Wile intoxication has its place, I believe that sobriety is something that you can actively enjoy, as long as you are able to stop thinking of it as those uncomfortable moments between periods of inebriation.
Try to think of all the lovely little details you’ll be able to notice and appreciate with an unfogged mind.
No feeling sorry for you from this corner, Lobsang. Good on you for taking things into your own hands and making a damn good effort to break from the addiction, mate. Proud to know you, even if it is only via these boards. All the best.
I just started drinking again. I had a great girl and never even had the urge to drink. Now she’s gone…
Stick it out man.
If it’s any encouragement to you, I had too much last night and am paying the price today. At least if you stay sober you won’t get hungover. 
I am very greatful for all the supportive replies and to have all you guys as friend especially you Ice Wolf
I didn’t expect this kind of response from the OP but that does not mean I do not apreciate it, it means a lot.
It is not a hell for me as some have suggested sobriety is (for them) The days, when I am ‘active’, are fine, It is the occasional night when I miss drinking and feel frustrated and desperate to switch off. I had never drunk during the day for the years that I have had the habit. I was able to function during the day. It was at night that I drank (heavily) to get to sleep. So it is at night when I most ‘crave’ for it.
During the first few days or weeks even (by ‘few weeks’ in the OP I mean about 6 weeks) I resolved to replace the drink with reading (because reading books was how I got through the first few nights) This has worked until recently when I finished a good book.
So all I need to do is find something else to read (I have Discworld but that doesn’t grip me like the great books I have read in the past few weeks)
Again, thanks for the support. I will be ok. If the whatever percentage of people it is that don’t have a drinking problem can live their lives, then a sober life must be livable. (sounds cheesy I know, but that is what I tell myself sometimes and it seems to work - “if they can do it, I can”)
Lobsang, if you’re looking for gripping books, just let us know – I’m sure somebody around here can come up with a recommendation :). Whaddya like, and have you read Perdido Street Station?
Daniel
Thr first great ‘book’ (It was a trilogy) I read since quitting, I bought based on two facts - it had made it to the top 22 of the BBC Big read awards. And It’s description by one of the pundits was just right - “science-fiction book about a child’s adventures in other worlds” (paraphrased heavily). The desciription conjuring images of wildly different future worlds. It was His Dark Materials (in case you hadn’t guessed already). I enjoyed it immensely but the ending of the book was a bit of an unpleasant shock.
Then I read 1984, very good but disappointingly short.
So to answer your question - Science fiction, about the future (or other worlds), well written (I tried ‘timeline’ a while ago but found the writing style to be boring and average), but anything that is well written, gripping (immersive) and with a happy ending.
Heck, anything gripping will do.
I haven’t read Perdido Street Station. It sounds intriguing just by the title.
Just a “me too” post: I used to pound down an average of 12 beers a day…for ten years… Five months ago, I stopped…
NOT EASY! I feel the desire – not a craving, exactly, but more of an “interrupted behavior” – and some days it’s damn hard to fight it off.
On the other hand, I don’t miss the black-outs and wasted evenings, and I really like having that money to spend on other things!
Trinopus
Nice one Lobsang. I’ve gotten to like you and I’m genuinely pleased for you. Hang on in through the boredom - it’ll get easier.
Reading through it is a great idea (especially HDM - my favourite books of all time - that ending is a killer, isn’t it? Other books do seem a bit pale in comparison afterwards.). Knowing you’re a Pratchett fan, how about some Robert Rankin? Have you read the Potter books? Or maybe just some Stephen King for escapism. The Stand will last you a good long while.
If it wasn’t so un-British, I’d say I’m proud of you. Well done.
Just wanted to wander in and add my congratulations to the bunch, and to recommend the Sabriel-Lirael-Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix. Wishing you the best.
~literatelady
Intriguing indeed - it’s dark, macabre and compelling. Even better though, it sets you up for The Scar, which builds on the same sinister fantasy of the first, and includes possibly the finest fight scene I’ve ever read.
Best of luck in kicking booze - a damned hard task especially at this time of year. I’d strongly recommend a new hobby, particularly sports or exercise. Whenever I need an off switch, I find a game of street hockey or an hour in the pool does the job nicely.
I third the exercise advice. 
Lobsang, if you want tips on making it through that strange first couple of sober months, email me. It’s still fresh in my memory from last year.
Don’t give up now! Nothing worth doing is easy.
Two ideas to help you with the sleeping.
Have you talked to your doctor about sleeping pills? There are some really good non-addictive ones on the market now.
If you are against getting medical help (which I understand - why trade one drug for another right?) then I fourth the exercise advice. Start running. You won’t have trouble sleeping if you run five miles a day.
You go, Lobsang!
I had to stop for medical reasons. Don’t miss it a bit.
I recommend the Recovery Trinity: The Lost Weekend by Charles Jackson (basis for the Ray Milland movie, but far more powerful), Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot by John Callahan, and Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp (godspeed).
And I will echo those who recommended AA.
FWIW, Lobsang, His Dark Materials is one of my all-time favorite fantasy works; Perdido Street Station is another. Mieville’s got the same gargantuan imagination that Pullman has, only Mieville’s imagination is suffering from feverish nightmares. Literate, compelling, freakish stuff. Really, really fun. Genrewise it’s a fantasy, alternate-world work, but by no means is it elves and dwarves. Mieville calls it weird fiction.
Another work you might enjoy, even though it’s not science fiction, is George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. It’s very low-magic fantasy (although you wouldn’t know it from the prologue to the first book , A Game of Thrones), very gripping, very gritty. Not exactly high literature, but a helluva good story. And there’s a couple thousand pages in the three books written so far, so it’ll keep you occupied for awhile.
Best of luck, and enjoy your reading!
Daniel