Oh, to sleep

I haven't been sleeping much. That's not a huge surprise, right? But I've been getting about an hour less of sleep each night because I have been turning to my most comforting childhood books at night. I tend towards trilogies and series in order to reduce the angst I feel at the end of a good book.

So far:
The Dark is Rising series
The Blue Sword
The Hero and the Crown (what I'm reading now)
The Outlaws of Sherwood
The Heralds of Valdemar (before Mercedes Lackey got so prolific)
All Creatures Great and Small (okay, this was from AB's childhood, but turns out to be quite charming)

I'm thinking of re-reading Robin McKinley's fairy tale series (Beauty, Spindle's End), and maybe even sinking into the DragonSinger trilogy. You might notice that I greatly prefer stories with female leads, and I'm always on the lookout for books where the central character stays the hell home and has a great adventure on her own hearth. I'm more interested in the domestic sphere than the heroic sphere...

Oh, here's a factoid about me that might weird you out: my favorite scenes from my favorite movies (you know, the ones you watch when you're feeling sad or overwhelmed - you watch until that scene and then shut it off?) have to do with COOKING AND CLEANING. I am just in love with the Miyazaki movies (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Totoro) because he usually includes cleaning sequences, and at least a quick bit in the kitchen.

I would like to say that I read interesting, heavy, deep stuff...but all those books you see on our shelves - the well-thumbed Hesse, the reviled Thomas Mann, and the much-loved Herman Melville - they're all Alexis's. The Dragon Rider Trilogy read so many times the spine fell off? That's mine.