Bad tooth or bad book?

Thursday I had a root canal on one of my bicuspids. Let me express my abhorrence for this procedure - those of you who share this experience no doubt will agree. The pain was minimal during the procedure (extreme discomfort not withstanding), but afterwards...

The endodontist said, "You shouldn't have any pain at all after this. It wil go away."

Yeah, right.

The next day, it was all I could do to remain sane. I called him, paged him, etc. All he said was, "Go get the antibiotic refilled and call me tomorrow if it's worse." Humph! Who does he think he is?

I can pleasantly report that the crisis is over now. Apparently, the drugs worked, and I reside back in the land of the living.

However, this fiasco made me think about reading. (Things usually do.) If I had to compare the pain of a root canal to the pain of reading an awfully written novel, which would be worse? I should start a poll. I mean, think about it. How many of us can actually even get through two chapters of tripe and drivel before we slam the book down on the ground and stomp on it, while reciting a tirading diatribe about stinky published authors? I daresay, few of us.

So, the next time you're at the dentist, be thankful you haven't been forced to read a horrible book. It's a torture I personally never want to go through. Give me good novels, or give me death!