265 - War and Pestilence

265 - War and Pestilence, originally uploaded by carolfoasia.

Via Flickr:
"Everybody knows that pestilences have a way of recurring in the world; yet somehow we find it hard to believe in ones that crash down on our heads from a blue sky. There have been as many plagues as wars in history; yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise. . . When a war breaks out, people say: 'It’s too stupid; it can’t last long.' But though a war may well be 'too stupid,' that doesn’t prevent its lasting. Stupidity has a knack of getting its way; as we should see if we were not always so much wrapped up in ourselves" (Camus, Albert (2012-08-08). The Plague (Locations 524-530). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.).

I looked at my four remaining books from my "100 Great Books" List, and they are all about war and pestilence! Catch-22 and House Made of Dawn address the effects of World Ward II, Farewell to Arms is about Italy in World War I, and The Plague is about an outbreak in Algeria in the 1940's. I think these books would appeal to my husband much more than they appeal to me. Although even he had to have his dad explain to him what was happening in Catch-22 when he read it in high school.

What cheery reading on these fall days!