My Journey with Bill Hayes’ Writings
Okay, so about Bill Hayes’ books. It wasn’t like I went looking for them specifically, you know? It started pretty randomly. I think I was just wandering through a bookstore one afternoon, kind of killing time, feeling a bit disconnected, I guess.
I picked up a copy of Insomniac City. The cover looked interesting, simple. Started reading a few pages right there, standing in the aisle. It wasn’t like other stuff I’d read. It felt very… real. Honest. Like listening to someone just talking about their life, the city, love, loss, all mixed together.
So, I bought it. Took it home. Didn’t devour it in one sitting. It was more like something I dipped into. Read a chapter here, a few pages there. It stayed on my nightstand for a while. It was kind of comforting, in a strange way. Made me look at everyday things a bit differently, notice the small stuff.
After finishing it, I found myself thinking about his way of writing. That mix of personal story and observation. It made me curious. What else had this guy written?
So next time I was near a place with books, I actually looked for his name. It wasn’t a huge section, but I found Five Quarts. Blood. Seemed like a weird topic, right? But because I liked the way he wrote the other book, I gave it a shot.
- Got the book.
- Started reading it.
- Again, same kind of feeling. Science-y stuff mixed with personal bits, history.
It turned out to be fascinating. He has this knack for taking something potentially dry or technical, like the science of blood, and making it human, connecting it to stories and history. It wasn’t like reading a textbook; it was like following someone’s curiosity down a rabbit hole.
I didn’t stop there. I managed to track down Sleep Demons too. Insomnia, another topic I wouldn’t normally pick up a whole book about. But again, his approach pulled me in. It was part memoir, part exploration of sleep, or the lack of it.
Why did I keep reading his stuff?
Looking back, I think it was because his writing felt grounded. At a time when maybe I was feeling a bit adrift, his books were like anchors. They weren’t trying to be flashy or dramatic. They were just thoughtful observations about life, science, the body, love, grief, all tangled up. It felt very human, very relatable, even when he was writing about scientific details or experiences quite different from my own.
So yeah, that was my little journey through Bill Hayes’ books. Started by chance, ended up reading quite a few. It wasn’t a planned project, just followed my nose from one book to the next because I liked the company of his voice on the page.
