The books were closed to me.

I had brought a trunkful to the laundry, but found myself unable to read them.

I fell asleep the moment I tried to read; and if I did manage to keep my eyes open for several pages, I could not remember the contents of those pages.

I gave over attempts on heavy study, such as jurisprudence, political economy, and biology, and tried lighter stuff, such as history.

I fell asleep.