Farewell Hastings

Hastings is a store that sells new and used books, movies, music, comic books, figurines, and a whole array of other (sometimes odd) things.

It was my 'go-to' store for books and movies and tv on dvd.

They've gone bankrupt, so they are closing all of their stores nation-wide.  It's so sad!  Their prices were great, especially when they were having sales. Most of our tv series on dvd came from Hastings.  We don't buy nearly as many movies as we used to (new from Target or Walmart), because we would always wait a month or so and get a used copy at Hastings for less than 1/2 the price.

One day last year they were having a sale on all of their used books:  Buy one at regular price (usually between $3 - $10) and get 2 more for $1 each.  My husband and I spent the day driving all over town browsing.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  Just searching through all of the used books and getting so excited when we would find one on our list was a blast.

We don't have any other 'chain' used books/movie stores here that I know of.  I'm hoping we might get a Half Priced Books now or something.

Today, since it was a day off, I made one final trip to Hastings.  I only went to one, the one we usually go to:

I browsed through the movies first, then the books.  Then the movies.  Then the books.  I took my time and walked through each aisle.  I known it sounds silly, but I was a little sentimental about it!

Today, I bought 5 books and 2 movies for about $30.

I am going to really miss this place.  Thank you Hastings for the years of entertainment!

On Reading and Sleeping

So….reading.

I love reading.  Always have, always will. 

 

Lately I’ve been discussing with my doctor (I’ve been doing some cognitive behavioral therapy to help with my social anxiety) some sleep issues I’ve been having.  We also discussed my love of reading and how I should do it more often.

But….there are only certain types of books that I can read during certain times of the day.  I started reading before bed, but I noticed something.  Whenever I read fiction books, specifically ‘present-day’ fiction books (not historical fiction), they keep me awake.  Or it takes me forever to fall asleep (because I’m thinking about the book), then when I fall asleep, I dream about the book.  Which is usually not good.  A good example was ‘The Girl on the Train’.  FANTASTIC book.  But….when I finished (one evening before I went to sleep), I had horrible nightmares that basically put me in the plot of the book (if you’ve read the book, you’ll know why it was very disturbing to be IN the plot in my dream).  I was up most of the night.  I would wake up, and then when I would fall back asleep my dream would pick up right where it left off.  It threw my whole week off and I just couldn’t get caught up on anything (due to tiredness and lack of sleep).

So…no more fiction for me before bed.  I allow myself to read those books during my lunchtime at work.  That’s it.  I keep my current book in my desk so that I’m not tempted to bring it home and finish it that evening if it’s really good. 

So…what can I read before bed and any other time?  Pretty much everything else.  Historical fiction, non-fiction (on any subject – biographies, history, health, etc.).  My doctor is an avid reader as well and has given me a few good suggestions already about non-fiction books that were either biographies or history that she loved.  For some reason, I don’t have any issues with those types of books keeping me up at night.  I don’t have as many dreams as I used to and am sleeping better.

I also bought a lavender candle (Mrs. Myers) that I light as soon as I started my bedtime routine.  Lavender is a calming scent.  At first I thought it was too strong, but I must be used to it, because now I love it and I think it’s helping.  (My husband blows out the candle when he comes to bed a short while after I do).

 

Thankfully our bedroom is usually picked up and clean, but if it’s not, I try to do that before bed.  A clean, calm bedroom really helps me to relax and be able to fall asleep.

So between being selective about my evening books, my candle, and always having a clean bedroom, I hope to get my sleep health back on track!