plague and books

I'm feeling about 75% better now after most of a week on antibiotics. My sinus infection has cleared up, cough isn't as bad, and my ears don't hurt, although one of them is still a bit clogged and therefore my hearing isn't quite what it should be. I've only got two more doses of antibiotic and I'm a bit worried that everything will get horribly worse again after that, but I'm probably being silly.

My appetite is still low, which in a way I have welcomed. (Some weight/food talk follows, encoded in ROT13; go here to decode if desired.) Jura V jrag gb gur qbpgbe gurl jrvturq zr, orpnhfr urnira xabjf lbh pna'g qvntabfr na rne vasrpgvba vs lbh qba'g xabj ubj zhpu fbzrbar jrvtuf. V nfxrq gurz abg gb gryy zr gur erfhyg, ohg vg jnf tbqqnza CEVAGRQ ba gur "ivfvg fhzznel" guvat gurl tnir zr gb gnxr ubzr, fb V fnj vg. Naq fvapr gura V'ir unq gung ahzore ebyyvat nebhaq va zl urnq, znxvat zr srry onq nobhg zlfrys. V'yy trg bire vg, orpnhfr V xabj sebz rkcrevrapr gung qvrgvat znxrf zr sbbq bofrffrq naq penml naq V nyjnlf tnva onpx rirel cbhaq naq gurz fbzr, ohg vg'f tbvat gb gnxr n juvyr gb or noyr gb fgbc guvaxvat nobhg vg. Va gur zrnagvzr V'z shyy bs gur hfhny erfbyhgvbaf nobhg zber irtrgnoyrf naq jubyr tenvaf naq yrff whax, naq va trareny sbe zr gubfr ner abg onq tbnyf. V srry orggre jura V rng yrff cebprffrq sbbq, naq V rawbl vg, gbb. Ohg evtug abj V'z gverq nyy gur gvzr naq qba'g jnag gb pbbx, naq nyzbfg nyy gur avpr jubyr hacebprffrq sbbqf V jbhyq abeznyyl yvxr qba'g fbhaq tbbq gb zr. V bayl jnag fbsg hapunyyratvat sbbq, be ryfr penpxref, naq pbzovarq jvgu gur gverqarff guvf zrnaf guvatf yvxr pnaarq fbhcf naq Evpr-n-Ebav naq znlor, ng n fgergpu, fbzr cnfgn. Naq lbtheg (fcrpvsvpnyyl erpbzzraqrq gb zr ol gur cuneznpvfg, jub fnvq gur nagvovbgvpf jbhyq xvyy rirelguvat naq lbtheg jbhyq uryc oevat gur tbbq onpgrevn onpx) Ng yrnfg lbtheg vf abg shyy bs fnyg/fhtne/purzvpnyf, ohg sbe zr, naljnl, vg'f bayl na nqrdhngr zrny ol vgfrys vs V'z zhpu, zhpu fvpxre guna V nz abj. V nz qrsvavgryl ybbxvat sbejneq gb gur qnl jura fbzrguvat yvxr n fgve-sel jvyy fbhaq obgu nccrnyvat naq cbffvoyr. (Ol gur jnl, V'z abg nfxvat sbe jrvtug ybff nqivpr urer. Gunaxf naljnl, ohg guvf vf n cunfr V'yy trg guebhtu. V whfg arrqrq gb irag n ovg. Fhttrfgvbaf sbe rnfl, abg-gbb-cebprffrq guvatf V zvtug npghnyyl jnag gb rng ner jrypbzr, gubhtu.)

All I've done for about the last two and a half weeks is work, sleep, and read Dick Francis novels, so I'm up to 1980 in the Francis oeuvre, having just finished Reflex. I'm liking Francis more and more. The omnicompetent tough guys have mostly disappeared from his novels now, and instead we're getting Stoic Woobies and even Iron Woobies, who are more my type. And Francis does have the perception to suggest, sometimes, that ultra-stoicism is maybe a symptom of psychological damage rather than a marker of courage.

( More about Francis, including women characters, queer characters, and slashiness )