I wanted to call this post “this is why I don’t read books anymore” but that’s not true. I read all of the time but I try to limit my new book purchases. Then I thought this should be called “why Sarah isn’t allowed a cellphone in the bedroom” which is definitely more to the point but sounds weird and is way too long.
So why wasn’t I sleeping? So I may have had a slight insomnia problem starting in middle school and going through high school. After a lot of practice I taught myself how to fall asleep even when I brain didn’t want to shut off. It usually works but only if I don’t have any distractions. No lights, no TVs, no books, and most importantly NO CELLPHONES.
The last one is so important. When Morgan and I first moved in together he figured out about my little problem with sleeping. So he helped me make my rules. They also worked because he can’t sleep with lights or TVs on.
The cellphone thing wasn’t a huge problem for him. He liked to stay connected but didn’t really have trouble sleeping in the same room. He figured out that it was the biggest problem for my insomnia. So he quit the habit too. So we have a pretty hard line rule – no cellphones in the bedroom at bedtime.
Yeah well now we come to my other post name “why I don’t read books anymore.” During my insomnia phase. I read to pass the time and boredom. I read a lot. I read more books than I could afford but I liked pulling my favorites and reading a small passage.
Rereading books saved me money. I used to read parts of 3-5 books every night. I would get a huge stack on my floor and eventually I’d return them all to their bookshelves just to start the process again.
Since I could never tell which book would strike my fancy at 2am, I didn’t use the library. I had to buy them all so that I always had access to them. I spent all of my money on books. I have a very healthy collection.
It has been thinned out a few times but I always regret it afterwards so I have stopped trying to give them away. All of this happened before the Kindle was a viable option for a 13 year old. Even now, I still love paper books. I think it’s the way they smell.
I love to reread books. The first pass through is a sprint. I usually read the whole book in one sitting. Usually starting at 7 or 8 in the evening and reading until 2 or 3am. I love the rush of the first read through.
I am amazing at suspending my disbelief. It doesn’t matter where I am, if I’m reading, I’m not paying attention to my surroundings. I am inside the book. I can hear the characters, smell the flowers and feel the emotions.
Characters in my books make me remind myself of my best qualities and of some qualities I need to work on. I pretty much exclusively read books by women about women main characters. They are always fiction and almost always fantasy. My love is YA (Young Adult) fantasy. It has been my constant companion since the age of 12.
It has made me a better person and has reminded me that my struggles are not nearly as bad as facing a really evil witch or fae. They entertain me and give my anxiety a way to get out of my system without causing me to overreact to my own situation.
So now that you know all of that background. I knitted a bit this week but not much. I read a 4 novel series starting at 9:00pm Monday night. I got 2 hours of sleep Monday night. The rest of the nights I slept almost normal hours. I finished the 4th book over lunch on Thursday. It was agony trying to work while in the middle of the story. They were great stories and great characters. I always have to remind people that I don’t read for the stellar writing. I read because it makes me happy. That will never change.
So if you are looking for books in the niche I just carved out for myself, I’ve got a lot of recommendations. Starting with, the Seraph Black series by Jane Washington, the first book is called Charcoal Tears. I have read a few of her other books but I these are my favorite so far. Once I read all of her books I’ll give you a final verdict.
So the little bit of knitting I did this week. I finished the cowl which I am tentatively naming Braids of Jade. I also knit up a hat with the leftover hedgehog Fibers DK in the Hunter colorway. Both the matching cowl and hat patterns will be posted soon. I am working on getting them formated so that someone else could actually read them. That was it.
Sorry for my reading tirade. My reading habits have always been a bit weird. I thought I would explain myself now so that y’all don’t get confused in the future.
Toodles for now…
S