Reading Saved My Life (More than Once)

I'm very lucky to have fallen in love with reading when I was a boy. I have always loved to read. There have been occasions when it has helped me stay sane, and made life bearable in difficult times. It got me through an emotional end to a relationship while living in South San Francisco, where I was conveniently living almost right across the street from the local Library. Reading also played a major role in keeping me from having a complete meltdown while working a high stress job in Houston that was further complicated with an extremely antagonistic office situation. While there, other than going out for morning runs, I would spend weekends reading science fiction novels, old (classic) and modern, that once again I would get from the local Library. 
Reading did quite literally play I large role in keeping me alive when I came down with CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome; the key being Immune Dysfunction, as more than one other person my family has an auto-immune system disease). It took me ten years to battle my way back to being able to live on my own again. In the early years of my disorder, I thought of suicide quite frequently, knowing that my life before CFIDS was over. But reading, and an amazing little bird I named Harry, made my life interesting enough (and then some) to keep going on. That would probably rate as the toughest period I've gone through in my yet young life.
Reading has taken center stage again in keeping me whole and balanced. This year hasn't been exactly a banner year for me. I saw last year out by breaking my arm and tearing up my shoulder. My right (dominant) arm and shoulder, of course. Effectively laying me up for the winter. It was only with the aid of friends & family that I was able to get through what I think of as one helluva bad winter. And only with the fine writing of many outstanding authors, and maybe a few not so outstanding, that I was able to fight off cabin fever.
It took a good while, a lot longer than I would have liked, to recover. And along the way, certain symptoms of my immune system disorder flared up. But surprisingly, only after the pain meds ran out.One symptom in particular, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) ramped up in a big way. Sleep became extremely problematic. Many nights I would wake with cramps and abdominal pain. It would take me anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to be able to fall back asleep. With the help of some ginger/peppermint tea, and of course a good book. Some nights I nights I wouldn't get back to sleep at all. On those nights I got a considerable amount of reading done. 
It's still ongoing, but I believe I am improving. I saw an interview with Jennifer Esposito who wrote a book about her ordeal with Celiac Disease. I was having a lot of the same symptoms she had, abdominal pain accompanied by anxiety attacks, and of course, depression. So, long story short, I decided to cut out gluten and dairy. Not an easy thing to do. But I am slowly beginning to feel better. They say gluten withdrawal (yup, just like a drug) takes a few weeks. Anyroad (anyway, if you prefer), my bird friend Eddie (Harry died back in 2007, & is still missed) and many fine books have, and still are seeing me through it all.
It would be too much to try to list all the books I've been reading, but here's a few. I would like to thank Subterranean Press for publishing so many fine volumes, including collections like The Inheritance & Other Stories by Megan Lindholm/Robin Hobb, The Sky Wraps Around by the late Jay Lake, and The Best of Kage Baker, who also has passed on, and will be missed by many.
Two of my favorite series that I am addicted to are, Christpher Fowler's Bryant & May Peculiar Crimes detective novels, and Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins Mystery novels. As far as I'm concerned, these 2 series of novels just keep getting better & better. 
As far as what I am currently reading, I just finished Lauren Beukes' Moxyland, which I think was her exceptional debut novel and a quite scary picture of a very possible corporate future. And I will read the other three novels she wrote since that I know of. And at this moment I am reading Lewis Shiner's Black & White, which is another exceptional publication by Subterranean Press. I'm only about 50 pages in, but I'm already hooked. 
A guy I know, after seeing all the books in my place, said you don't have a life, you have many lives. I feel pretty damn blessed for all the books I've been lucky enough to be able to read, and all I will have the opportunity to read. God willing, & the creek don't rise.