The Biblio Files
Some of you have asked what I am reading.
From the library I received a book by Seumas MacManus titled The Story of the Irish Race.
I also read Stan Goff's Full Spectrum Disorder, a hard-hitting polemic about war and geopolitics. He fused his Special Ops experiences into a powerful read. I strongly recommend it. I purchased it from http://www.akpress.org/, an outfit that stocks books you will not find in your average bookstore. The staff at the Madison Street jail mail officer would not allow their books inside the jail. Fortunately, the state prisons do not censure reading material. I’ve been scouring the akpress catalogue, which contains such unwholesome titles as A Hand in the Bush: The Fine Art of Vaginal Fisting, definitely not a book to be read around Frankie!
My brain seems to work better in the mornings, so I’ve been commencing each day with little assaults on Joseph Schumpeter’s History of Economic Analysis (thanks Surrah). This
1200-page book details the progression of economics since the Greeks. It was a good choice for my study needs.
After being worn down by Schumpeter, I usually study some of Yong Ho’s Intermediate Chinese (thanks Dad). I am slowly trying to learn the most spoken language in the world, with almost one billion Mandarin Chinese users according to Mr. Ho.
As the day progresses, I switch to lighter reading. I have just completed Thomas Malthus’s An Essay on the Principle of Population. I recently received Sigmund Freud by Richard Wollheim and Extreme Yoga by Jessie Chapman (thanks Mum). I have also recently ordered some books by Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean Jacques Rouseau, and the Marquis de Sade. After digesting those, Jeremy Bentham and Edmund Burke are next on my list.
Whilst reading Malthus’s book, I came across a quote that reminded me of a question I was recently asked: has incarceration broke you? Here's the quote:
That the difficulties of life contribute to generate talents; every day’s experience must convince us. The exertions that men find it necessary to make…frequently awaken faculties that might otherwise have lain forever dormant, and it has been commonly remarked that new and extraordinary situations generally create minds adequate to grapple with the difficulties in which they
are involved.
Instead of feeling resentful and wasting your time, you have used the time usefully, reading, writing and improving yourself. I'm sure one day you'll be a great author. You are an inspiration to anyone in difficult circumstances.
ReplyDeleteKeep strong and stay positive...Jon
Eddie
Will you have access to a computer when you are moved to prison or at least be given a decent pen? Could we send you some pens? I think its disgraceful that you have to write with a pen refill and run the risk of permanent damamge to your hand. Your writing is obviously keeping your spirits up. Its very readable, I'm quite an addict and read your blog every week. I hope you keep writing and don't get discouraged by the lack of writing materials.
ReplyDeleteDFK
Mmmm...that's a great quote. :-)
ReplyDeleteDon't let them ever break you, Jon.
ReplyDeleteJoanne
Amen to that, Jon.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's when the difficulties of life propose themselves to us in a way, that we look into ourselves and our resources, and our inner strength is laid bare, and we are stronger for it.
ReplyDeleteOne day at a time helps build up those resources, and lays the foundation for the next day.
Terry Bates