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Personal: Sleepless Nights


I’m not sure how many of you guys live in places that still participate in the Daylight Savings Time change. But I do live in an area where DST is still observed and we have been under its influence for just about two weeks. For most people, the time change disturbs their sleep for one or two days and usually I’m the same way. But this time change seems to have taken a larger toll on my sleep schedule than usual.

I’m not quite sure how to explain exactly how badly it has been affecting me. It has most drastically affected my anxiety levels and my late-night paranoia. I’ve gotten anywhere from 4 hours of sleep to 30 minutes of sleep each night. There have been a few exceptions where I’ve gotten 10-12 hours of sleep. It’s a very strange schedule and I’m not quite sure how to knock myself out of it.

I’ve been debating multiple medical fixes including Z-Quil, doctor’s visits, psychiatrists, or essential oils. But I haven’t quite decided which to go with or try first. So far the only routine based remedies have been reading for roughly an hour in bed, watching BBC’s Planet Earth (and accompanying offshoots), and listening to Josh Groban before bed.

They still aren’t as effective as I need them to be for sleeping. They have however, greatly improved the status of my To Read list and my To Watch list. My current book of choice is Terrier by Tamora Pierce. I’m not quite sure what drew me back to Terrier. It’s been sitting on a stack of books next to my bed for over two years now. But for some reason it was the only book I wanted to read to get my brain to sleep.

There’s just something about Tamora Pierce books that is comforting and easy to escape into. They’re like their only little fictional sanctuary universe. I would definitely recommend them.

-Written 3/25/19

Update (4/7/19): It has been two weeks since I wrote the bulk of this post. Since then I have finished Terrier and moved on to Bloodhound. The next post will be a review. I’ve almost run out of Planet Earth (and company) episodes to watch.

But I have begun sleeping better. There are still a few days where getting to sleep is hard but for the most part I’m back on a somewhat normal schedule. I still can’t describe quite how bad it was. And I definitely couldn’t tell you why it was happening to begin with. I’m not even sure what made it stop. It just went away. I’m really glad it stopped but I’m also concerned it could come back. And I don’t want that.

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Review: Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce


Tempests and Slaughter (The Numair Chronicles #1, Tortall #8)
The feather is so pretty!

Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was well worth the wait and I cannot wait for the rest of the series. I am going to try to write this review without giving anything away from all of her other books as well as this one. Tamora Pierce’s books are pretty easy to read as separate series without being lost on what is going on. So I started by reading The Immortals Quartet and then went back to read the other series. The Immortals Quartet is where I was first introduced to a majority of the characters in this book. So I know much more about them than someone who was reading this book first. Arram is the reason I fell in love with these books in the first place, and he is the reason I was so desperate to get my hands on this book.

This book follows Arram from age 11 and continues on until he is 15. It follows him as he meets new friends, tries to find out who he is, and tries to figure out who would make him their enemy. Now, if you know the rest of the story you know how exciting even the smallest detail about Arram’s Carthak life can be, but for new readers this probably sounds quite boring. But this book was anything but that.

Arram Draper is the son of a cloth maker who lives in a country called Tyra. They aren’t in the wealthiest of classes, but they are still merchants. They have a good plot of land, and enough money to send their extremely gifted son to a very good school. Now, this is no ordinary school and Arram is no ordinary student. Don’t get me wrong, this school is no Hogwarts, there are no fancy robes required to attend classes. The subjects aren’t outrageous, but they aren’t uninteresting either. Arram’s power is one to be reckoned with, and when you throw in a few meddling Gods, a cute little bind, and a plot for an Empire you get an interesting kick-off to what hopes to be a brilliant new series.

Here comes the part where reading the rest of the books makes this more interesting: Ever wonder what Ozorne was like as a child? Or how he and Varice became so entangled? How about their favorite teacher Lindhall? And wait? Is that The Sarge? And how cute are these besties? These answers and more are in this book, making it well worth the wait in my opinion.



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Review: Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco


Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #1)
Can we just talk about this cover too?

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book was so fascinating to me. It follows the life of a girl living in Ripper era London with her Father, her brother, and some pretty high societal expectations. Her Uncle was a doctor with a university position and the ability to perform autopsies. She was a female with a brain too big for her societal expectations and a father too strict to break propriety leading to illicit lessons in forensic science and some next level sneaking around. From carrying extra clothes in her carriage to slipping out in the middle of the night, she had investigative aspirations that reached the sky. Unfortunately, sky high aspirations rarely lead to grounded scientific breakthroughs and this was no different.

Andrey Rose Wadsworth was happy to study under her Uncle. But when the infamous Whitechapel murders threw a wrench in that plan by resulting in her Uncle’s arrest it came down to her and her intellectual rival / eventual love interest to solve the mystery and save the day. With his help, and the notes of the murders, could she fix everything and save her family? Or would it end up breaking it forever? This is the basic summary of just about every heroine story in the YA section of the bookstore with slight variations on what’s being destroyed forever. The difference between this book and the usual heroine stories is the historical aspects of it.

This book brings in just enough detail to bring you in to the times but also lacking just enough to pique your interest and make you want to know more. For me, my brain instantly wanted to know more about the accuracy of the forensic advancement described in the book. For others, the social aspect was more fascinating. The intricacies of propriety and scientific exploration in London’s 1800’s will clearly never cease to be of interest to people, the social aspect was more fascinating. The intricacies of propriety and scientific exploration in London’s 1800’s will clearly never cease to be of interest to people. There is still so much to explore and different perspectives to explore in. I am excited to read the latest installments and see what level she takes the twists to. My overall opinion is that it’s both a good read, and an interesting window into the historical time it portrays.




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