![]() ![]() Please don’t judge me!Įach of the couples on the following list has had some kind of profound influence on me, whether it be how I view myself, relationships, the world, or the art of fiction writing. ![]() It just so happens that most of my favourites do…and so I’ve decided to do the clichéd thing and write about my favourite literary couples on Valentine’s Day. Interpersonal connections are one of the key drivers of the human condition, after all.ĭon’t get me wrong, not every book has to have romantic themes in order for me to enjoy them. I just find that watching relationships develop between characters makes them feel more real. ![]() Not because I’m a romance novel junkie (because I’m not), or because I look for any excuse to fangirl over the latest ship (because I don’t…most of the time). For many years I’ve held the belief that romance is an integral part of a story. ![]()
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![]() ![]() ![]() This new edition, published to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of its original publication, contains Margaret Canovan’s 1998 introduction and a new foreword by Danielle Allen.Ī classic in political and social theory, The Human Condition is a work that has proved both timeless and perpetually timely. Keywords: Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition, human nature, vita activa. The Human Condition Study Guide Hannah Arendt Study Guide Documents Q&As Discussions Download a PDF to print or study offline. The problems Arendt identified then-diminishing human agency and political freedom, the paradox that as human powers increase through technological and humanistic inquiry, we are less equipped to control the consequences of our actions-continue to confront us today. Despite the ambition that is implied in the title The Human Condition. In her study of the state of modern humanity, Hannah Arendt considers humankind from the perspective of the actions of which it is capable. That indelible relationship between speech and action in an honorable existence is what Hannah Arendt (October 14, 1906December 4, 1975) examines throughout The Human Condition ( public library) the immensely influential 1958 book that gave us Arendt on the crucial difference between how art and science illuminate life. ![]() The past year has seen a resurgence of interest in the political thinker Hannah Arendt, “the theorist of beginnings,” whose work probes the logics underlying unexpected transformations-from totalitarianism to revolution.Ī work of striking originality, The Human Condition is in many respects more relevant now than when it first appeared in 1958. ![]() ![]() ![]() Niall Ferguson is one of the world’s most renowned historians. ![]() Doom is the lesson of history that this country - indeed the West as a whole - urgently needs to learn, if we want to handle the next crisis better, and to avoid the ultimate doom of irreversible decline. ![]() ![]() Drawing from multiple disciplines, including economics, cliodynamics, and network science, Ferguson offers not just a history but a general theory of disasters, showing why our ever more bureaucratic and complex systems are getting worse at handing them. Why? Why did only a few Asian countries learn the right lessons from SARS and MERS? While populist leaders certainly performed poorly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Niall Ferguson argues that more profound pathologies were at work - pathologies already visible in our responses to earlier disasters. Yet in 2020 the responses of many developed countries, including the United States, to a new virus from China were badly bungled. But when disaster strikes, we ought to be better prepared than the Romans were when Vesuvius erupted, or medieval Italians when the Black Death struck. Pandemics, like earthquakes, wildfires, financial crises, and wars, are not normally distributed there is no cycle of history to help us anticipate the next catastrophe. Disasters are inherently hard to predict. Setting the annus horribilis of 2020 in historical perspective, Niall Ferguson explains why we are getting worse, not better, at handling disasters. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() It seems Kate is trying to steal Jake from her, but is all as it really seems? Is Kate the bad guy? Who is she – really? Everything seems to be going great – until their new lodger, Kate, moves in. It follows Marisa, a young woman in London who is viewing a property for her and her boyfriend Jake. The writing is very unique, set in the present but very much similar to how Day would speak herself. ![]() I didn’t know what to expect from Magpie. A great introduction to reading her books – I wonder what her previous ones will be like? It is the first fiction of many that I hope to read of Day’s, so much so I currently have The Party and Home Fires on loan from the library. Regardless of my already being a fan, I attempt to remain impartial… but I bloomin’ loved it! Her recent novel of 2021, Magpie, is creepy, full of suspense and packed with experiences that reflect her own regarding infertility. This is the first novel I have read by Elizabeth Day after falling in love with her memoir, How to Fail and podcast. ![]() ![]() On January 17, 1577, she had written to her brother, Don Lorenzo de Cepeda, at Avila: ‘I have asked the bishop-Don Alvaro Mendoza-for my book (the Life) because I shall perhaps complete it by adding those new favours our Lord has lately granted me. The rapidity with which it was written is easily explained by the fact that the Saint had conceived its plan some time previously. But there was a long interruption of five months, 1 so that the actual time spent in the composition of this work was reduced to about four weeks-a fortnight for the first, and another fortnight for the second half of the book. ![]() SAINT TERESA began to write the Interior Castle on June 2, 1577, Trinity Sunday, and completed it on the eve of St. ![]() ![]() ![]() YA Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner.I just couldn't help thinking about how Heidi was instrumental in helping Clara, it had that sort of feel to it for me. It isn't until Trixie begins spending time with Honey that she begins to take more risks and really begins to thrive and develop a confidence in herself. Honey comes from a rich family and at the beginning of the book she is rather frail, kind of like Clara was until she met Heidi. Somehow, Trixie and Honey reminded me of reading Heidi. It really is a sweet friendship that I suspect will continue in further books. Especially, since Honey has horses and promised to teach her how to ride, if Trixie will teach her how to ride a bicycle. ![]() ![]() "I'm thirsty and hung-gry! Holp!" Now that a new girl (Honey) has moved in the Manor House up the way, Trixie is pretty excited that she will have someone her age to spend her summer with. Love how he still has that baby language going for him too. Trixie's older brothers are away at camp, so we don't really get to meet them in this book, but Trixie does have a younger brother who provides for some exciting moments. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Looking on in horror at the apparent dedication of the new president and his ragtag electorate to reproducing all of humanity’s worst mistakes are scientist and beleaguered single mother of two (her nanny was melted during the invasion and now she has no childcare – “My hip pain has spread to my jaw”) Dr Farrah Braun (Tina Fey) and historian Simon Prioleau (Sam Richardson). Military matters are overseen by a wayward teen (Ayo Edebiri) who had the street smarts to dress in the uniform of a dead high-ranking marine and is now known as General Scarpaccio despite the uniform being six sizes too big for him. ![]() ![]() His self-appointed vice-president is Senator Cartwright LaMarr (Dana Carvey), bent on becoming the true power behind the scenes and dreaming of a world in which “corporations are people and people are not!” He is soon in cahoots with Johnny Zhao (Ronny Chieng), the richest man in the world since Jeff Bezos and fellow multi-billionaires took off in a rocket that was mown down by the aliens. Mulligan is made president and Lucy Suwan (Chrissy Teigen), the Miss America candidate with whom he was having a fling when the apocalypse began, becomes First Lady. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I haven’t read a lot of manga, so it could be a format issue. ![]() Love Makes Everything Right by Sanae Rokuya – this is a yaoi manga story (love between boys), and I wasn’t particularly impressed with the story or the characters. I got advice from my favorite romance afficionados (Jenn, Maddie, Sarah), and here’s what I ended up reading. I wanted to touch on many different genres (manga, prose, gay, lesbian, straight, historical, contemporary, non-white characters, etc). ( Princess in Black, She Left Me the Gun (audiobook), The Turner House, One of Us, An Age of License, The Assistants, Small Data, Of Walking In Ice, The New Jim Crow)īut more importantly, FEBRUARY! What with Valentine’s Day and all, I decided that it should be Romance Month. January was just simply “How Many Books Can You Read?” I managed 9. However, I’ve been finding myself reading way more with my new job (and new commute), so I thought it might be good to challenge myself this year. I tend to hover around 60 books read a year, about a book a week with some palate cleansers – graphic novels, YA/Chapter books, etc. It may surprise you to hear that, booklover though I am, I’m not a particularly fast reader. Greetings, all you book-loving fiends (and friends)! For 2016, I’ve decided to give myself a different challenge each month. ![]() ![]() As I’m trying to reduce the number of unread books on my Audible account, I decided to listen to it last week. ![]() One of the many reasons that I’m glad I don’t have a subscription anymore. No doubt it was part of an Audible daily deal or something. Somewhere along the way, I also bought an audiobook copy of it. As ever, it sat on my shelves for ages without being read. It’s definitely the kind of book that appeals to me though, so no doubt I would have picked it up anyway. ![]() I don’t even think I properly looked at the cover before I bought it. It was just one that they happened to be recommended. ![]() It wasn’t something that I knew a lot about before I walked into the shop. Mostly so we could take advantage of their special offer. I picked it up on a whim when I was in Waterstones. I’m pretty sure that I bought a copy of this on my first holiday after Covid. ![]() ![]()
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