Waking up too early and reading books

Don't know why it is but I've been feeling blue lately, a manic fish factory where every day is filled with fires and before I walk through the door it's necessary to check the extinguisher is full up, hatchet is sharp, yellow helmet on my head and breathing apparatus is filled.  Yesterday I even went into the Fish Factory to do a little extra work, it's weird though how it doesn't take too long before feeling overcome by the amount there is outstanding and how to cope with it. As continuous pressure is put on fish production the fishes are expected to do more and more, with IT systems which are slow and continuously fail.  With IT support who's only answer is to switch off and switch on again. Maybe all of this is why the insomnia is kicking in again. One evening after going to bed I woke up at 1:30 a.m. and thought I was fully refreshed and ready to get up, another morning I woke up at 4:04 a.m. as I checked my phone I wondered, now should I actually get up or should I try and sleep in a little longer.  Knowing, getting up in the wee small hours would of meant being a wreck at some point during the day.  This would mean my fire fighting skills might not of been much scratch either. Funny how when there are things on my mind how everything else becomes more difficult to deal with.

Before sleeping I try to get a few pages of my book read.  It is enjoyable picking up a good book to read. One which sets you off in a different world, or time or country.  With characters and story you begin to live in your mind's eye. It's not just a matter of reading it is of being in the book, in a place and away from it all. The book I have now was picked up in a charity shop for only 50 pence. It's called Carter Beats the Devil, written by Glen David Gold.  It is great to pick up a book so cheaply, and this is the one thing which e-readers is going to kill off. Bad news for charity shops bad news for those who can't afford to pay the full extortionate price of an e-reader or the download data of an e-reader book. These kinds of books can't be loaned out.  The e-reader is a universal reading device which may last two or three years and then every book loaded to it is then lost.  I hear the books they hold are encrypted to the reader. Which further restricts loaning or indeed putting the data onto another device so it can be read another day or year. This is important because I have books on shelves and they stay there waiting for another day to be read. They then get picked up and re-read. In doing so I realise there are passages I had forgotten or not really taken in.  The good literary novels are the best to go over again. They are ones which stay in your mind and leave an imprint which makes you think about them. They are more than entertainment, much more.  Reading a book is an investment in your own time, it's a necessary thing, it will educate as well.  Whenever I can I try to learn new words, and book reading definitely helps in expanding vocabulary. Book reading is education for adults, if you are not reading a book then you are not feeding your grey cells.  Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a librarian, but then I'd have to interact with people as well.  There's more to minding a library than meets the eye especially with the general public having their own ideas of what a library is.

The character Charles Carter in this book is having a bad time of it at the moment. The thing is I feel for him and this probably isn't helping with the stressed out mood I got either. I hope he picks himself up I need a bit of an adventure and a bit of laughter. Glen David Gold is a good writer and I must admit to really liking the story and the writing style.  There are so many authors out there who over simplify their language an literary style just to enhance book sales.  Writing a book isn't just for the public, it is for the author as well and by doing something for themselves regardless of what the public might think then the best writing comes out. To write for a commercial reason is not the same as to write for the love of writing and want.  I also personally believe people who pride themselves in being fast readers don't actually read books well at all. Like the formulaic author they skim through a book and if you have read the same book and start to ask the questions they don't remember or are unable to contribute to the conversation. Perhaps it is a case of quick in then quick out.  Shame, because where is the pleasure in discarding art, education and entertainment at such a level I ask.

Well, after a long nearly three hour Sunday morning walk I'm beginning to feel a little better. The fireman's helmet can come off and I think I'll just settle down and dive into Gold's book. Which I highly recommend to anyone. It beats fighting fires all day, that's for sure.