Books that Will Keep You Awake at Night
Did you get an extra hour of sleep last night? The night we change back to standard time is one of my favourites of the entire year because I do so enjoy that extra hour.
The books on the list below are about insomnia.
Fiction
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Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
• eBook
In the future genetic modifications allow part of the population to exist without sleep. Soon tension grows between the Sleepers and the super-productive Sleepless. Followed by Beggers and Choosers and Beggars Ride.
The Boy who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To by D.C. Pierson
• eBook
Loner Darren bonds with fellow high school student Eric but discovers that Eric has a secret–he does not need to sleep.
Insomnia by Stephen King
• eBook
• Large Print
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
Recent widower Ralph Roberts is unable to sleep. At first he attributes the visions he's having to the insomnia but realizes that some of the horrible things he sees are real.
Man in the Dark by Paul Auster
• Audiobook
• Large Print
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
A retired book critic tells himself stories to combat his insomnia, imagining an alternate United States where a civil war can only be ended by his own assassination.
Sleepless by Charlie Huston
• eBook
A virus has infected ten percent of the world's population with insomnia and there is no cure. The affected die within a year. LAPD officer Park Haas' wife goes undercover to infiltrate a drug ring that can provide the only treatment.
Non-Fiction
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The Family that Couldn't Sleep: a Medical Mystery by D.T. Max
Journalist Max investigates prion diseases, including fatal familial insomnia which causes sleeplessness and death.
Nothing: a Portrait of Insomnia by Blake Butler
Novelist Blake Butler suffers from insomnia. In this memoir he provides information on the impact of sleeplessness on creativity and describes his experience of remaining awake for 129 hours.
Wide Awake: a Memoir of Insomnia by Patricia Morrisroe
In an effort to understand her own insomnia, Morrisroe consulted scientists, anthropologists and other sleep experts and presents her findings in this fun and engaging book.
Toronto Public Library also has books for treating insomnia. Ask library staff at your local branch for assistance.
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