u/Tiny_Name_2778

I love to listen to audiobooks before I fall asleep and it’s critical wind down time for me. But I feel like I listen to the same things over and over which is fine but I listen for an hour sometimes before I go to sleep so id like to branch out. Also to note I don’t want to just fall asleep I like to listen to the story for a while with the option to drift off.

What I love is an interesting plot but very low emotional stakes. A lot of ‘cosy’ books have a nice cosy theme but I find are way too emotional dealing with loneliness (house in cerulean sea, whispering door), trauma (enchanted greenhouse, river enchanted), etc. so it does the opposite of wind me down.

Ones that worked pretty well for me
- the hobbit + fellowship (the old school narrative Andy Serkis is amazing but not for bedtime ha)
- Sherlock Holmes, especially short stories
- Harry Potter (Stephen fry narration not the new one)
- Emily wilde’s encyclopaedia
- mythos and hero’s
- narnia chronicles
- Thursday murder club (it started great but I got a bit upset and too emotionally involved by the end)
- Agatha Christie stories
- The river has roots
- unruly
- the silk roads
- a short history of the world

Also yes I am aware that I appear to have a thing for low spoken posh British gentlemen’s soothing me to sleep but I don’t think that’s essential 😅

Does anyone do something similar and have any recommendations. I’ve open to books for all ages and I think some kids books are just as good for adults.

Thanks!

First time posting here and I guess I’m just a little lost.

I have sepsis in January this year from a kidney infection. I was only in hospital 8 days and no ICU or anything.

But ever since I just feel off and honestly a bit broken I guess. That something is just wrong. 60% of my hair has fallen out, I’ve lost 15kgs, I’m so exhausted doing anything, I feel nauseous all the time, I feel stupid like so much slower than usual. I was getting really bad night terrors but they seem to have got a loss less infrequent and intense. And honestly it’s just really mentally getting to me. It’s like death by a thousand cuts feeling like I’m gradually eroding at the edges.

On top of that I’ve had pneumonia since and then some weird stomach infection I was back in the hospital for fluids etc. all of which started from just normal daycare germs.

I just seem to be constantly getting sick and even when I’m ‘well’ I’m not well. And then I get anxious about anytime I get a bit unwell as it’s like ok will this be pneumonia or the hospital again for a while.

I don’t know what to do. I have a therapist who I’m talking to about it and I’m medicated for the anxiety and potentially depression. I’m also getting tests run as they assume I have some kind of autoimmune or something. But so far there has been no improvement. Is this just life now? I don’t know how to deal with this.

I also don’t know if this is just post septic syndrome and something that is just part of recovery I have to lump.

I have a young family and a demanding job both of which I love so I can’t just ‘focus on getting better’ I feel so stuck and so down about being stuck and yeah I guess any advice on how to work through this. Can I work through this or do I just have to patient