Escapist Reading....

When pain throbs and limbs ache, I reach for something to take the edge off. Rather than taking more meds, I find escape between the covers of a book...or two. Or more.

Movies will do in a pinch. Elizabeth and I had a bit of a Robert Pattinson filmfest this weekend, watching both Twilight and New Moon, and then Remember Me. We're looking very much forward to the DVD release of Eclipse (my favorite of the Twilight Saga books and (thus far) movies) on December 4.

But I reach for books as they involve my mind far more efficiently. As I attempt to sleep each night, I read one of the four Twilight books, and I also listen to the audiobooks from my iPod when dressing and undressing each day and when driving in the car. Going to sleep is difficult for me as I wait for the meds to take effect after my soak in the spa, patiently awaiting the pain to ebb long enough for sleep to overtake me. Dressing and undressing are painful, and sitting in the car is as well, so listening to the books help to alleviate the pain. I'm not sick of the story of Bella and Edward...not yet. I just pray for Meyer to complete Midnight Sun which is a retelling of Twilight from Edward's point of view. Being strongly "Team Edward," I would love to see more than the fragment of Midnight Sun posted on Meyer's website.

But in the spa each night and during the few other times I can read in daylight hours, I've been making my way through the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series of turn-of-the-century London mysteries by Anne Perry. The first novel in the series was published in 1979, and she has published almost one each year since then. Charlotte is a strong woman who helps her policeman husband solve his murder cases, and I love the setting in Victorian England. Charlotte's family have also helped solve cases, including her mother, sister, and her sister's aunt-in-law.

I've read through the mysteries before, but as my chiropractor's receptionist/assistant is lending them to me (her nephew tracked down Perry's entire series). I am enjoying them greatly and am actually dreading finishing the series simply because I am enjoying having such a wonderful stack of quality books to read right at hand. When I finish one, I go right to the next book in the series.

And rereading the Harry Potter series is another way to relax, one that I'll pick back up when I run out of the Pitt series. And yes, I have several of them on my iPod as well. :)

I have plenty of time to "live life" between my "Escapist Reading" which mostly happens "after hours"--after the kids are in bed, after all other work is done. These books relax stress, unwind mind, and allow pain to ebb until body rests and sleep comes.

Escapist TV is a whole 'nother post, but until then, I'll keep on turning pages....

With a book (or three) open,