It seems like such a silly thing to be stressed over, but I'm in a reading slump.  It's probably because I'm stressed about a lot of different things right now really, but this seems to be the straw that is breaking the camel's back.  I have always read as my way of making my self feel better when I'm sick or down, as a way to relax after a hard day, or as the way to fill the hours and take my mind off of things when I'm stressed.  I always read at bedtime; it's my way of winding down.  I take a book with me to appointments to fill the time in waiting rooms.  I can read in the car, so when I'm the passenger on a road trip, I have a book.

I started blaming this slump on the last book I read, which I wrote about here.  The Robert Crais book actually depressed me quite a bit, so to combat that, I picked up an easy comfort read, Back to School Murder by Leslie Meier, the next in her series, which I've already told you about here.  These books are like comfort food to me: they have a likable main charter who is far from perfect, they don't take too much thought, and I find Lucy's juggling of motherhood, working to make ends meet, and loving but being annoyed by her husband amusing and realistic.

But it's just not working this time.  I'm suffering from insomnia, so you would think that I'd have plenty of time to lie there reading, but I would read a few pages and then put the book down.  Then I didn't pick it up again for a day or two choosing to stay up watching t.v. instead of going to bed to lie awake. Now I realize that I haven't read anything for over a week, which is hugely out of character for me.  My mission tonight is to get ready for bed early, make myself comfortable with some pillows, and break through this slump by reading.  I have to get some sleep; we go back to school on Wednesday, and (wait for the horrible pun) that can be murder.