Obsessed with Plagues

The Great Plague: The Story of London's Most Deadly Year
by A. Lloyd Moote and Dorothy C. Moote
Johns Hopkins University Press (2004)

I'm obsessed with all things plague, influenza, and other such infectious diseases. It started in high school and only expanded as I studied genetics and molecular biology in college. When this book was published, I knew I had to read it.

The authors have done a massive amount of research to bring to light the plight of the people of London during the last epidemic of the plague (1665). They quote extensively from parish records and the Bills of Mortality (as is to be expected of any plague book), but they focus more on the diaries and letters of people in the city and suburbs of London. These men are focused on the health of his patients, the souls in his congregation, and sometimes, the size of his pocketbook. (It's to be expected that the majority of sources were written by men, given the culture of the time.)

The perfect combination of historian (A. Lloyd Moote) and microbiologist (Dorothy Moote) leads to a story riveting in the detail of daily life as it was in London in 1665 and how it was transformed (devastated) by the plague. I am amazed at the depth of the research and the impressive flow of the text. (Many books on infectious diseases read little better than tables of numbers or unwanted text books - interesting for scholars, but not generally recommended.)

If you're intrigued by London life in 1665 or interested in how epidemics can impact daily human life, you'll enjoy this book. One of my strongest tests of a book's worth (especially non-fiction) is how many more books do I want to read based on the comments in the preface, text, and endnotes. I added 16 books to my Wish List based on mentions in The Great Plague. I'd call that a success. (I know; at this rate, I'll never get through a fraction of the books I want to read.)

Sad Truth in Fiction

Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy
Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky

Josh has read many works translated by this couple so of course he grabbed Anna Karenina as soon as it came out. It took me a while to finally sit down to read it and I only regret I waited so long. I actually read it last year but didn't want to leave it off the blog because it was so amazing. I loved Levin's character, perhaps finding similarities with my own agonizing when everything seems so simple from the outside. His relationship with Kitty is all that Anna and Count Vronsky can never have. I've read other reviews that have said the tragic relationship of Anna and Vronsky is dependent on the 19th century Russian society so well depicted by Tolstoy, but I prefer to view their experiences as accurate portrayals of the emotional consequences of the betrayal of marriage. (Hope I haven't given too much away here.) It's a magnificent book - absolutely one of the best works of fiction I've ever read.

I apologize this is Oprah's version, but in this case you should read it anyway. Don't bother with anyone else's translation.

Punctuation with a Punch Line

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
by Lynne Truss

It seems fitting to begin our foray into a reading blog with a little book on punctuation bemoaning the fate of the English (and yes, that's the UK) language in an era of electronic communication. Josh picked out this intriguing book and insisted I would enjoy it. I admit - I only grabbed it last week because I was waiting for more library books. (Josh is my lackey in this since the Brooklyn Public Library and I have had a falling-out, so sometimes I have to wait for books. Since he carries them from Fordham for me, I feel I can't be too picky on his timing.) So there I am on the New York subway, laughing out loud at the flippant tone Ms. Truss takes on every issue, despite her seriousness. I don't know how many books she had to read on punctuation to research this book (there's a hefty bibliography), but I am sure the vast majority fell far short of the entertainment she provides.

It is printed here in the States without any modification, and many of the rules and examples are slightly different. Even so - and even though I consider myself a careful writer - I learned much I have already put to use (particularly on the semicolon). Beware, though! You might find yourself picking out errors in all the newspapers for days after finishing it.

On a side note, I apologize to those who are not fans of Amazon.com - I'm sure you know a store you like where you can find this book. If you're on good terms with your library, you could even find a copy there. In the meantime, I wanted a link to the book. (I considered taking a picture or scanning ours, but the cover has disappeared and the book suffered some accident with an unknown liquid in a suitcase on one of our recent travels, so that wouldn't work. I promise this is not just an excuse to allow us to avoid lending the book out.)

Enjoy!

What to Expect

So, I'm starting a new blog. You'd think with a full time job, a 15-month-old son, various committments at church and a long-distance family, I'd have enough to do, but lately I've been reading a lot of fantastic books. (Thank you, God, that Caleb is going to bed at 7:30 pm every night and not waking up until at least midnight, and sometimes 3 am.) And now I want to tell everyone about all these fantastic books. Since my family and many of my friends are far away, I choose to share through a blog.

So what should you expect from the Papsdorfs' posts about recent good books? I'm not sure about Josh, but Caleb and I are going to give only the most basic book reports. I don't have that much time, you know. If you want detailed book reviews, I'm sure all of you know where to find them. On this blog you'll get to see what we've read that's worthy of your time. And, so, it begins.