Jacob's Room

#AlphabetGame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Letter J

I remember when I started this I thought that I wouldn't like it, but it turned out to be a really moving exploration of one man's life as seen through the eyes of others. You can sort of see Woolf experimenting with the form, yet it all somehow comes together and rearranges your perspective like an Impressionist painting.

DivineDiana Wonderful review! 2y

batsy @DivineDiana Thanks! 💕 2y

LeahBergen I‘ll have that edition, please. 😉 2y

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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for playing! 2y

batsy @LeahBergen Right? The best covers 😍 2y

batsy @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 💜 2y

Graywacke Wow, a full thoughtful revealing review! Terrific post. Woolf - I will get there! 2y

batsy @Graywacke Thank you! And I hope you enjoy the experience when you do 🙂 2y

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GatheringBooks

Jacob's Room (Annotated) | Virginia Woolf

#QuotsyOct21 Day 29: #Grave

TK-421

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TheSpineView

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

#QuotsySep21 @TK-421
#Melancholy

TK-421 💙 3y

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Daisey

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

pan

Virginia Woolf is just not my style. I can appreciate the writing of individual passages, but the lack of plot generally leaves me bored. I tried reading this in print and could not seem to make progress, so I switched to audio and went back to read individual passages when I felt I was missing details.

#1001books #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown May 2021
#audiobook #SerialReader

JazzFeathers I tried Virginia Woolf a few years ago. Not for me either. I ended up being too confused. I suppose l'm the kind of reader who needs a plot. 3y

Daisey @JazzFeathers Yes, this is at least my second try, and I am definitely not a fan. 3y

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Emilymdxn

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

pick

Third in my reread of Virginia Woolf this year, I see why this isn‘t her most loved book but her prose always glitters so much I have to rate everything she‘s ever written as a pick. I think she‘s probably the best writer of prose in English I‘ve ever read, and even if this early novel (her first ‘major‘ novel though I‘m not exactly sure what that means) doesn‘t have her best characters or observations, it‘s still Virginia Woolf.

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DrSabrinaMoldenReads

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

Yes! Virginia and I “have a thing going on” 🤓 I can‘t wait to launch into her third diary but I am going to read “Jacob‘s Room” first after I finish her second diary...Whew...
I love how she is sharing her life. Just as good as any reality show to me...

merelybookish She is a wonderful person to spend time with. JR was my least favorite of her novels so will be interested to see what you think! 🙂 4y

DrSabrinaMoldenReads She is talking about Jacob‘s Room a lot in her second diary. That‘s why I got it. @merelybookish (edited) 4y

merelybookish @Joyfulmimi Makes sense. I read all her novels last year but not in order. This one was the hardest for me. But I also read it while I was busy on summer vacation. 4y

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DrSabrinaMoldenReads She says she was really trying to do something different with JR and was so happy that her husband said he loved it. She has had such a hard time with criticism, so much so that she considered stopping her writing career. @merelybookish 4y

Branwen Ahhhhhh Virginia 😍💕 4y

DrSabrinaMoldenReads Yessss @Branwen 4y

Branwen @Joyfulmimi Falling in love with Virginia Woolf is so unlike falling in love with any other author, don't you think?! I don't know what it is about her and her writing...it's just out of this world! 💕📚 4y

DrSabrinaMoldenReads I so very much agree with you @Branwen 4y

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GatheringBooks

Jacob's Room | Virgina Woolf

#QuotsyJan20 Day 14: #Desk

TK-421

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merelybookish

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

so-so

"Each had his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart; and his friends could only read the title."
Had to be one I didn't love. ?
This is a transitional work. Stylistically it is the Woolf of Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, a novel composed of glimpses and fragments, bits and pieces of a life, broken interactions, meditations of what it all means. The writing is stirring, brilliant. And I savoured passages. BUT ⬇️

merelybookish What she hasn't mastered yet is how to still tell a story. I found Jacob's life hard to follow or care about. He felt like a representative figure (and he is, of all the young men lost in WW1) but never a full-blooded character. It makes me appreciate the genius of her later novels, where she created a (subtle) narrative arc in the midst of her diffuse style. I'm glad I read it and the more I think about it, the more I like it. Still, not a fave. 5y

Bookwomble Have you read "The Waves"? It's the only Woolf I've tried (mainly due to its being the inspiration for Steve Harley's beautiful song, "Riding the Waves (for Virginia Woolf)"), and while I loved her descriptions of the sun's progress from dawning to setting, I just couldn't find anything about her characters to care for, and ultimately didn't finish it. I understand it's one of her most praised works, but I obviously missed something. 5y

merelybookish @Bookwomble No, I haven't read it yet but plan too. (Trying to read all things Woolf this year.) I've heard it's very atmospheric. 5y

readinginthedark @Bookwomble @merelybookish Oh, I loved The Waves! I read it for a college class, though, so maybe that made a difference. I always get more out of a book when there's discussion involved. Also, her description of motherhood in that book is on point. 5y

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merelybookish

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

Spending Friday night on my parents' verandah, getting reacquainted with Virginia. (I've been neglecting her lately.)

AlaMich I dream of having a screened porch! *sigh* 5y

batsy That's such a lovely copy! 5y

merelybookish @AlaMich It's a dream worth having! All the enjoyment of being outdoors without the bugs! 5y

merelybookish @batsy Yes, a Penguin edition from the library. Would like my own copy but rarely find Woolf in used bookstores. 5y

sarahbarnes ❤️❤️❤️ Looking forward to hearing how this one goes! 5y

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mercinn

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

pan

A hard read. Couldn't wait to get done with it so I could move on to next yet took so long to finish-_- Felt bad for Bonamy though. Still don't have much of an idea as to Jacob's character.
"The observer is choked with observations" as rightly said by a Wordpress article.
I shouldn't have started with Jacob's Room when I had an entire collection of Woolf and now only a few days left before I have to return the book:(

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mercinn

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

This post contains spoilers

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"The sharpest of knives never cut so deep. " aww poor Bonamy:(

GatheringBooks

Jacob's Room | Virgina Woolf

#QuotsyFeb19 Day 26: What are we in #Search of, truly? This is a great question from Woolf herself. I have yet to read my Woolf novels! Perhaps for our #WomenReadWomen2019 theme.

TK-421

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Bertha_Mason

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

"The lamps of London uphold the dark as upon the points of burning bayonets."

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DannyOlda

Jacob's Room (Revised) | Virginia Woolf

I know it sounds weird but I don't really do favorites in music, art, etc. However, now reading Jacob's Room, I realize that I do have a favorite author: Virginia Woolf. Whenever I read her writing, it's as if she's describing memories that are not mine but somehow already exist in my brain.

DannyOlda I know that's a weird description but it's the best I can do. Her work just makes great intuitive sense to me. 5y

batsy I love that description. That's how it feels with certain writers I love, too. 5y

DannyOlda Thanks, @batsy ! 5y

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Ddzmini

Jacob's Room | Virgina Woolf

I‘ll take this 📖😋

Tanisha_A ❤️👌 5y

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AshleyHoss820

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

The #TBRBowlOfDestiny picked out my very first Virginia Woolf read! So far, so good! 😊

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Jillybeane

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

When you‘re not impressed with the opening act 😇

#readeverywhere

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Krisjericho

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

#winter #quotsy #quotsydec17

TK-421

TK-421 Beautiful ❤️ 6y

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batsy

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

pick

This is like an anti-Bildungsroman, impressionistic, essayistic, with brief sketches of a character--Jacob Flanders--whose name is his destiny. It is elegiac in a way; Jacob is representative of the young men who died during the war. It's also sly & satirical, where Woolf mocks patriarchy & male-centric academia & institutions. Even if the style is fragmented, Woolf's prose is fresh, original, a breath of fresh air; the scenes unfold like a film.

batsy I have to add, this is structured somewhat like James Joyce's Ulysses, episodic & fractured, each chapter a different space/scene & different characters. But in my opinion it's a lot more courageous than Ulysses because it doesn't need ten thousand layers of meaning derived from the entire canon of Western literature on which to stand. Letter J for #LitsyAtoZ
6y

Lindy Great review. I want to read this now. 6y

merelybookish Still need to read this! 6y

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batsy @Lindy Thank you! I look forward to hearing what you and @merelybookish think 😊 6y

LeahBergen I still need to read this one, too. Beautifully reviewed. 👍🏻 6y

batsy @LeahBergen Thank you ❤️ 6y

BarbaraBB Wonderful review. I could‘t get through this one but now I think I should maybe try again! 6y

batsy @BarbaraBB Thank you so much! Let me know if you ever try it again. Sometimes it works, sometimes books are just not a right "fit" at the time ? 6y

RohitSawant Fantastic review!! 👏 6y

batsy @rohit-sawant Thank you! 🙂 6y

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batsy

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

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batsy

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

Tired, sad flowers after a morning of rain and an afternoon of clouds, and a book I haven't read yet. #startswithJ #AndItsAugust @RealLifeReading

erzascarletbookgasm On my TBR too! 7y

batsy @erzascarletbookgasm 👍 With Woolf I need some extended time to try and read her book in one or two sittings; this one is quite short! 7y

Tsubame I find Woolf's flow of consciousness fascinating, but at the same time extremely exhausting to read 🙈 7y

batsy @Tsubame It is a bit of an effort, especially if I take a lot of breaks in-between! 7y

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Andrea4

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

Look what came in the mail today!!! 😀 thanks @Brie this postcard is fantastic!!!
#litsypenpals

Brie I'm glad you like it! 7y

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Moray_Reads

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

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BarbaraBB

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

pan

What a fight, this one. My mind kept wandering and Woolf did nothing to prevent it.
A book consisting of fragments of the lives of people around Jacob. Himself we hardly get to know.
I am having troubles liking Virginia Woolf. O yes, I liked Orlando and Mrs Dalloway but I just can't relate to her experimental novels, like The Waves and this one.
#1001books

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autumnprivett

Jacob's Room | Virginia Woolf

How amazing is this cover. 😍 #ihavethisthingwithbookcovers

Eugeniavb The waves is one of my favourite books ever. And the first VW book I read which led me to her being one of my favourite writers ever. 📚❤️ 8y

Sasha728 Has @kdwinchester seen this? Doesn't she really like VW? 8y

kdwinchester Why is this not in my hands RIGHT NOW 8y

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autumnprivett @Eugeniavb I've actually not read THE WAVES yet, but I am definitely a fan of Virginia. 8y

autumnprivett @Sasha728 @kdwinchester Because I didn't get it for you!!! 😞 we would have gone to this bookstore when you were here but 📚=💸 8y

Sasha728 @autumnprivett @kdwinchester sounds like a return trip is needed. 😀😀 8y

jveezer Love Virginia. Especially Orlando. Liked Mrs Dalloway also... 8y

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