Discussion

Have You Ever Finished A Book And Realized You’re Missing It Already? 5 Ways That I Miss Books

So I take it you know full well what the term “book hangover” means. You’ve been there – read a wonderful book or two, ran out of the series (and even of all the possible spin offs), or worse yet – waited on a series ender for years, and there doesn’t seem to be one coming. But really, are those the only ways to miss books? I’ve decided to take a closer look at this phenomenon and possible solutions.

#1. So You’re Too Busy To Read

Okay, so this one’s fairly obvious. You’ve got exams, a work deadline or a teething baby on your hands. There’s no talk of reading anymore. And if you turn on an audiobook, you just catch yourself zoning out. #Life is kicking your butt. You read in your dreams.

A GIF of Lucy and Ethel from I Love Lucy struggle to pick up candy on a conveyor belt that’s going really fast

Solution?

Sorry, but not much of a solution to this one! You can either sit tight and wait for a more opportune time, hyping yourself up for all those books on your bedside table, or kiss your sleep goodbye and power through. I don’t recommend that one. (But we all know what your most likely choice will be.) There’s also a possibility of picking up an audiobook for when you do chores, but if that’s not your thing, I guess I could recommend a light and funny read to you in this situation? Here are a few (click the images below for Goodreads links):

Emotions Explained with Buff Dudes: Owlturd Comix   Battlestar Suburbia

#2. You’ve Binged A Book Series. Now You’re Stuck

So was it Harry Potter? Or anything by V.E.Schwab? Regardless of what it was, you’re stuck in this world knee deep, dreaming of it every night, and you can’t let go. To the point of saying goodnight to the main characters in the series and then proceeding to cry yourself to sleep over the impossibly unfair death of one of them, which undoubtedly happened somewhere in the series.

A GIF of an imaginary character at night in bed, unable to sleep

Solution?

They say that old love can only be cured by a new one. So maybe don’t apply this to your relationship or marriage, but do adopt it for your reading. You need a rebound book series! Do your research. Look into similarly strong books, but perhaps in a different genre, and avoid similar plots. Despite feeling somewhat better after reading about another magic school, you’ll be tempted to mash the book to dust in your review because it ‘doesn’t live up to it’. And that’s no good! Here are some powerful series that might be able to pick you up:

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman   The Books of Babel by Josiah Bancroft   Remembrance of Earth's Past by Liu Cixin

#3. Despite Giving It Like Three Stars, Two Weeks Later You Now Blink And You’re Back There

This is a strange phenomenon. You read the book, you found it could have been executed in a better manner. Perhaps you found the writing lacking, perhaps the story took a really cliche turn. Or maybe you just read it at the wrong time! You gave it a lukewarm review, somewhat mad at the writer, or maybe at your own self for picking it up when you don’t want this kind of story. But then you realize that two weeks later, you’re still thinking about the characters and what’s next! You wake up in the morning, with the feel of the book, imagining the places you read about. What gives? Didn’t you give it three stars? And what should you do?

A GIF of a Clefairy from Pokemon, handling some pretty serious tech, captioned “I have no idea what I’m doing”

Solution?

I’m sorry mate, I’ve got nothing better than just waiting for the sequel and hoping reading it goes better! If there’s no sequel… well, maybe you could reread at a better time? Currently, I’m waiting for these sequels for similar reasons. Okay, so I’ve got The Sand Omnibus, but after the huge disappointment of the second book, I just can’t pick it up. As for Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith, it was a good book – but I feel like I picked it up at the wrong time. So I’m curious about the sequel.

Sand Omnibus   Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith

#4. You Tied A Book To Your Memories

You were going through a nice, or simply just memorable part of your life when you were reading a certain book. Now it’s irrevocably tied to those experiences, and since you’re way past what happened, you sorely miss it. Like that time you read that book when you were going out with your first boyfriend? Or the one you picked up in the hotel during that really awesome trip abroad? And what about that one you were reading before you looked up to be told the most incredible news ever? Yeah. You know what I’m talking about.

Solution?

Well, maybe you can’t bring the past back, but you can sure as hell just reread the book. As many times as you want to. I’ve reread one book I loved eight times! Coming from the pros here. Here are the ones I’m prone to rereading, and the first one is finally out in English! You should totally check it out, it’s a great classic – despite the poorly done cover:

Çalikuşu (the Wren): The Complete English Translation   Jane Eyre

#5. You’re Experiencing Sequel Fury

You read the first book in the series. It blew your mind!! It was so amazing you could barely handle not calling everyone in your phone contacts and telling them how incredibly it rocked (and then face the reality of appearing on some call block lists.) And then one day, you obtain a sequel. Excited, you turn the pages, only to realize that not only does it suffer from The Dreaded Second Book Syndrome™, but it’s an abomination of reality and must be destroyed by the fires of hell. You’re embarrassed this book ever existed and you can’t believe how it’s even a part of this amazing series you so extolled.

Solution?

Forget the sequel exists. Deny its existence blatantly and utterly in the face of even Goodreads and The Dewey Decimal System. I’m afraid there’s no other way! (If you find one, just make sure you let me know.) Here are some AMAZING books that have sequels we don’t talk about don’t really have sequels:

Wool Omnibus Edition   Metro 2033   Blood Red Road

Are there any other ways you miss books? Tell me all about them in the comments!