Best Virginia Woolf book to read first?

Orlando is amazing and not at all a hard read.

I would say Mrs Dalloway. "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself" is one of the only first lines from books I can ever remember - that and The Hobbit!

How about Flush, the fictional biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's spaniel? I have read it, but a long time ago. Have also read Mrs Dalloway and enjoyed that. If you like that then you might also enjoy The Hours by Michael Cunningham which is heavily influenced by Mrs Dalloway.

I have only read Mrs Dalloway and To The Lighthouse and both felt like hard work when I was reading but I would come across a sentence or a passage and decide VW was a genius. Mrs Dalloway stands out for me and I see has already been recommended.

Orlando is wonderful

Virginia Woolf was a long toil up a muddy field. The Hours was considerably more enjoyable than anything she wrote.

I found To The Lighthouse quite hard work but I thought Mrs Dalloway was quite a smooth read.

Her diaries and letters are very readable if you are happy to read non fiction

Another vote for Mrs Dalloway, it's a very absorbing read.

I enjoyed Mrs Dalloway (and The Hours too), but my favourite is The Waves.