Book Withdrawal

[Libre]

Everytime I finish a book I like, I go through a kind of melencholy withdrawal. I find it hard to face life without the characters I've grown to know and sometimes to love. That might sound pretty weird - at least, to anyone that lacks the passion for reading that I (we) do. I find it hard to adapt to a new book. Of course, if the new book is absorbing, a transferrance process occurs and I become involved with the new characters. But, until that happens, I often feel blue and out of sorts, I miss the old ones so much. This happens to me pretty much every time I finish a book that I liked - especially if the book was a long one, and I lived in it for a period of time. This never happens to me after a movie or any other form of entertainment. Only books.

Do I need a shrink? I'm really not a sappy, dopey kind of guy - except when it comes to books.
Does this happen to you too?

 

[mom2kngr]

Ohhh gosh am I glad someone else has this same troubles...LOL. I have the same thing happen to me quite frequently. I am afraid after reading this Janet Evanovich series that I will go through it again I always feel like I will never find any book near as good as what I just finished.
Thanks for posting this...now I dont feel so alone

 

[WoodenCoyote]

I do that too. Then I want to talk about the book with everyone I meet. That's why I came here, folks got tried of listening to me

 

[Libre]

On the positive side of things, people that cannot feel this way will never know the intense involvement that we develop in our reading. In a way it's like life itself - the more you get involved with someone or something, the harder it is to accept it when things change or the person goes away. But, the more rewarding and enriching the association was while it lasted.

 

[Spineshank]

I feel the same way you guys do, when i finish a book its great feels good but starting another book i read the first chapter or so thinking about the book i just read and miss that story, luckily i usually read series' so that when im finished with this new book i pick up the next book in the series of the book i missed. Hopefully i dont miss the book i just read too or i could get myself into some trouble, with having 20 series going at one time.

 

[WoodenCoyote]

On the positive side of things, people that cannot feel this way will never know the intense involvement that we develop in our reading.

That's true. My brother got mad at me at dinner tonight for trying to discuss Son of a Witch with him [ he stole and read my copy without asking. He owes me a conversation ]

 

[MonkeyCatcher]

This very thing happened to me recently after I finished reading Cross Stitch (Outlander). The good thing about this happening over a book like this is that I can just read the next in the series I'm definately glad that I'm not the obly one that this happens to!

 

[Kookamoor]

Mmm, yes - I have this issue after a good fantasy series. After spending so long with those characters... But after a good novel, a book sometimes feels 'complete'. Sure I can wonder what happens to the characters, but I think if a book is 'well written' (oh dear, I smell a debate) it should feel concluded and not leave this feeling. On the other hand, if a writer leaves you 'wanting more' then that's also a good feeling - John Irving does this for me!

 

[CattiGuen]

eek someone just like me. . this happens to me but very rarely. mostly with series books (like the Drizzt books... ) i get so attached to these characters and (when i was younger...*ahem* ) I used to imagine that i tagged along with Drizzt battling orcs and and what not....yeah well anyways....i know what you mean.

its kinda like summer camp. you love it when youre there. you dont want it to end but you enjoy it til the very last day (page), afterwards, all you can do is think back on it....only of course you can reread books.

ahhh.....

 

[Jemima Aslana]

I see what you mean, Kook, and whether I get the withdrawal feeling depends greatly on the book. It also depends on how long it has taken me to read said book.
If I've been reading a book for weeks and weeks on end then the events in it have had time to really settle in my mind and I will be sorry when I put it down - I expect The Brothers Karamazov to have this effect when I finish it.
If I plough through a book in 3 hours like I did with Lisa Smedman's Venom's Taste (and took Viper's Kiss along in another 3-4 hours) all I get is the feleing of 'that was that - what now?' Good book, but I didn't give it the time to have a chance at grabbing me so fully.

I had a really good experience with Anselm Audley's Crusade, last volume of his fantasy trilogy, it didn't finish off all events that were occurring, it just stopped and now 4 months later I'm still thinking of what might have happened to the characters when certain events started rolling. It's a fantastic feeling

Oh, and why am I not surprised to see quite a few experiencing this thing?

 

[cajunmama]

I get like that, too, if it has been a book that has pulled me deeply. Some books end well, like Kook said, but sometimes I find myself wondering what else happened. And it doesn't have to be a lengthy book, either. Some short novels or novellas are extremely captivating .

 

[abecedarian]

I get like that, too, if it has been a book that has pulled me deeply. Some books end well, like Kook said, but sometimes I find myself wondering what else happened. And it doesn't have to be a lengthy book, either. Some short novels or novellas are extremely captivating .

Isn't this how fanfic got started? I don't think this "mulling over" process is a bad thing at all. Some books and their characters stike a chord with certain readers, and we need to "live" with them beyond the pages of their stories for awhile. Some we even go back and reread the "good parts." And this is bad, how? Sounds like the highest compliment a writer could hope for.

 

[cajunmama]

I would have to agree, abc. I know that if I were an author and a reader came up to me and said that my book stayed with them long after they read it, I would feel incredibly complimented (and successful).

 

[ions]

I believe this has been discussed before. Just sayin' if you're interested in this what was said the last time could be interesting to you. Anyway, I have this happen too with some books. Like Jemima Aslana I am currently reading The Brothers Karamazov and I also expect it to linger with me for a while after finishing. Crime and Punishment certainly did. Some books I can put down after finishing and start something new right away. Others I need to cogitate over and decompress from their environment. A good story is an emotional investment for the reader that can change a person.

 

[WoundedThorns]

that used to happen to me a lot when i was younger and read a loooottt of books. most of them were those realistic fiction books so it did feel like i knew the character. i suppose over time the characters almost stayed with me as a memory. i think its kind of the way you leave a friend when you move.. they're still in your mind and you recall specific events once in a while

 

[HermioneWeasley]

ok, i totally agree with you, same with me! I"m addicted to harry potter so i can never forget about it or the characters completely. but i remember when i finisehd the count of monte cristo.l in case you didn't know, it's about 1400 pages long. I grew to love the chracters and the book, and after i finished it, i was in this dreamy obsessive state for, like, a week! that sometimes happens with movies too if they're good. like, i have movie phases like that as well. but more for books.

 

[Wabbit]

If I really like a book then I have to wait awhile before moving on to the next. Sometimes if the book is a really great one then I might find it difficult to actually get into something else for quite awhile.