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biography

Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West: Love Letters

Virginia and Vita loved their husbands, and they also loved each other. This book is a selection of letters that they exchanged, and some extracts from their diaries which offered some additional interesting insights. Their correspondence was highly intellectual, yet also so intimate that at times I felt like I was intruding. I learned lots of new English words; with almost every sentence containing one I had never heard of before. I was pleasantly surprised to find pictures of both of them on the inside… Read More »Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West: Love Letters

The Five (by Hallie Rubenhold)

This book is not about Jack the Ripper, who has already gained a lot of notoriety. This book is about the lives of his victims. Their names were Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine, and Mary Jane. I felt overwhelming sadness while reading it, and this was due to the deplorable conditions in which these women lived. There was clearly a great deal of research behind this book. It was heart-wrenching and enraging to learn that just over a century ago, women were considered less important than… Read More »The Five (by Hallie Rubenhold)

Virginia Woolf (by Quentin Bell)

I immersed myself in the pages of this intimate and comprehensive portrait of Virginia Woolf, one of the most celebrated writers of the 20th century. The author, Quentin Bell, had a close personal relationship with her – he was her nephew. Divided into two parts, the first covers Woolf’s childhood, adolescence, and goes until she was 30 years old. While this section contains undoubtedly valuable background information on Woolf’s upbringing and later years, I found it to be a bit slow-paced. The second part of… Read More »Virginia Woolf (by Quentin Bell)

Maria Montessori (by Grazia Honegger Fresco)

Maria Montessori is more well-known and appreciated abroad than in Italy. There are many books about her biography written in English that seem to be very well read and reviewed. In fact, her teaching method, which focuses on the individuality and autonomy of the child, is still incredibly popular today all over the world. This book, full of references to facts and events, covers Maria Montessori’s entire life: her years of training in which she was one of the first female doctors in Italy, the… Read More »Maria Montessori (by Grazia Honegger Fresco)

Into the Wild (by Jon Krakauer)

A few years ago, I watched the film that was the adaptation of this book. The film was inspiring and emotional – I expected the same from the book. Perhaps, I even expected more given that a book is always richer than a film in details. WARNING – THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE FILM so if you want to watch it, which I’d highly recommend, stop reading here and come back once you’ve watched the film :-). However, the book was only a bit… Read More »Into the Wild (by Jon Krakauer)