I just wanted to update everyone who was wondering what happened with the pulmonologist (see the previous post, please). We ended up pushing the appointment back until August, so that the insurance people have a chance to work things out on their end. BUT, one of the respiratory therapists that I have known basically forever informed Dad that my primary care physician can sign the paperwork for me to keep my second vent. Yay! That means all of this was definitely unnecessary stress. Hopefully, everything is on its way to being straightened out. Wish us luck and send good vibes!
Author: shawnaborman
How Not To Treat Your Patients And Acceptable Alternatives
Hello, hello! Today’s post will be devoted to the cripple side of life, rather than writing or food (and it’s kind of a rant). As many of you know, at best, I dislike doctors and, at worst, I despise them. I don’t like people who touch/grab/pull at me without asking FIRST and listening when I explain my limitations (doctors are great at the grabbing, but not so much with the listening). My anxiety levels are usually already maxed out before I even enter the building due to other fears mingling with the whole “it’s a doctor’s appointment” thing. Still, if a doctor says they want to see me, I make an appointment. I’ve never missed an appointment without a legitimate reason and, if something happens that I have to cancel, I do so as early as possible. Even though I don’t particularly like doctors, I’m not difficult to get along with as long as space boundaries are respected and they make their wishes known. Communication is key here.
So, here are some things that I do NOT respond to well as a patient (for my pulmonologist, but any doctor really):
1. Threatening to take away one of my machines. He didn’t threaten this directly, but he refuses to sign the paperwork okaying my second ventilator unless I come see him. We (my dad and I) have received no phone calls or emails or anything in the last year and more than a half (since my last appointment) saying this doctor wanted me to come in for a check up or else we would have complied. Instead, we got a call from the company supplying my vents that said they are going to take one away if the doctor won’t sign the paperwork. Does he really think I’ve gotten better since my last appointment? No. That’s not how this disease works.
2. Being forced to make a rushed appointment when it’s not technically necessary. Which is exactly what the above situation called for. I’ve only seen this doctor twice before, but both times he was booked months out, so a quick appointment isn’t exactly easy. Luckily, he had an opening for tomorrow (today? Wednesday, July 13th).
3. Being informed two days before my appointment that the hospital doesn’t accept my insurance. So, my options become a) cancel the appointment and risk losing one of my vents or b) paying $570 out of pocket. This is the ultimatum amidst a clusterfuck (pardon my language) of people trying to figure out if they can get my insurance to work with two days notice. I’m just glad I have Dad to field the phone calls (sorry I’m a PITA, or at least the reason you have to deal with this crap). It’s unnecessary stress that will most likely end up with us out $570. We’ll find out tomorrow (today?). If the appointment isn’t pushed back. We won’t know what’s going on until some time in the morning (just hours before the appointment). Yeah. Great.
Some acceptable alternatives to these things:
1. Call/email/text/send a carrier pigeon to schedule an appointment BEFORE you decide I don’t need a machine. I, like many people, don’t even think about doctors unless I’m sick/in immense pain/dying. And 90% of the time, I don’t even go then. If you want to see me, tell me. It’s that easy.
2. Give me plenty of notice. Hell, I will gladly make (and keep) an appointment for a year out if you want to make it as I leave the appointment we just had. If you don’t want to do that, see the first item of this list. Preferably, give me a month or two notice in case we run across any issues like you not accepting my insurance, so we have time to work it out.
3. Take my insurance information earlier, so we can work out any wrinkles without the pressure of an impending appointment. Follow the first two steps, and this one will be no problem. It’ll also give us time to explore our other options (whether that be insurance or doctors or whatever).
In other words, use common sense and common courtesy. I don’t know why these things are called ‘common’ when they’re anything but. Hopefully, my appointment tomorrow (today?) won’t be as much of a disaster as I’m imagining. Many people involved in this debacle have been very nice and understanding. Some have not. Either way, Dad and I have been stressing about all of this, so someone (knowing Dad, probably a lot of someones) is going to get an earful. If we go. Like I said, still waiting on the green light.
Sorry for the rant! I know my problems don’t compare to what’s happening in the rest of the world, but they bug me nonetheless. Thanks for listening/reading. Back to the regularly scheduled randomness next week. Peace out.
An Odd Interview Question
Hello again! Happy July! I hope my fellow Americans had a safe and wonderful Independence Day. I also hope all of my Canadian friends did the same on Canada Day. Anyway, about a week ago, I was searching through some of my old files from my Eastfield (community college) days looking for a particular poem when I ran across a list of interview questions I had to create for one of my classes. One of those questions brought back some memories. The question was “If you could transform into any creature (real, mythical, extinct, or otherwise), what would it be and why?” For some reason, it always seemed to make whoever I asked stop and really think hard. Even the teacher remarked that it was an odd and creative question. Which was weird, because it’s the type of thing that I think about all the time. Maybe it was because I didn’t set up any rules (no time limit, no information on whether the change is permanent, etc.). I left everything up to the person being asked. Or maybe I’m just weird. But I thought I’d take the chance to answer the question myself, since I never have before.
So, if I could transform into any creature (real, mythical, extinct, or otherwise), what would it be and why? That one has always been a no-brainer for me. Of course, I would be a mermaid. The “why” is a little more complicated. I mean, aside from the fact that they’re awesome and Ariel was nuts to give up her fins for a man, what other reasons do I need? Fine, we can get personal I guess.
First, and contrary to popular opinion, I actually love water. I miss being able to go swimming immensely, not that I could actually swim, it was more of a vertical doggie paddle. But yeah, I liked being in water because it gave me much more control over my body (I could walk, and move my arms, and stretch beyond my comfort zone without having to worry about someone assisting me and pushing me too far/breaking something, etc.). So, the attraction to water led to an early love of mermaids. Then came the whole gills versus lungs thing. My lungs suck, so gills became even more attractive as I got older. But I swear my attraction to mermaids is mostly because they are magical and gorgeous and so fecking cool.
It’s not like I want to be a mermaid all the time, though. So, the power to switch back and forth would be a must. At least in the beginning. Who knows, I might enjoy exploring the sea so much that I eventually never want to come back. Or I might hate it. Either way, I want the option. Maybe I’d have a limited number of swaps (like maybe five or something; always an odd number so I’d be forced to choose human on the fourth or whatever try, but always have that lingering option to go mermaid forever) to make things more exciting. I should probably write about mermaids more often. Story idea: cripple turns into mermaid. Must eventually choose between life on land or at sea. Adventures and peril abound. I could totally write that.
What about you? What creature would you choose? Is it a no-brainer or do you have to think about it? And yes, staying human is an option as long as you explain your reasoning. It doesn’t have to be a deep, thoughtful reason either. Go with your gut!
See you next week!
A Look Inside Zenna
Hi again! I haven’t done a restaurant review in quite a while, so I figured it was about time. Dad and I tried Zenna, a relatively new Thai and Japanese restaurant in Mesquite (I have no experience with the other locations, just to be clear), again on Sunday. We tried it once before when it first opened and the food wasn’t that good, but we usually give places a second chance unless something drastically bad happens, so here are my thoughts on our second try. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take any pictures, so you’ll have to deal with the couple I borrowed from their Yelp page.
A reminder of my rating system:
MMMMM = Everything is magnificent!
MMMM = Great, but something is off.
MMM = Pretty good, but a couple of things could be better.
MM = The bad’s starting to outweigh the good.
M = Definitely more cons than pros.
… = I couldn’t find anything nice to say.
As usual, I’ll start with accessibility. Other than the semi-tight squeeze to get out of the way so Dad could open the second set of doors (not unusual at all around here, thus the norm), it’s pretty easy to manuever around this place. Where there are steps, there’s also a ramp. They have some half-booths available so I could sit on the side with chairs and Dad could’ve had a choice, but we sat at a regular table instead. Table height was perfect for me, but I did run into the central table leg. It wasn’t a major inconvenience, though. So, A+ for accessibility.
Service. The waiter was pretty good. He was a little iffy when it came to whether or not he thought he should talk to me, but after a couple of reminders that I could indeed order for myself, he seemed to get more comfortable. He was good about not rushing things and brought everything we asked for in a timely manner. Dad did have to ask for a refill on his seltzer, but that’s no big deal since the waiter was always nearby and quick to respond. He did forget to ask us about the spice level we wanted, but after our first experience (my level two came out more like a level four), we were fine with adding the chili paste ourselves.
And, of course, we must discuss the food. This was where things went wrong on our first visit. Everything was either bland or burn-your-taste-buds spicy. This trip was much better. We had the sashimi seaweed salad (the fish tasted fresh and the seaweed was weirdly delicious) and basil chicken wraps (definitely recommend) to start. We also shared a bowl of Tom-Kah Kai. This is one of those things that we have at every Thai place we go to and basically judge everything else based on our experience with this soup. Some places have amazing Tom-Kah and some don’t. We don’t usually go back to the ones without it. Zenna’s Tom-Kah Kai is really good. It’s not my absolute favorite, but it’s close to home and satisfying.
For entrees, Dad had the combination Sweet Basil and I had the chicken Pad See-Eew. Both dishes were yummy and had really nice flavors. Dad actually said his needed more vegetables. MORE. The carnivore that is my dad wanted more veggies. That’s saying a lot. Other than that, we enjoyed our meals both that night and the next morning with poached eggs on top. We also split a Midnight Roll (smoked eel, cucumber, avacado, salmon, and some other stuff), which wasn’t bad, but if I want sushi and the like, I’d rather go a few restaurants over to a place called Kaze’s.
Dessert… Dad got the sticky rice with mango and I had the black rice with coconut custard. Both were good in their own right, but not my favorite. I’m used to the black rice being more of a pudding than this was, but otherwise it was tasty and I have nothing to really complain about. It was simply not what I was expecting.
Lastly, the price. It actually wasn’t too bad considering portion sizes. Dad and I have easily dropped $100 on that amount of food. This was about $70 (pre-tip. Always remember to tip your servers.). Not bad at all.
So, overall I was happy with this experience. We’ll go back. There are better Thai places, but they’re all a half-hour or so drive for us. It’s nice to have a place ten minutes down the road. My official rating:
MMMM
Craft Books And Why We Need Them
Hello, hello! A few days ago, I was bored and skimming through Facebook when I came across a friend’s post about how she had finally gotten back to writing after a pretty long break. Being bored makes me nosy, so I read through the comments and noticed someone who is admittedly new to writing ask for some tips on how to improve her writing beyond practicing each day. Let’s be honest, practicing every day is great, but if you don’t know the basics and how to push yourself beyond your limits, you’re not going to get very far. How do you learn the basics of writing? Surprise! There are instruction manuals for basically everything, including writing. We just happen to call them craft books.
If you’re like me, you despise craft books because all of your English professors made you read the most boring literary ones they could find. When you just want to write about demons and serial killers (or dragons and fairies for the fantasy crew/aliens and far away galaxies for the sci-fi crew/etc.), these books get old fast. So, here’s my quick list of crafty type books for genre writers.
1. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler. It’s based around Joseph Cambell’s Hero’s Journey (the basic structure of Western mythology and the different archetypes of the characters and all that). My favorite part is that it’s aimed specifically at genre writing, so you won’t run across any random derogatory remarks about your chosen field like I have in other craft books.
2. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss. I don’t care if you’re the smartest grammar Nazi in the world, we all need a little help with punctuation sometimes. If you like dry British humor and concise explanations, this is the punctuation rulebook for you. Yes, there are certainly more comprehensive and technical books out there, but unless you’re an English professor or an academic writer, I don’t really find them necessary.
3. Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need by Blake Snyder. Okay, so it’s not your traditional craft book, but it’s helpful with things like structure and dialogue. Plus, it might just encourage you to try your hand at screenwriting. It’s one of those books that explains a lot of the same things traditional craft books cover, but it comes at them from a different perspective. So, if other books aren’t working for you, give this one a shot.
4. Danse Macabre by Stephen King. This one is more of a history of horror than it is a craft book, but there’s a ton of useful information in here for horror writers. I’ll also mention that On Writing by King is supposed to be a wonderful, more general craft book if you’re not looking for something specifically horror related. I haven’t read the latter yet, but it’s on my to-be-read list.
5. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft by Janet Burroway. I have no idea which edition I read (I believe it was the 8th), but I do know that she insinuates that genre fiction is common and lowbrow while lauding literary fiction. Why would I suggest this book then? Mostly because the writing exercises were worthwhile. Plus the technical parts are short and to the point instead of super repetitive. So, if you want a decent version of the undergrad go-tos, pick this one up, just be prepared for derogatory remarks toward genre fiction.
I’m sure I forgot a lot of great craft books, and I’m definitely trying to forget a lot of bad ones, but I think this is enough to start with. What about you? Do you have any favorites that aren’t on this list? Do you think they’re important to keep around even if you’re a seasoned writer? I admit to selling most of my undergrad craft books, but I’ve kept all of the ones from Stonecoast (even the ones I hated), because there’s always something they can teach you.
Cripple Rant
Hi there! So, you remember that post I made about three months ago, Murphy’s Law for Cripples? Well, it’s been three months and nine visits later, and things still aren’t fixed. They replaced the lift pump about a month after everything started (far too long), so that’s been working, but the new one is already clicking and catching and acting like it’s going to go out soon which doesn’t instill much confidence in the product. But hey, at least they spelled “front” right this time!
The chair batteries, on the other hand, are still messing up, though not quite as bad as they were. For the first month, month and a half, I couldn’t leave my room, let alone the house, because the batteries were dying so fast that I had to keep my vent plugged into the wall instead of the chair. Originally, the excuse was that the company was using cheap batteries which they tried me on twice. Batteries they KNOW don’t support a chair with additional functions (lay-back, vent support, etc.), but they use them to save money and because they have them in stock instead of having to order them. But if you’re sending guys out to change them every couple of months instead of every couple of years, how is that saving anything?
Eventually, they got the “good” batteries for me, but they still drained super fast. Another check in revealed that the guy had wired my vent to them wrong (an honest mistake that he owned up to right away, so no bad feelings there). The batteries were STILL draining, albeit not as fast, but faster than they’re supposed to, so they replaced them again figuring some of the cells had been damaged from the miswired vent. Guess what happened? Yup, the newest set are draining again! But a least I can leave the house. I did have to skip a few events because of the whole debacle though, so that didn’t make me very happy.
Anyway, this past week they decided to take the chair into the shop to tear it down so they could search for the real problem. What did this mean for me? Well, since my chair is one of the few things I don’t have a backup for (no place to store one), it meant that I stayed up all night on Thursday, slept all day Friday until they brought it back (they picked it up around nine, nine-thirty that morning and brought it back around six-thirty), then stayed up all Friday night and Saturday until around ten pm. I haven’t done that crap since I was in my early twenties. Needless to say, I am not twenty anymore. But now, the problem is supposedly my motors. They’re going out which is drawing more power from my batteries than usual. Who knows how long it’ll take to get those changed out. Hopefully not another three months.
But then, I woke up on Sunday, got on Facebook, and realized all my problems were insignificant.
Cozying Up With A Cozy
Howdy, howdy! It’s currently Monday (June 6th) and, instead of being productive, I decided to watch one of the Garage Sale Mystery movies. Yeah, Hallmark channel crap. Don’t judge me. Anyway, it got me wondering why a cozy is such an attractive thing. I mean, I can’t really say I’ve read any. And I have zero desire to write one. But I do enjoy watching the movies and some of the TV shows within that genre.
So, what exactly is a cozy mystery? It’s a subgenre of crime fiction. Some random lady (it’s usually a woman in my limited experience, anyway) in a small, close-knit town stumbles across a crime scene and takes it upon herself to solve the murder despite a fairly capable police force being present and numerous warnings not to get involved. There’re usually subplots of romance or family drama. And there’s almost always a BFF or creepily close sibling for the protagonist to bounce ideas off of and occasionally drag into some dangerous situation or another. They’re cheesy, (usually) family friendly crime dramas. Granted, some cozies break the rules, but this is the general set up.
What’s so appealing about this type of thing? I really don’t know. There tend to be dominant themes that link the movies together (baking, flowers, garage sale items, etc.), usually based around the protagonist’s career. I prefer food related ones (because who doesn’t love food?). I also know someone who writes a grittier type of cozy that revolves around the music scene, which is cool (okay, so I have read at least part of a cozy). It’s partly a matter of finding one with a theme you’re drawn to. It also helps if you like punny titles.
Personally, I think it’s mostly just the combination of a picturesque small town and a scarily naive protagonist who saves the day/solves the case and comes out of it all just as perky and unscathed as she started out. Yeah, I know that’s not how it works in the real world. I know most people who find a dead body would be scarred for life. But this is fiction, by golly! It’s a world where it’s possible to wrap everything up with a neat little bow in under two hours (or an hour if we’re talking TV shows) and have everyone end up happy. Sometimes, we need to escape to a place where that stuff is possible. Otherwise, reality gets depressing.
What about you? Are you a fan of cozy mysteries? Would you admit it if you were (because I know there are people who view the genre as “lowbrow,” and thus not worth their time)? If you are a fan, what do you like about the genre? Do you have any recommendations for movies or books or whatnot? Better yet, what’s a genre you enjoy, but have no idea why? Share your pleasures! Share your guilty pleasures even. And remember that this is a judgment-free zone.
Until next week!
Three Things Not To Say To A Writer
Hi again! Lately, I’ve been seeing those lists of things that every writer supposedly hates to hear and decided to make my own. It’s relatively short compared to the ten, fifteen, even thirty item lists I’ve noticed floating around. This is mainly because 1) I don’t really pay much attention when I start to get annoyed by a conversation, and 2) people don’t generally ask me if I have a real job when told I’m a writer (I’m guessing that has something to do with the whole cripple thing, which I’m okay with), so I run into a lot less annoying people than the average writer. So, here’s my very short list divided up into who shouldn’t be saying it.
1. Publishers to writers (or any creative artists really) – “We won’t pay you, but you’ll definitely earn some exposure by being published here.”
If I wanted to work for exposure, I’d post my work on my blog. I suppose that’s my “popular fiction” training talking. We’re taught to start at the top (pro-paying publications) and work our way down (semi-pro, token, and as a last resort, exposure) until we receive an acceptance or run out of places to submit to, which makes sense to me. Why not aim high? The worst that can happen is a rejection. I admit that I’ve submitted to non-paying things before, but they were special circumstances. Even if I kind of understand it, I don’t really see the draw of “exposure.” And I don’t know why we (creative artists) keep accepting it as if it’s a form of payment.
2. Non-writers to writers – “You should write my life story! *proceeds in telling life story*”
Don’t get me wrong, there is probably some CNF writer somewhere who would be totally down for something like that, but I’m not that person. Unless your life involves dragons or fairies or (literal, not figurative) demons, the chances of me writing about it are pretty slim. So, maybe this one isn’t exactly a “don’t say it to any writer” thing as much as it is a “know your audience” type thing. Ask us about the type of stuff we write, then if you’re actually interested in having your story told and that writer seems interested in telling it, go for it! But, if it’s not something you’re truly interested in doing and/or the writer doesn’t write that type of stuff, it’s probably safer to not bring it up.
3. Writer to writer – “You’re still working on that piece?”
Yes, yes I am still working on that piece. The question itself isn’t all that bad. I don’t get bothered when non-writers ask it, because most people don’t understand what all goes into something like a novel or poem or short story. But when a writer asks it, it comes across as rude. I’m sorry I’m not as fast a writer as you. I’m sorry I hold my work to higher standards. Go worry about your own work and leave me to my process.
Those are my three big writerly pet peeves. There are others, of course, but the annoyance levels all really depend on who says what when. What are some questions or statements that grind on your writerly nerves?
Educators Who Changed My Life
Howdy, howdy! Lately, I’ve been seeing things floating around Facebook land with captions like “tag a teacher who changed your life” and all that. I haven’t actually participated in these memes, but I’ve seen them. And, recently, a teacher of mine from elementary school (and later high school) retired. It all got me thinking about how I always ramble on about Stonecoast and even my SMU professors, but I have yet to talk much about anything before college. I don’t even think I’ve mentioned my years at Eastfield (the community college I got my AA from). So, today I want to introduce you to a few of my favorite teachers from elementary through high school.
The first thing you need to know is that I don’t remember many of my teachers after fourth grade, because I was homebound. It’s a little different from homeschooling in that the school district sent a teacher to my house (she would bring my work from the school I was registered at, teach me whatever I needed help with, then take my work back to the school). I had a course list and was assigned to specific classes just like everyone else, except I did the work at home through a middleman. It wasn’t great, but my mom was afraid being around everyone would mean I’d get sick, so that’s how we did things. Honestly, it was fine. If I had gone to school, I wouldn’t have met Debbie Christian and Anita Wesley (two of the teachers who changed my life).
Ms. C. (Debbie Christian), was my second homebound teacher. I had her for sixth through ninth grade, I believe. She became a member of the family over the years and we still talk and have dinner occasionally. She’s moving soon to be closer to her grandkids, but that just means we (Dad and I) will have an excuse to do a little traveling to visit her. One of my favorite memories from her teaching days was when we were doing one of those “invisible ink” experiments where you wrote in lemon juice or milk or something, then held it up to a flame to brown the juice. The paper caught on fire and she tried to run it to the sink, but it broke off and fell on the floor. She was kind of panicking and Mom (who had come in to see what the commotion was) and I were laughing. Our kitchen floor was tile and at the time there was nothing flammable in the vicinity of the fire. It was hilarious.
My next homebound teacher, Anita Wesley, had me from tenth grade through graduation. She was a super sweet lady. Her husband is a pastor (he officiated Mom’s memorial service), so she was a little more religious than I was used to at the time. If I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t sure we were going to be a good fit at first. But she turned out to be wonderful. She always goes the extra mile for her students. I recently heard that she put together an award ceremony for a homebound student after the school made a fluke. That’s the kind of person she is. My favorite memory with Mrs. Wesley is an unexpected one. As an early graduation gift, she got me a Bible (not the kind of thing I’m used to receiving). The thing was, she wanted to get it personalized with my name in silver and all that fancy stuff, but before she did it, she asked if it would be something I would like. She didn’t force it on me or make me feel obligated to accept. We read from it and she was willing to talk about the things I didn’t get or that I found to be contradictory to other passages. I’m still not a religious person (in fact, I’ve probably only opened that Bible once since I graduated high school), but I still have it and I’m glad that I do.
Another teacher from those years who made a difference in my life was Loreta Peebles. She recently retired, so you can blame her for this stroll down memory lane. I had her in fifth or sixth grade, then again in high school for my AP English classes. She was one of the only teachers I was assigned to who reached out to me despite my being homebound. She helped organize a couple of parties at my house with my high school English classes and even had me participate in class via instant messenger (this was before Skype or she probably would’ve had me do that instead). But my favorite memory comes from the elementary school class. She had us mummify a Cornish game hen. Everything from ripping out its insides to salting it to wrapping it. I even had to decorate a shoe box sarcophagus for it. It’s buried underneath the slab to our shed. She was one of those weird teachers who could make just about anything fun. And we’re still friends.
Wow, this post turned out much longer than usual. Sorry, not sorry. I think I’ll wrap it up here. See you next week!
Changing Tastes
Hello once again! This week, we return to the randomness of unplanned blog topics. Joy! Though, I guess technically this one was kind of planned. A few weeks ago, my friend, Roxanne, asked me if my tastes in manga (Japanese comic books) had changed over the years and, if so, how. We were talking mostly about shoujo (manga aimed specifically at a female audience). My answer was a resounding “yes, my tastes have definitely changed and grown over the years.” Here, I think I’ll expand the topic to books in general, which is a little more hazy on just how much I’ve changed.
First, I suppose I should explain how my taste in manga has grown. The thing is, I’m not entirely sure things have changed as much as I’ve just become more willing to admit when I don’t like things. I spent years reading all of the things my friends suggested and I admit the stories were usually fun, but I never really identified with the characters. I wasn’t the type of girl who idealized males and gave out free passes for inappropriate behavior just because the guy was hot (both super common tropes in shoujo manga), so the whole concept of “romance” (this applies to both manga and the genre of romance) never really appealed to me. Now, I basically avoid stories like that. I guess I’ve become more selective over the years.
As far as books go, I’ve grown in the opposite direction. Used to, I’d only read horror and fantasy. Up until Stonecoast, I had only read the Twilight series (hated it, but read it anyway) and whatever I had to read for school outside of my preferred genres. Now, I have friends and mentors who write across all genres, so I don’t really have the luxury of being picky. I’m not going to tell someone I won’t read something just because I don’t usually care for their genre. Not only is that rude, it’s also limiting yourself. You’ll never know if you like something if you’re not even willing to try it.
For instance, I normally never would’ve read the book pictured above if it hadn’t been written by a friend of mine. It’s one of those things where I simply wouldn’t have even thought to look for it, but now I have people to recommend books outside of my comfort zone. I guess that’s the reason my tastes have changed in such different ways between manga and books. I always had different people recommending manga across all genres that I eventually had to stop and whittle away the stuff I didn’t like, but with books, I’ve always had such narrow interests that it was time to expand.
So, what does all of this mean? Basically, tastes are strange things indeed. If they’re not narrowing, they’re expanding. Either way, they’re always changing. What about your tastes in reading materials? Have you noticed any changes over the last few years?
Until next week!
