1
of
1
How Should One Read a Book?
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 1,979 ratings, 388 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
The edition features a new introduction by Sheila Heti, who offers fresh insights into Woolf's profound meditation on the relationship between reader and writer.
Read More
Format: Hardback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK
Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock
Sorry, we're currently out of stock of How Should One Read a Book?. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Ideal for readers interested in literature, writing, and the theory of reading; perfect for fans of Virginia Woolf and modernist essays, as well as book lovers seeking a reflective exploration of the reading experience.
Latest News
Story to Screen Report - 26/08/26
Another week, another huge round of Story to Screen news! From exciting new adaptations and...
Why you need to start a family boardgame night
Board games aren't just for adults, they're perfect to do as a family. Here's why...
From Page to Panel: The Rise of Graphic Novel Adaptations
Discover why graphic novel adaptations are booming, from ‘Dune’ and ‘Sapiens’ to ‘Call Me by...
Why You Should Read Folk Horror!
If you're looking for a new read and haven't yet tried Folk Horror as a...
Movie Review on The End of Oak Street
Lizzy and Roopa are sharing their reviews of The End of Oak Street, a movie...
See moreThe first time Woolf’s essay on the power of reading has been published in a single standalone volume. Small format, highly packaged HB – perfect for till point and Christmas gifting
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
'Where are we to begin? How are we to bring order into this multitudinous chaos and so get the deepest and widest pleasure from what we read?'
Published for the first time as a standalone volume, Virginia Woolf's short, impassioned essay, How Should One Read a Book? celebrates the enduring importance of great literature. In this timeless manifesto on the written word, rediscover the joy of reading and the power of a good book to change the world.
One of the most significant modernist writers of the 20th Century, Virginia Woolf and her visionary essays are as relevant today as they were nearly one hundred years ago.
Features a new introduction by Sheila Heti.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
"A slim, essay-length book celebrates the connection between writer and reader. A thoughtful, modest essay by the prolific British author." Kirkus Reviews
"This is the perfect gift for a booklover in your life." The Washington Post
"Novelist Sheila Heti meditates on Virginia Woolf's powerful essay on the relationships between readers, reading and writers." Shelf Awareness
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781786277527
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 12 October 2020
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Laurence King Publishing
Contributors:
- Introduction by Sheila Heti
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 110.0mm
Height: 178.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 64
About the Author
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) is regarded as one of the most important modernist writers of the 20th Century. Best known for her novels, including Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), Orlando (1928) and The Waves (1931), Woolf was also a prolific and engaging essayist.
Also by Virginia Woolf
View all-
The Waves
HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. There was a star riding through clouds one night, and I said to the star, ‘Consume me’ Six friends traverse the uneven road of life together in Virginia Woolf’s most unconventional classic. Bernard, Jinny, Louis, Neville, Rhoda, and Susan first meet as children by the sea, and their lives...Paperback$1099Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Orlando
One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World' HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. Orlando had become a woman – there is no denying it. But in every other respect, Orlando remained precisely as he had been. The change of sex, though it altered their future, did nothing whatever to alter their...Paperback$1099Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Buy to WinOrlando
A playful mock 'biography' of a chameleonic historical figure, written for Virginia Woolf's intimate friend Vita Sackville-West. Orlando has always been an outsider... His longing for passion, adventure and fulfilment takes him out of his own time. Chasing a dream through the centuries, he bounds from Elizabethan England and imperial Turkey to the modern world. Will he find happiness with...Paperback$2300Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Mrs Dalloway
HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Mrs Dalloway follows Clarissa Dalloway, a woman of high society—vivacious, hospitable, and sociable on the surface, yet beneath, troubled and dissatisfied with her life in post-war Britain. This disillusionment is an emotion that bubbles under the surface of all of Woolf’s characters in Mrs Dalloway. The story is...Paperback$1299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Buy to WinThe Waves
The Waves, Woolf's innovative modernist novel, is now available in a new Black Classics edition. Tracing the lives of a group of friends, this novel follows their development from childhood to middle age. While social events, individual achievements, and disappointments form its narrative, the novel is most remarkable for the rich poetic language that expresses the inner life of its...Paperback$1800Elsewhere:$2100Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Waves
HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. There was a star riding through clouds one night, and I said to the star, ‘Consume me’ Six friends traverse the uneven road of life together in Virginia Woolf’s most unconventional classic. Bernard, Jinny, Louis, Neville, Rhoda and Susan first meet as children by the sea, and their...Paperback$699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Buy to Win
The Years
A savage indictment of British society at the turn of the century, from the author of Mrs. Dalloway. The Years is the story of three generations of the Pargiter family - their intimacies and estrangements, anxieties and triumphs - mapped out against the bustling rhythms of London's streets during the first decades of the twentieth century. A work of fluid...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Buy to Win
To the Lighthouse
To the Lighthouse is Woolf's most autobiographical novel, now in Penguin Black Classics. To the Lighthouse is at once a vivid impressionistic depiction of a family holiday, and a meditation on marriage, on parenthood and childhood, on grief, tyranny and bitterness. For years now, the Ramsays have spent every summer in their holiday home in Scotland, and they expect these...Paperback$1900Elsewhere:$2100Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Mrs Dalloway
HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day.’ One hot summer’s day in 1923, Clarissa Dalloway sets out to buy...Paperback$1099Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Orlando (Vintage Classics Woolf Series)
Virginia Woolf's most unusual and fantastic creation, a funny, exuberant tale that examines the very nature of sexuality. With introductions by Peter Ackroyd and Margaret Reynolds. As his tale begins, Orlando is a passionate young nobleman whose days are spent in rowdy revelry, filled with the colourful delights of Queen Elizabeth's court. By the close, he will have transformed into...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
To the Lighthouse
HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Every summer, the Ramsays visit their summer home on the beautiful Isle of Skye, surrounded by the excitement and chatter of family and friends, mirroring Virginia Woolf’s own joyful holidays of her youth. But as time passes, and in its wake the First World War, the transience of...Paperback$1299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Buy to WinMrs Dalloway
Twenty new titles in the much-loved and hugely successful Penguin English Library series. Mrs Dalloway beautifully encapsulates the essence of life, echoing in its opening with the sentiment: 'She always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day'. On a June morning in 1923, Clarissa Dalloway is preparing for a party and remembering her...Paperback$1799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
More from Arts & Culture
View all-
Dylan's PickBold Types
A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...Hardback$5999Elsewhere:$7000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseHome Again
Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Buy to Win
Did I Ever Tell You This?
In this unexpected memoir, written in a creative burst of just a few months in 2022, Sam Neill tells the story of how he became one of the world’s most celebrated actors, who has worked with everyone from Meryl Streep to Isabel Adjani, from Jeff Goldblum to Sean Connery, from Steven Spielberg to Jane Campion. By his own account, his...Paperback$3799Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseDisney Moana: The Official Cookbook
Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...Hardback$4499Elsewhere:$5299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
This Angry Pen of Mine
This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...Hardback$7299Elsewhere:$8999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
They Bloom Because of You
Bestselling author and Instagram sensation Jessica Urlichs returns with a new collection of beautifully observed poems about the ever-evolving journey of motherhood - the hard, the magic and the fleeting. ‘A raw and honest read that makes you feel seen and understood in a way that will bring you to tears.’ - Hilary Swank ‘A book to keep close and...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Devotions
New York Times Bestseller, chosen as Oprah's 'Books That Help Me Through' for Oprah's Book Club Chosen by Poetry Book Society as their special commendation 'No matter where one starts reading, Devotions offers much to love, from Oliver's exuberant dog poems to selections from the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Primitive, and Dream Work, one of her exceptional collections. Perhaps more important,...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Buy to WinThe Odyssey
The The Odyssey by Homer is a timeless epic that chronicles the adventures of the legendary Greek hero, Odysseus, as he endeavours to return home to Ithaca following the conclusion of the Trojan War. This monumental journey spans ten arduous years, during which Odysseus encounters a myriad of natural and supernatural challenges. From shipwrecks and ferocious battles to formidable monsters...Hardback$3600Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Buy to Win14% offLeaves of Grass
A collectible new Penguin Classics series offers beautiful, slim, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets. In 1855, Walt Whitman published his first collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. The volume received great praise from leading Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This encouragement led to what would become a lifelong project, as Whitman expanded and rewrote the volume until his death...Hardback$1900Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
I Still Believe in Miracles
I Still Believe in Miracles is a collection of poetry exploring themes of masculinity, love, grief, and connection. This is the trade debut from Instagram phenomenon Lucas Jones, perfect for fans of yung pueblo, Hussain Manawer, and Whitney Hanson. A collection of powerful contemporary poetry, I Still Believe in Miracles delves deeply into themes of masculinity, love, grief, and connection....Hardback$3500Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Beautiful Chaos
The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...Paperback$2900Elsewhere:$3500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseRoadscapes
For four decades, photographer Derek Smith has explored the way New Zealanders travel, work, and express themselves through the vehicles they drive. Roadscapes is his compelling photographic journey through the heartland of New Zealand, capturing our unique car cultures and the social landscapes they inhabit across Aotearoa.Hardback$3699Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
