Trouble Sleeping

I've been having a very hard time sleeping through the night the past two weeks.

I wake up around 2:30 or 3 and I can't turn my brain off. It just goes on and on, thinking about the most random things a person can think about.

Like: What am I going to wear tomorrow? What time should I go for my run? Where should I run? Remember that one guy in middle school? I wonder how he's doing? I wonder if he still likes Jimi Hendrix?

Just the most random, dumb, things a person could think about. It's so frustrating. I've tried focusing on my breath, ear plugs, meditating, lavender oil... I just can't seem to get back to sleep. So, I've been getting up and reading.

I'm almost done with my current book, 'Say Nice Things about Detroit.' I got it for my birthday. It's fun reading about a city you live in, or a city you've lived in. I didn't actually live in Detroit proper, but I lived close enough to be familiar with the area.

It's kind of a murder mystery, but it also talks about the current state of the city and how things used to be, which I enjoy a lot. The author mentions how everyone is fleeing the city, which is true, but two of the main characters are actually moving back. Everyone thinks they're completely crazy. It's unbelievably freezing  cold, it's extremely humid, some parts of the city are literally a threat to your life. I would have thought anyone moving there for fun was crazy a few years ago, but I can now see how this might appeal to people. It's supper cheap to live there and if you have a connection to a city that you've grown up in, well, it's hard not to want to go back. It's part of your history and who you are.

So, I easily identify with that part of the book. However, I can't say I'm a huge fan of the rest of the book.

There are many characters and the author likes to jump around from character to character quite a bit. You really have to keep track of who is who and so forth. I find it tedious. I can't say I identify with any of the characters and I don't connect with any of them, either.

I won't recommend 'Say Nice Things about Detroit' however, if you like reading about Detroit and don't mind keeping 15 characters straight, then you might like this book. I still have two chapters to finish, and maybe those last chapters will blow my mind. If they do, I'll be sure to let you know.