Wheezy

Since sometime last winter, I've had a cough that just won't go away, along with wheezing that comes and goes, but is loud enough for Bob to hear, and which sometimes keeps me awake at night. I kept thinking it would get better eventually, but it just didn't, so I went to the doctor. He gave me a chest x-ray and two courses of antibiotics that didn't do anything, so I went back, and he gave me a breathing treatment and steroids, and it worked! It got better for a couple of weeks, then came back.

I called for another appointment last week, and he didn't have anything available until the end of the month, so I made an appointment with a physician's assistant and saw her yesterday. She asked me about asthma, which I have never had, but my mother does.

So I've got another batch of steroids, a different antibiotic, and an inhaler. I asked her if she thought it was asthma, and she said, "I think there's an asthmatic component to it," whatever that means. We'll see, I guess. She said if this doesn't work, then I need to see a specialist. It's exhausting. I really hope it works.

I looked at Oprah's Summer Reading List yesterday, but out of a couple dozen books, there were maybe only two that held any interest to me at all. I know I've said this before, but I read for relaxation, for enjoyment, and I read almost exclusively fiction. I don't apologize for the books that I read, and I'm not defensive about it. In the limited free time that I have available, if I'm going to sit down and read, I want to read something fun. One of my fondest memories is on one of our trips to Mexico, I toted along Stephen King's Cell, which had just come out, and spent several afternoons by the pool reading it, and it was perfect.

"Fun," for me, means fiction in several genres--paranormal mostly, some thrillers and police procedurals, some "women's fiction," maybe a little "chick lit." I also like short story anthologies, mostly paranormal. Here's my summer reading list:

Read so far since June:

• The Knights of the Cornerstone - James P. Blaylock (fantasy)
• The Crime Writer - Gregg Hurwitz (thriller)
• Hexed - Kevin Hearne (fantasy)
• Burn Out - Marcia Muller (crime)
• Locked In - Marcia Muller (crime)
• Coming Back - Marcia Muller (crime)
• The Devil's Right Hand - Lilith Saintcrow (paranormal/demons)
• Highborn - Yvonne Navarro (urban fantasy/fallen angels)
• Concrete Savior - Yvonne Navarro (urban fantasy/fallen angels)
• Money to Burn - James Grippando (crime)
• Trust No One - Gregg Hurwitz (thriller)
• They're Watching - Gregg Hurwitz (thriller)
• Darkness on the Edge of Town - J. Carson Black (crime - $.99 Kindle version)
• Dark Side of the Moon - J. Carson Black (crime - $.99 Kindle version)
• The Devil's Hour - J. Carson Black (crime)
• Queen of Shadows - Dianne Sylvan (urban fantasy/vampires)
• The Better Part of Darkness - Kelly Gay (urban fantasy)
• The Darkest Edge of Dawn - Kelly Gay (urban fantasy)

On the "to read" list (queued up in the Kindle app):

• Grave Dance - Kalayna Price (urban fantasy/necromancy)
• Night Shift - Lilith Saintcrow (urban fantasy)
• Saint City Sinners - Lilith Saintcrow (urban fantasy/demons)
• To Hell and Back - Lilith Saintcrow (urban fantasy/demons)
• Hammered - Kevin Hearne (urban fantasy/Druids)
• Alison Hewitt is Trapped - Madeleine Roux (zombies)
• Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy (anthology)
• When Will There Be Good News? - Kate Atkinson (literary fiction)
• Case Histories - Kate Atkinson (literary fiction)
• One Good Turn - Kate Atkinson (literary fiction)
• The Shop - J. Carson Black (crime - $.99 Kindle Edition)
• Welcome to Bordertown (anthology)
• Kiss Me Kill Me (anthology/paranormal romance - $.99 Kindle Edition)
• Chicks Kick Butt (anthology)
• Blood Lite II: Overbite (anthology/vampire/horror/humor)
• Hexed (anthology)
• Stories (anthology)
• Visitants: Stories of Fallen Angels and Heavenly Hosts (anthology/angels)
• Alien Tango - Gini Koch (science fiction)
• Alien in the Family - Gini Koch (science fiction)
• Sing You Home - Jodi Picoult (women's fiction)
• Angels' Blood - Nalini Singh (paranormal/angels)
• Archangel's Kiss - Nalini Singh (paranormal/angels)
• Angelic - Kelley Armstrong (paranormal/angels)

New and Upcoming Releases from my wishlist:

• Adrenaline - Jeff Abbott (thriller)
• The Wreckage - Michael Robotham (crime)
• Kitty's Greatest Hits - Carrie Vaughn (urban fantasy) (August 2011)
• The Monster's Corner (anthology) (September 2011)
• Down These Strange Streets (anthology) (October 2011)
• Shadow's Fall - Dianne Sylvan (urban fantasy) (March 2012)
• Shadowflame - Dianne Sylvan (urban fantasy) (July 2011)
• City of Whispers - Marcia Muller (crime) (October 2011)
• The Drop - Michael Connelly (crime) (November 2011)
• Hotwire - Alex Kava (crime) (July 2011)
• Shelter - Harlan Coben (crime) (September 2011)
• Killing Rites - M. L. N. Hanover (urban fantasy) (November 2011)
• Under Attack - Hannah Jayne (urban fantasy) (November 2011)
• One Salt Sea - Seanan McGuire (urban fantasy) (September 2011)
• Eyes Wide Open - Andrew Gross (crime) (July 2011)
• Working Stiff - Rachel Caine (urban fantasy) (August 2011)
• Supernaturally - Kiersten White (urban fantasy) (July 2011)
• The Accident - Linwood Barclay (thriller) (August 2011)
• The Hour of Dust and Ashes - Kelly Gay (urban fantasy) (August 2011)
• Archangel's Consort - Nalini Singh (urban fantasy)
• Archangel's Blade - Nalini Singh (urban fantasy) (September 2011)
• Angels of Darkness (anthology) (October 2011)
• Home Improvement: Undead Edition (Anthology) (August 2011)

Geez.

So, I've read 77 books so far in 2011. If I read all of the books on this list (47), that would end up 124, but I'm sure I'll come up with some new ones between now and the end of the year, and I probably won't read all of the anthologies, I just like to have them to dip into in odd moments.

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