Etiolated by lack of fresh air

Hey Ben, You posted! I don't know how to attach Word documents to blogs: that would be great! As far as posting an essay to the blog, I don't know if there's any simpler way than just cutting and pasting into a post box. I don't know if there's a character limit for posts. If there is, I'd suggest perhaps posting your thesis (which is pretty long, I assume) on the Wordpress blog, where you could publish it in several different posts - all under one umbrella category, like chapters in a book... Let me know if you're interested, or if MOOCOW isn't cooperating). I agree with you that Werther is quite melodramatic -- but I've come to enjoy this sort of highbrow melodrama (intellectual onanism?), probably from reading so much Proust. Your musing on texts interacting with each other is very interesting: but when you say your two books "speak to each other differently based on who is in the conversation" -- who is the "who" you refer to, and what is this "conversation" you speak of? Haha, but yeah, I know there are books out there about what you're talking about: I'm forgetting names and titles, but my 'Jewish Bible as Lit' teacher was really into texts interacting with each other via reader in different ways at different times etc etc. I'll have to ask her for some good reading suggestions. Anyway, glad to see you're still alive and reading lengthy Russian novels. I'll think of something smarter to say later -- it's time for bed. Oh and by the way: I found that "How to get any woman into bed" post in a Spam email. I'm treating it as an original piece of impressionist poetry (by me, of course :-) ). Be on the lookout for good Spam poetry to steal!