pen is the Mont Blanc Limited Edition writers pen dedicated to Virginia Woolf. A tad expensive but I have to get one. Any gifts accepted, I can give you my address!!

Virginia Woolf on the Past

“I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.” ― Virginia Woolf

This is a very important thought. Retrospection adds the body to our experiences. Emotion is raw at the time we experience it so time must often pass before it is moderated and becomes a thing of beauty. Reflection is a key skill that excellent writers possess.

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An Electronic Treasure for Virginia Woolf Scholars and Common Readers

Amazon has an amazing offer in Kindle Store for an eBook titled: Virginia Woolf : Complete Works 8 novels, 3 'biographies', 46 short stories, 606 essays, 1 play, her diary and some letters (Annotated). This is available at the discounted and unbelievable price of $3.47 USD.

You can order below:

It includes the following works:

THE NOVELS

The Voyage Out (1915) Night and Day (1919) Jacob’s Room (1922) Mrs. Dalloway (1925) To the Lighthouse (1927) The Waves (1931) The Years (1937) Between the Acts (1941)

THE ‘BIOGRAPHIES’

Orlando: a biography (1928) Flush: a biography (1933) Roger Fry: a biography (1940)

THE STORIES

Monday or Tuesday (1921) A Haunted House, and other short stories (1944) Mrs Dalloway’s Party (1973) The Complete Shorter Fiction (1985)

THE ESSAYS

The Common Reader I (1925) A Room of One’s Own (1929) On Being Ill (1930) The London Scene (1931) The Common Reader II (1932) Three Guineas (1938) The Death of the Moth, and other essays (1942) The Moment, and other essays (1947) The Captain’s Death Bed, and other essays (1950) Granite and Rainbow (1958) Books and Portraits (1978) Women And Writing (1979) 383 Essays from newspapers and magazines (see update v.3.0)

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITING

A Writer’s Diary (1953) Moments of Being (1976) The Diary Vols. 1–5 (1977-84) (see updates v.4.0, v.5.0, and v.6.0) The Letters Vols. 3,4+5 (1977-79) (see update v.7.0 and v.8.0) The Letters of V.W. and Lytton Strachey (1956) (see update v.8.0)

THE PLAY

Freshwater: A Comedy (both versions) (1976)

This resource makes it so easy to access Woolf's writings and as an eBook you can have it with you all of the time.

Happy Reading

Grant

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