The saga of my ever-deteriorating physical health continues! After suffering from a severe throat-killing chronic cough for a whole year-and-a-half, I finally had an appointment with an ENT. The "normal" doctor's diagnosis of an acid-reflux disease seems to have been off, since the medication I took for a month made practically no difference.
The good news? I'm not suffering from some life-threatening condition that manifests itself as a cough. The doctor didn't stick that infernal scope down my vocal cords and freak out about what she saw there. It appears that there's really nothing wrong with me.
The bad news? Nothing wrong...EXCEPT THE COUGH. It almost would have been better if she had found something, because then there would be a definitive reason, and it could be treated. As it is now, the only explanation she can offer is that I just started coughing for some reason, and since then my body has self-perpetuated the irritation of my throat.
That or I have some form of asthma.
Well, I'll be taking some cough-suppressing pills to see if that will work. (I absolutely refuse to drink liquid medicine. I don't care if I'm 15 and should be "over this", I positively will not drink anything that tastes that icky.) If all else fails we'll probably try an inhaler to test the asthma theory.
The human body: Finding unique ways to screw you over since the beginning of time!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The best place to find scary story books "for kids"?
I'm lucky enough to be within walking range of at least two bookstores and a library, and in driving range of many more, from small independently-owned stores to chains like Barnes & Noble and (formerly) Borders. (Rest in peace, my beloved Borders.) Being an avid reader (some may say "obsessive", and I will not disagree with them), I've spent plenty of time determining the best places for specific genres. Each store and library has its own strengths and resources when it comes to what they stock.
Personally, I'm always on the look for dark and Gothy books aimed at younger audiences. A lot of parents have trouble wrapping their heads around the idea that not all horror books are gorefests and wildly inappropriate for anyone under 13. Goosebumps aside, that is. Goosebumps are amazing, but when I was spending hours in my school library, I certainly wanted more than that one series that could satisfy my darker reading side. And in fact, I've discovered that the best place I've seen to buy scary story collections aimed at young readers is: Goodwill.
Seriously. I live in range of about three Goodwills, and have been to several more. Every one I've been to has four or five bookcases of haphazardly organized used books, which I always raid with enthusiasm (even though my parents brought me there to buy clothes...ooops). And every single time I've looked, I've found "children's" scary stories books. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I mean a collection of short stories made to be a little creepy but nothing overly scary - the typical book has about 8-15 stories, none more than eight or so pages. The most famous one is probably Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, though don't worry, no other collection/series has those mentally scarring illustrations.
(Oh yeah, have I mentioned that while I've never been scared of a movie or book, but five months ago when I saw the picture for The Dream, I flipped out and refused to touch those books because I was so paranoid there would be more terrifying pictures? Seriously, that Dream illustration, as well as the one from The Thing, made sleeping difficult for WEEKS.)
Anyway. So, if an entertaining short story collection for people under 13 is what you're after, don't waste your time at a normal bookstore. Just browse through the shelves at the nearest Goodwill.
(I put "for kids" in quotations, because I will still be reading these books when I'm 50. The stories are good, darn it!)
(Also, if you have a bunch of old books that you never read anymore, please consider donating them to Goodwill! Just like any other toy or piece of clothing - you may not want or need it, but I can guarantee you a person somewhere would LOVE to have a nice book to read.)
Personally, I'm always on the look for dark and Gothy books aimed at younger audiences. A lot of parents have trouble wrapping their heads around the idea that not all horror books are gorefests and wildly inappropriate for anyone under 13. Goosebumps aside, that is. Goosebumps are amazing, but when I was spending hours in my school library, I certainly wanted more than that one series that could satisfy my darker reading side. And in fact, I've discovered that the best place I've seen to buy scary story collections aimed at young readers is: Goodwill.
Seriously. I live in range of about three Goodwills, and have been to several more. Every one I've been to has four or five bookcases of haphazardly organized used books, which I always raid with enthusiasm (even though my parents brought me there to buy clothes...ooops). And every single time I've looked, I've found "children's" scary stories books. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I mean a collection of short stories made to be a little creepy but nothing overly scary - the typical book has about 8-15 stories, none more than eight or so pages. The most famous one is probably Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, though don't worry, no other collection/series has those mentally scarring illustrations.
(Oh yeah, have I mentioned that while I've never been scared of a movie or book, but five months ago when I saw the picture for The Dream, I flipped out and refused to touch those books because I was so paranoid there would be more terrifying pictures? Seriously, that Dream illustration, as well as the one from The Thing, made sleeping difficult for WEEKS.)
Anyway. So, if an entertaining short story collection for people under 13 is what you're after, don't waste your time at a normal bookstore. Just browse through the shelves at the nearest Goodwill.
(I put "for kids" in quotations, because I will still be reading these books when I'm 50. The stories are good, darn it!)
(Also, if you have a bunch of old books that you never read anymore, please consider donating them to Goodwill! Just like any other toy or piece of clothing - you may not want or need it, but I can guarantee you a person somewhere would LOVE to have a nice book to read.)
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