tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932882133587497416.post2353895782787838765..comments2023-09-11T11:08:27.172+01:00Comments on Curate's egg: Intimidating booksKarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504446211868008723noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932882133587497416.post-12520438407577903682013-01-06T13:28:25.332+00:002013-01-06T13:28:25.332+00:00Hugo and Sartre? Now there's a PhD I could get...Hugo and Sartre? Now there's a PhD I could get out of bed for! I agree with your student, Les Mis is such a pleasure to read.<br /><br />Thanks for the clarification re existentialism. That's what I thought. I think my husband's enjoying his book, and gives me regular updates. It's making for some interesting discussions.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10504446211868008723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932882133587497416.post-29792046904882547552013-01-05T10:37:24.158+00:002013-01-05T10:37:24.158+00:00I was fortunate enough to have a PhD student to wo...I was fortunate enough to have a PhD student to work with who was a delight and we really bonded over the years we were together. Half his PhD was on Hugo and half on Sartre, the link being their commitment to politics and drama combined. He adored Les Mis and swore it was just a huge blockbuster and a synch to read, the Sidney Sheldon of the 19th century! As for your existentialist issue, the words obscure but the idea simple. In-itself refers to inanimate objects like chairs and stones. When being is for-itself it simply means there's a self-reflexive consciousness at work, which only happens in human beings. We are aware of what we do (though not always, alas, and Sartre's personal life bears the evidence of what happens if you don't pay sufficient attention to your blind spots, but that's another story). I'm really sorry about the cold, though. My husband has it too!litlovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10952927245186474480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932882133587497416.post-10361716276672229822013-01-04T11:35:08.195+00:002013-01-04T11:35:08.195+00:00Thank you Alex, I'm feeling much better now.
...Thank you Alex, I'm feeling much better now.<br /><br />That's a wonderful memory of 'Les Miserables' and what an honour to play the Bishop!Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10504446211868008723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932882133587497416.post-2255139918334180252013-01-03T08:09:17.128+00:002013-01-03T08:09:17.128+00:00I envy you, Karen. When I have a cold reading is ...I envy you, Karen. When I have a cold reading is completely impossible; I just can't concentrate for long enough. That's when my stock of audiobooks comes out. I find it easier to listen than to read. As for 'Les Miserables', I read it years ago and absolutely loved it. As you say, long it may be but it is superb storytelling. The reason I read it was because that first section about the Bishop has been made into a play called 'The Bishop's Candlesticks' which my school house (Austen) produced as our offering for the House Cup in my last year. (This is not as grand as it sounds, we were just an ordinary Grammar School at a time when they were still ten a penny.) I was the Bishop. Having what I considered to be a head start I plunged into it and was caught up before I realised what a formidable task I'd set myself. I hope you go enjoying it as much as you are now and that your cold is soon better.Alexhttp://thinkinginfragments.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com