Reading as a teacher

I currently am sitting in my kitchen, at the table, with a cup of decaf tea...why the decaf rather than the real version? Because I am getting old and can no longer survive on only 7 hours of sleep. Even the tiny amount of caffeine in tea keeps me awake longer than I want, so after 6pm its decaf all the way.

So, I'm sat here drinking tea, having actually finished all my planning/ marking/ pointless but apparently vital paperwork needed for tomorrow, and just wishing I could read a book. About 5 metres away, in my bedroom, sit close to 10 books I have bought but not read yet. So why aren't I reading. There are so many reasons, and all of them seem so lame, but grouped together they're such a hurdle.

• I'm too tired. I know that you should never be too tired for a couple of pages, but that's a part of the problem. It is never just a couple of pages; if its as engaging and fun to read as I want it to be, I'll want to carry on forever, and I just can't skip sleep. And if it's not those things, then I haven't got the energy to commit the effort needed to finish a chapter. Why bother?

• It requires commitment. Reading a good book means you want to carry on reading it, at every chance. The problem is, I have no chances. I can't predict when my next evening free will be, as everyday more and more jobs get thrown onto the pile. I can probably say I can read at the weekend, but even those plans change, and it might end up being a whole week before I have another chance to pick up the book. I can't handle the torture.

• No time. This links a lot to the points above. So much time is taken up with jobs for work. And then when the work stuff is done, I still need to eat, wash, do chores and sleep. Unless I want to be stinky or half asleep tomorrow, I cannot sacrifice those hours, no matter how willingly I'd give them up for a fantasy read.

• My brain wont work. After teaching children all day, my brain is like mush. Whatever I do read will be forgotten by tomorrow, and unless it's super light and easy, it'll be painful. Literally. My eyes are getting confused about where the laptop keys right now.

• I have nothing to read! Much like the wardrobe dilemma, I have so many books but none that fit my mood. None that will tempt me past these hurdles, and make all the yawning tomorrow worthwhile. I'm sure most of the books I have are excellent, but I won't risk being put off them because I haven't got the energy to commit to them.

Oh well, it's not all bad. I'm reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to my class at the moment. Some of the children have seen the film, one has read the book. They are all agog. Last week they wrote excellent diary entries from the point of view of the Pevensie children as evacuees. This week and next, we're creating our own fantasy worlds to describe. It's nice to have at least one literary escape!

Does anyone else have a job that stops them from doing something they'd love?