Nothing

This is the longest I have gone without reading a whole book in years. I am on holidays and usually I read non-stop and lots when I am in the USA! This time I have been playing hiding behind the couch, feeding the tiger, rolling the ball and going to bed when the baby goes to bed with the lights out and no reading. It is an interesting exercise for me.

My usual habit is to go to bed with a book and a cup of herbal tea. I set myself up so if anyone looked in the window I would be like in a movie. The bed nicely made, me propped up on my grandmother's hand embroidered pillow cases, my reading glasses down on my nose and the bedside lamp lit. I like the picture of how I think I look. I read and sip till the tea is gone and then I turn on my side and read until I start to doze. I think this is a fairly common practice and it brings me comfort to know there are thousands of people out there doing exactly what I am doing - and even more that my close friends are going to bed with books as well.

Last night I laid in bed with a baby at my side, lights off, no book, snow falling, thoughts whirling around like a crazy woman. My eyes were so wide awake like they were taped open. All my demons came rushing at me at once and with a vengence. I tried to just look at my beautiful grandson and think lovely thoughts but it was dark and I could only see his shadow and those niggles and wriggles kept sneaking in. I need a book even more than I want a book. Is that bad?

I did finish The Turn of the Screw a couple of nights ago but I have no idea what I read. It was one of the more difficult classics I have tackled. I will have to try it again sometime because I really couldn't decide what it was all about. It was spooky enough to make me want to keep reading but I had a hard time figuring out what the spooky stuff meant. The characters were interesting but I didn't know what they were 'really' saying half the time and the ending confused me completely.

I will put it on my 'to be re-read' list for sometime in the future and I will talk to a couple of friends who I know have read it. But for the rest of the week it's going to be Hop on Pop and Five Little Ducks over and over and I will treasure those books as much as anything I have ever read in my life till now.