Post date: Mar 10, 2020 3:54:28 AM
i become more of a creature of habit as i'm getting older. i don't know if it's a function of it being simpler to do the same things, in order to avoid decisions and save one's headspace for more important matters, or some other mechanism. i can only say that i'm aware of the phenomenon.
time and again, late at night i want to read something but not anything too challenging [1]. my preference immediately turns to the familiar, and therefore to books already read before.
even though i know each story well by now, i constantly find myself returning to the same books or stories:
all systems red by Martha Wells: there's something soothing about reading the story of a mildly depressed android that ultimately saves the day.
the sun also rises by Ernest Hemingway: there's something delightfully simple and pleasant about Hemingway's prose. in particular, i find myself constantly reading only the part about the trout fishing trip. it's the interim part between the introductory chapters (i.e. when one meets the main characters) and the part of the plot when things ... well, start going wrong.
the tao te ching, specifically the translation by Feng Gia-Fu and Jane English: taken non-dogmatically, it's an accessible text that strives to make sense of the world. personally, i find it very calming reading (and therefore rather apt for the time just prior to going to bed).
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[1] if it's too mentally challenging, then either (1) i give up on it and it leads to disappointment or (2) i get overly interested in it, and then have trouble sleeping: either way, i lose.