Thursday 3 January 2013

Talking Point: Book Hangovers


Symptoms
  • You feel like crying when you finish a book, not because it was particularly sad, but because you don't want it to end.
  • You find yourself unable and/or unwilling to start a new book, because you're not ready to let go of the last one.
  • You go back and reread your favourite passages - or, in extreme cases, the whole thing.
  • You imagine what the characters are doing now or how they'd react in certain circumstances. Serious afflictions may even lead to fanfiction.
  • Everyone you know starts to look panicked whenever you come their way. You're not sure why - you only want to remind them again that they MUST read this fabulous book.
  • You squee when you come across others who have a similar love for the book and instantly become their friend.
  • You start to lose your ability to form coherent sentences and instead begin to express yourself in gif form (which is not particularly practical in real life).
  • You can't concentrate on anything and wander around in a daze for days.
  • When you finally do start a new book, it inevitably disappoints you, because it just can't live up to the last one.
  • You want to take the book to bed at night and cuddle it.
Hi, my name is Belle, and I'm suffering from a book hangover. You see, ever since I finished Melina Marchetta's The Lumatere Chronicles, no book has been able to satisfy me. Granted, I've only tried three, and they could just be bad books - but I get the feeling that even if there were outstanding, I still wouldn't enjoy them as much as I normally would. My heart is still in Lumatere.

I was trying to think of previous book hangovers I've had, and the one that immediately sprang to mind was when I read Stephenie Meyer's The Twilight Saga - which of course is light-years away from The Lumatere Chronicles (and not in a flattering way). Still, despite all its faults, The Twilight Saga got under my skin. First I tried to cure my hangover with more vampire books. Then I ended up just rereading the whole saga.

Another time I remember is when I finished David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. It's quite a hefty book and took me a little while to read, but when it was done I was left wanting more. Not because the ending wasn't satisfying, because it was - rather, I had enjoyed the world of the book so much I wanted to stay there awhile longer. I read some other Dickens books to remedy the situation, and I enjoyed them, but none grabbed my heart quite so much as David Copperfield.

So now, I have this book hangover I need to cure. Do I just bite the bullet and reread the trilogy (though I would feel guilty about all the completely unread books staring at me from my shelves)? Try and find another fantasy series that I may love as well (even though I'm not a massive fantasy reader and wouldn't really know where to start)? Or just plough away through mediocre reads until the hangover lifts? Tell me, dear readers, have you ever had a book hangover? If so, what was the book, and how did you get over it?

20 comments:

  1. The last time I had a real, true book hangover was when I reread The Hunger Games earlier this year. I had such a craving to read them, I just had to stop what I was doing, and quickly breezed through all three. I thought that would fix it, but I STILL needed to read them. I did. I read the entire trilogy back to back two times in a row this year. It was the only way I was able to get over it.

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    1. I think the only reason I didn't feel like that after THG was because I really didn't like the last half of Mockingjay :( But the first two I definitely felt like that - luckily I had more in the series at those points!

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    2. Oh no :( A LOT of people didn't like Mockingjay, but it was my favorite of the books. I know lots of readers were pissed about the futility of it all, that Katniss was still not in charge of her own decisions, and the deaths were all too pointless and unfeeling. But that's what really spoke to me. Because deaths happen all the time, and most people in the world don't know about them. Even the good, righteous, undeserving people die. And the fact that the one thing Katniss was trying to accomplish didn't happen - it just speaks to what happens in real life, and that's why it worked so well for me.

      I can absolutely see where people will hate it though. The things that make them hate it are the things that made me love it.

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    3. That's so interesting! You make a great point about how it represents the reality of life - but the futility just totally depressed me. I completely get why you liked that aspect though.
      For me, Catching Fire was my fave in the series.

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  2. Personally I just need to step back and *not* read for a couple of days or weeks (depending on the book) because it's almost impossible to hit the same heights, even rereading isn't always a sure fix. So I veg out on tv or movies or even graphic novels. Slowly my hangover wears off and I can read unaffected once again!

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    1. Also, I'm sure there's been one since but the final HP book stands out to me- so didn't want that one to ever end!

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    2. That's probably a good idea. I had planned on reading so much these holidays! Ah well. I think I would have felt like that after the final HP book, but I read it when I was stuck at Heathrow airport for 48 hours, sick and waiting to be able to go home after missing our flight. I wasn't in a very good headspace and then when we finally got on a flight, HP was the last thing on my mind!

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    3. Ha, yeah I can imagine that'd take the fun right out of the book and probably taint it a little when you finally do get around to it.

      How's the hangover going?

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    4. Not awesome. I'm in a bit of a funk. Oh well, I'm sure it will pass. Doesn't help that I'm sick anyway :)

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  3. I always have a bit of a book hangover after reading Harry Potter. I have to divert myself by reading something COMPLETELY different but still awesome, or I just kind of take a break from books for a couple days until I find something that grabs my interest.

    Good luck and feel better from your book hangover!

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  4. There's just something about Melina Marchetta's novels, isn't there? I haven't read the Lumatere chronicles yet (very high on the tbr shelf though!) but when I read Jellicoe Road I just couldn't get it out of my head. I wanted more! I don't think I could have been satisfied by any book after that, so I took a break from reading while I got Jellicoe out of my system.

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    1. Totally. She is magical. Jellicoe is one of my faves from her.

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  5. I SO know what you mean, Belle! That was totally me after reading The Hunger Games trilogy. I recommend reading outside the genre because what happens is you'll inevitably compare anything else in that genre to your current obsession and just end up disappointed. Case in point: me with the Divergent series. I legitimately think that it's a great series but I couldn't put my heart and soul in it because I wasn't quite over THG yet. It's almost like a really bad break-up... you don't want the next book you read to be your rebound.

    Time heals all wounds, my friend. In the meantime, you have us! :)

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    1. I know what you mean. I actually just bought Divergent and it's been awhile since I read THG so it will be interesting to see how I feel about it!

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  6. Every time I re-read The Hunger Games or Harry Potter, I normally suffer from book hangover. Normally I get over it by re-reading another book I know I like but won't leave me with a double book hang-over, or just don't read a book for a day or two.

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    1. Double book hangover, eek! That would be terrible hehe.

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  7. Yesssss!

    Sometimes I have to read passages over and over again after finishing.

    It usually takes me days and days without reading to kick it.

    Last time it was with Anna Dressed in Blood.

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    1. Oooh, that makes me even more excited (and a little scared) to read it.

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  8. IT'S LIKE YOU'RE IN MY BRAIN.

    I've had this too often... and over books I'm sometimes not so proud of. BUT THIS:

    "The one that immediately sprang to mind was when I read Stephenie Meyer's The Twilight Saga.. despite all its faults, The Twilight Saga got under my skin. First I tried to cure my hangover with more vampire books. Then I ended up just rereading the whole saga."

    THIS EXACTLY.

    Harry Potter was the same for me, and, though this was long ago, The Belgariad by David Eddings (I totally re-read that series, and it's sister series, all 10 books, at least 3 times in 6 months). I vaguely recall the same feeling when I finished The Last Battle in the Narnia Chronicles as a kid.

    Seriously. IN MY HEAD :P

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