A friend tried to explain what Virginia Wolfe is all about ("She ties it all together in the end.") by letting me read the first short story in this book. What a lovely, lovely story it is! I cannot say more without giving it away, but I will only tell you that I re-read it several times to grab all of its nuances because she makes every word count. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Fabulous and incisive examination of Woolf's most innovative novel.

The art of Virginia Woolf gathers in this small yet profoundly moving observation of the cycle of life. A garden in July becomes a canvas upon which Woolf paints a new and haunting picture of her intricate perspective. Flowers seem more like immense stained glass windows from the vantage point of the snail making its way through a flower bed. Minute clips of towering passersby illustrate the human experience where so much is anything but what it appears to be on the surface. The flower bed magically transforms through the hypnotic prose becoming an endless landscape of challenge, yet more importantly a sacred cathedral wherein the vulnerable snail, a methaphor for the individual, carefully negotiates life inside the surrounding looming beauty. This story crys to be read out loud, and when it is, it shines and verifies the genius of its conception.

I'd recommend this brand new and excellent coffee table book to anyone interested in lighthouses. it's not really a book to "read", it's just pictures of lighthouses. but the pics are GREAT! There are pics of the lighthouses in Cape May, Cape Cod, Assateague, Portland, Frankfurt, and more. Get this book if you like lighthouses.

Virginia Woolf's diaries contain much of her most accessible and interesting writing, but the average reader is not likely to wade through all five volumes of the complete diary. This book, edited by the editor of the full diary, Anne Olivier Bell, presents most of the best of Woolf's reflections on her daily life and times, the people she knew, the struggles and joys of her days. Each year is prefaced with a helpful biographical sketch, and the index of names gives not only page references, but a quick description of the person's connection to Woolf.

It's important to know, however, that the book was meant as a sort of companion to the previous selection from Woolf's diaries created by her husband, Leonard, and published as A Writer's Diary. This earlier book printed the diary entries concerning Woolf's writings, and it is a marvelous selection. However, it was published at a time when many of the people Woolf mentioned were still alive, and so it wasn't until the full diary was published that readers got to see how dangerously witty and sharp Woolf could be about her colleagues and compatriots. A Moment's Liberty benefits from being able to draw from the full diary without need of censorship.

While best known for her novels, Virginia Woolf also wrote essays and short stories. This is a short collection of seven stories from the period 1922 to 1927, around the publication of Mrs. Dalloway. Some of the stories had previously been published elsewhere, but this is the first publication for two of them.

Like the novel, these short stories surround the party; but unlike the novel, most of these stories focus on the guests at the party. The first of these relates an expedition of Clarissa Dalloway's to buy gloves, and is full of all the interior monologue one might expect. The rest are rather character sketches and encounters among Mrs. Dalloway's guests, and absolutely leave one satisfied with a picture of each character and encounter. If you enjoyed Mrs. Dalloway, and you can read short stories, you absolutely will enjoy this book.

This book provides insight into the writing process of virginia Woolf prior to her death. It is a window into her thought process, and allows the reader a glipse into Woolf. I found this book to be a wonderful read and would highly recommend it to anyone interested inWoolf.

The Second Common Reader is merely an extension of Woolf's own literary genius as she enters into the minds of authors such as Donne, Hardy, DeFoe and Swift, among others. She uses her "stream of consciousness" literary tool to incorporate the life of the writer into his or her own work. This book is necessary for anyone interested in stream of consciousness writing and criticism. Woolf, once again, never ceases to amaze me.

I gave this book 5 stars, not because I really liked it, but because it's interesting. Three Guineas is VW second book that is an argument and not fiction (the first is a room of one's own). It's about how women can help prevent war, and it says a lot of stuff, one of the things being to link male vanity to aggression. It's controversial, and a lot less pleasant than a room of one's own. It's weird in retrospect, too, because her argument stands in another time - before the second world war - and we've all changed since the holocaust etc. It says a lot about feminism, too, and women entering the professions and getting an education. Like I say, it's more aggressive than ARoOO, and this makes her less likeable. Whether or not you like it, though, or agree with what she says, it's an argument that should be out there. It's something that should be said.

A play in three acts, a very simple setting, and only four characters who live in a small, university town in America: a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. And a "young and innocent" couple, Nick and Honey. They all meet in a room, in Martha and George's house, very late one night, for a nightcap. And then...all hell breaks lose.

The play tears apart both marriages: the middle aged couple, who seem to hate each other and in the end turn out to be much more devoted to each other as it would seem. The young, seemingly perfect couple, who turn out to have lots of problems of their own. In three heart-breaking scenes, using dialogue that cuts like a knife, Edward Albee has written a masterpiece. He manages to give a clear-cut, honest picture of the reality of marriage, the reality of love, and the fears that go hand in hand with love and intimacy. At some point, in act three, Martha talks about her husband- and it's probably one of the best pieces of literature I've read:

"...George who is out somewhere there in the dark...George who is good to me, and whom I revile; who understands me, and whom I push off; who can make me laugh, and I choke it back in my throat; who can hold me, at night, so that it's warm, and whom I will bite so there's blood; who keeps learning the games we play as quickly as I can change the rules; who can make me happy and I do not wish to be happy, and yes I do wish to be happy, George and Martha: sad, sad, sad."

What more can I say? just read the play, and if you get the chance, watch it performed in the theatre, too.

Considered by some to be Albee's masterpiece, Virginia Woolf presents all of the playwright's main themes in this tightly compressed play. In a mere three acts, Albee breeches social as well as physical masochism at its most malevolent while displaying its truth-revealing effects while exposing its subconscious motivations. As for other Albee-eque motifs, there is his presentation of truth verses reality, linguistics aerobics, and, as par, a heavy dose of black humor. Albee remains faithful as a master of literature in that he never lapses into didacticism even when his characters voice personal soliloquies. As an aside, the play does differ from the famous film in that the former takes place within the confides of George and Martha's household, thus keeping their guests, Nick and Honey, as metaphorical prisoners throughout the night. Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the play, upon a close reading, is Albee's almost virtuoso execution of symbolism, especially Christian (comparable to Henry James). Highly recommended.

Wow. I never thought I could like a play so much. I had to read this for a class in college, so I admit that I didn't know what I was in for. I would've never thought that I would enjoy reading a play. This is a work of art with every line having meaning and significance.

A quick summary of the story without giving too much away: This is the story about an elderly couple who seem to hate each other with a passion. They're rude, loud, offensive, and insulting. When they invite a younger couple to their house, things quickly start to get out of control, while the elderly couple use their guests as sheilds and pawns in their brutal arguements and such. The story ends with a shocking resolution that will catch you off guard.

The dialogue in this play is so beautifully written. It reads like the way people actually talk. That is why I enjoyed it so much. It also enriched the characters that much more. Edward Albee did a magnificent job of weaving a tale that seems so realistic it's as if we are there at that house on that very night. There are no minor characters; everyone is important in a very significant way. It is refreshing to be able to get to know each character and the hopes, dreams, ambitions, and the conflicts that lie within.

I really enjoyed reading this wonderfully structured play. Much so that I have already read it at least seven times. It is a very easy read. And since it is mostly dialogue, it really doesn't take long to read. You could easily finish it in a day or two if you really put your heart to it. Even if you don't enjoy reading novels, maybe this is the solution. There is no lengthy descriptions of what color the characters' eyes are or what they're wearing. Just good old dialogue that will have you hooked from the very beginning. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is an outstanding play that will forever remain a true classic in American Literature.