I’ve enjoyed participating in the #TwoForTuesday blog prompts in February and can’t wait to see what Rae of Rae’s Reads and Reviews has in store for us in March. Today’s prompt was “Two books that Help you sleep at night.”
If you’ve followed by blog for a few months, you know that I suffer with insomnia. My sleep is way out of whack. I have trouble staying awake during the day and trouble going to sleep at night. My doctor has referred me to a sleep coach. Yes, it’s gotten that bad.
When challenged to write about two books that help me sleep at night, I was hard-pressed to come up with a response. The “two” I settled on are The Bible and just about any audio book. I know – that’s more than two actual books and not very specific, but they’re what I came up with.
1. The Bible
This isn’t just the correct “Sunday School” or children’s sermon answer. This is my real answer. My nighttime insomnia aside, the book that allows me to give my troubles and worries to God so I’m not tossing and turning and wringing my hands is The Bible. I still do more than my share of tossing and turning, but it’s not because I despair.
I find The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language the easiest to understand and, therefore, the most comforting. The Message is a paraphrase of The Bible and was written by Presbyterian minister Eugene H. Peterson.
2. Just about any audio book
Until recently, I swore off listening to any books. I found it stressful. I felt like someone was talking “at” me and wouldn’t shut up. Got on my last nerve kind of stress.
Then, I got vertigo. In fact, I had two kinds of vertigo. One has cleared up, but the other still has me in physical therapy. Using the computer and reading tend to trigger an episode. Therefore, I’ve listened to two audio books so far this month plus part of a third. Even the ones I enjoy, eventually put me to sleep.
That’s not what Rae meant!
The #TwoForTuesday challenge in Rae’s Reads and Reviews (https://educatednegra.blog/2019/01/08/two-for-tuesday-prompts/comment-page-1/#comment-1646) wasn’t “two books that put you to sleep.” It was “two books that help you sleep at night.” I understand the difference. I just couldn’t come up with a second book in addition to The Bible.
Let’s continue the conversation
What are two books that help you sleep at night?
Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 
Thanks for sharing dear.❤️❤️❤️
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Well, right now Proust’s Recherche. Am I ever going to finish?!
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And thank you for reading it, Laleh.
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Oh my! I don’t know how you so it, Alison. I hope it’s on your e-reader and not a hardback book that weighs 18 pounds!
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My pleasure.❤️
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It is n my eReader. Else I’d have to pay for extra baggage!
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LOL!
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Great post!
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Thank you!
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Peterson’s translation is wonderful, I love reading that version (He died recently), he was a fine scholar of Greek, among many gifts. I like your choices.
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Thank you for you comments, Paul. My pastor likes The Message, too, and mentioned one Sunday that Peterson had died. Quite a loss.
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Yes, a friend of mine worked with him for a while at Regents College and said he was wonderful to be with.
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I can imagine what a great experience that was for your friend.
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Yes, he was ecstatic.
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The Message sounds like a wonderful read! Thank you!
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It is, Diane. It is a paraphrase and not a translation, and it is so very readable. I hope you’ll like it.
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I listen to audio books every night — but they have to be books I’ve already read as I often fall asleep before the timer turns the story off. My favorites are Neil Gaiman books, read by himself, and the Patrick O’Brian Aubrey/Maturin boos, read by Patrick Tull. Currently enjoying THE REVERSE OF THE MEDAL.
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Vicki, thank you for your comments. I, too, tend to fall asleep while the audio book is still going. The next day I have to try to remember where I drifted off. Thank you for your book suggestions. I’ll add them to my TBR list. I’m really starting to enjoy audio books, which is a 180-degree turn for me.
Congratulations on finding a publisher smart enough to see a good Civil War novel when they saw one! I can’t wait to hold your next book in my hands!
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I’ve been listening to an audio book that has a reading by Sir Ralph Rrichradson from Proust’s Swann In Love, which has been described as the best literary reading ever–and it may certainly be.
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There you go, David, trying to pull me away from popular literature and into the classics. All kidding aside, it sounds lovely.
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I like The Message as well. And find the NLT version easy to read also. I dont have a problem sleeping at night, but still am always sleepy during the day. Thanks for reminding me to write about my own sleeping problem.
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Thanks for stopping by and taking time to comment. I don’t have a copy of the NLT, but I understand it is a good translation, too, in modern-day language. Lucky you, if you can sleep at night. It’s a major struggle for me.
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