How Should One Read a Book?

Trace Woolf’s extensive use of simile and metaphor. Why do you think she includes this imagery in her essay, rather than relying on more traditional forms of nonfiction argument alone?

Research the Modernist literary movement. How does Woolf’s essay reflect Modernism in 1926? Do you think her voice is representative of Modernism or an outlier?

Woolf revised her 1926 essay for its inclusion in the 1932 second volume of The Common Reader. Compare the two versions to identify the differences and consider why Woolf may have made these precise changes.

Woolf references both male and female authors, although the female names were often overlook at the time. Excepting Austen, do you consider the female authors to be as well-known today as the male ones? Research the women Woolf references and analyze why she included them in her essay.

Woolf writes that “in this room, if nowhere else, we breathe the air of freedom. Here simple and learned, man and woman are alike.” Use this quote as a starting point for a discussion of Woolf’s ideas on equality, freedom, and access to education.

Do you think Woolf was writing for a “common reader?” in the 1920s and 1930s? Why or why not?

Consider the place of the essay in The Second Common Reader. In what ways do you think the essay speaks to and informs the other works in the collection?

The essay’s structure is shaped by Woolf’s exploration of different genres of writing. How does this structure contribute to her argument?