By Mahud this time.
It's called the 123 BookMeme.
It just so happens that the book nearest to me as I write this-at lunchtime at work - is Derrick Jensen's Endgame Vol.1 -The Problem of Civilization
These are the rules:
Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages)
Open the book to page 123
Find the fifth sentence
Post the next three sentences
Tag five people
I continued, "There's a deeper point here, which has to do with our attempts to separate ourselves from the rest of the world, to pretend we're not natural, to consider ourselves exempt from the way the world works. Consider our utter disregard for overshooting carrying capacity-our belief that somehow these ecological principles don't apply to us. Consider also our denial of death and our deification of humans, especially civilized humans, most especially rich white civilized humans. ..."
This book, by the way, which I just started reading yesterday, is having a powerful effect on me already.
I have laughed out loud and I have wanted to cry, all in one chapter.
Right now, I feel vaguely depressed and pretty deeply angry at ourselves.
The man is a fantastic writer.
I'm sorry Mahud - I'm not going to tag 5 people this time. I've only got so much lunchtime left!
Well, I've stopped reading a lot of different kinds of books and started thinking for myself.
ReplyDeleteBut I am working on "Einstein - His Life and Universe".
And "Einstein on Peace" is a good book. But if he was still here I think that he would have a few different ideas than he did before he died.
The problem with civilization is simple. Mankind isn't all that civilized yet, and pretty not much spiritual.
They can't see that they are the spirit (god) in evolution. They just drive me nuts.
And the women are so damn needy, they drive me nuts also.
Oh well, I figure that in a few years I will need a hiding place in the mountains to get away from all the ugly stuff.
In the news
ReplyDeleteAnthropocene
Here is sentence 5 plus 3, p. 123 from the book lying nearest to me, which is "Gray Magic," a novel by ... me.
ReplyDelete"The Templar Stephen St. Clair boarded a crowded rowboat under the cover of darkness, one of the last knights to leave the city. As the rowboat bobbed in the surf, he searched the horizon for the lantern. It could not be seen, and he was sitting above the water line.
"A swimmer would have a far more difficult time finding that elusive beacon."
Gray Magic will be published this year by Georgia Peach Press.