Reading Away The Night

So for a Secret Santa I'm participating in, I received two sets of books: The Alexander Trilogy and The Children's War, both historical fiction works that I thoroughly enjoyed. I had previously described a book which was probably the first book I read for leisure in about six years to occupy my time during some flights. However, I read these books and an age-old problem kind of reared it ugly head at me.

When I enjoy a book, I easily lose track of time, completely absorbed in the book. Since I tend to read towards the late evenings, I keep reading and reading, and next thing I know, it's already 3AM. It kind of makes it hard to then get enough sleep for work the next day, and then I'll go through long periods without reading a book for leisure. If only I had more self-control over books...

Endurance

Last weekend I read a book for leisure for the first time since probably high school, a period of at least six years. I had been interested in reading Endurance by Alfred Lansing throughout that period, as I had initially been introduced to Ernest Shackleton's journey through Ocean Bowl in high school. The journey is a harrowing tale of survival while being trapped in Antarctic waters and the daring maneuvers undertaken by the group to not only survive but return to civilization without human casualties. While this is a historical fiction work, the detail put into writing the book to present a complete story that beautifully captures not only the actions and thoughts but also the raw emotions and conditions of the entire journey to rival many fiction works. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read of any genre.