Insomnia---bad for sleeping, GREAT for reading!

So I woke up around 3 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Up until about 3 years ago, I never, NEVER, had issues with sleeping. I would know when I was tired, go to sleep and wake up in the morning. I could keep myself awake rarely longer than my body demanded and only if I was reading a fabulous book. I have had the occasional late night because of too much caffeine, but, like I wrote, up until around 3 years ago, sleep was easy.

Now its not.

Sleep for me is a precious comodity. And I don't have regular bouts of insomnia, only around 3 to 5 times a year, which doesn't justify my anxiety over insomnia. I freely admit a big part of it is stress. But now the very nature of my thoughts regarding sleep have changed. I treasure it. A full night without waking up is a glorious thing. And i don't even have a lot of insomnia. Just enough to put the fear in me, that I will never sleep well again.

So, I do what most experts tell you to do when it comes to insomnia. I do something else beside "trying" to sleep. Most of the time that involves reading or taking a hot bath in hopes one of the other will make me tired enough to go back to sleep. Its a lonely process. Reading makes it more normal.

Last night, or early this morning, depending on how you look at it, I read. I had gone to the bookstore (not the one I work at, too small to have the selection of books I wanted) and bought book after book. 5 books later, it was the perfect night to have insomnia. I read "Mona Lisa Awakening" by Sunny. It has definite similarities to Laurell K. Hamilton's series, both actually, with one very strong woman, and multiple beaten down male partners depending and partnering her. I like her books. That's why I went to the big book store. My store doesn't carry her books. Yes, I will be remedying that, but until such time, I need my instant gratification.*

*See previous blogs...

So, while I am dying today of lack of sleep, it was all worth it because the book was that good. Its a keeper. Can't wait to read "Mona Lisa Blossoming". I found Sunny from an anthology I read. I picked it up originally because of Angela Knight and Mary Janice Davidson. Angela and Mary (can't believe I am about to write this) are writing too many books. The quality is showing. So, Sunny's book was all the more thrilling because of the other mediocre stories. The only bad thing was the store is set after "Mona Lisa Awakening". You definitely feel like you are missing a whole hell of a lot, which you are, but you still can't put it down.

And onto bookstore gossip. The assistant manager, the one that I was concerned was going to get this store for his own, is moving to a larger store to be a assistant manager. Its a step up for him which means congratulations are in order for him. What does that mean for our store? Well, the manager that hired me will be taking care of the store part-time until such time as we find another store manager. Ugh.