I know I’ve been wearing you out not only on the NBA, music, books, eating, and mourning, but also, lately, on Albert Camus’ book The Plague. I know it might sound insane to read THAT book right now, but if you have been taking this pandemic seriously, it can make you feel less out of sorts. Though Camus was mostly writing about a different kind of plague than COVID-19, that different kind of plague is perhaps more damagingly in effect right now. I’m re-reading it and it has had a calming (not reassuring) effect on me. As his narrator describes how the citizens of Oran respond to the virus that’s hit them, you’ll find many points of commonality with your own experience–I promise. And it’s not a doorstop tome: it’s an absorbing 300ish pages.
On a less ponderous note (perhaps), I: a) lost my campus ID when it apparently flopped out of my lanyard (I hate those with a passion, which compounds the absurdity), though there’s only about 100 feet where it could have landed that I’ve retraced thrice (I suspect one of the crumbsnatchers in Stephens’ early ed program found it and ate it); b) received my used VHS copy of Sammy and Rosie Get Laid in the mail; c) tried to help Nicole bake a plate of enchiladas and, in doing so, attempted to RE-shred some jack cheese; and d) intentionally slept on the couch in the “TV room” to watch our dog, who is showing signs of age that are bedeviling him.
Streaming for Survivors:
For the formalists in the house, and fans of Illinois power pop.
The Overeem Farewell Tour: Dispatches from the Public School Trenches 
I’ll bite. I own an old Modern Library Books edition of Stuart Gilbert’s translation of The Plague that I’ve been meaning to read for years. It’s now in my to-read-next pile along with Gil Scott-Heron’s The Last Holiday and Olivia Laing’s Funny Weather, Art in an Emergency.
I see you read Xgau Sez too. Good stuff.
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I’m reading the Gilbert edition myself.
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