r/books • u/TheNakedMoleRat • Jun 29 '14

Pulp Does anyone else get that crushing sense of loss when they finish a good book?

Just finished The Count of Monte Cristo after a reading it in all my spare time for the last two weeks. I'm in that post-book slump I get after reading something really good. Does everyone get this? Does noone?

Edit: Glad I'm not the only one! Looks like most people are saying they miss the characters, which I'm totally on board with. But I also think it feels even bigger than that...like a sadness that you just can't re-experience it all for the first time!

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '14

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u/1nekosan2 Jun 29 '14

I did the same thing. I even called into work sick that day. My Mom brought me food to my room because she knew there was no way I would eat otherwise.

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u/bonebride Jun 29 '14

my mom did the same thing!!!

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u/1nekosan2 Jun 29 '14

Score for awesome Moms!

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '14

Not at all do I ever feel crushing loss at the ending.

Idiots. I have things to do.

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '14

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u/1nekosan2 Jun 29 '14

I wasn't aware that cigarettes could read.

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '14

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '14

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u/1nekosan2 Jun 29 '14

I realize that you are trolling, but just in case you are not... if you aren't connecting with the characters in a book, you are reading the wrong book. Don't just read something because someone else told you to or because it's on some list. Read what moves you, what inspires you, what makes you think. If you aren't a little different by the end of a book, you're doing it wrong.

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '14 edited Jun 29 '14

Dude, you are so wrong about me. As one of my favorite authors would say, "I consume libraries."

I do things like get in a taxi and say, "The library, and step on it."

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u/1nekosan2 Jun 29 '14

Maybe you should be a writer. You are quite witty.

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u/garlic_prawn Jun 29 '14

I did this too! Couldnt risk a repeat of the Half Blood Prince, where someone ruined Dumbledore's fate for me on public transport 😕

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '14

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u/garlic_prawn Jun 29 '14

Oh no!! I actually have a tendency to do that as well, with a sort of perverse intention of allowing myself a "clue" to the later stages of a book early on haha. Never had it turn out so badly as that tho, dude- bad times!!

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u/ichosethis Jun 29 '14

The mailman rang the bell for that package; he knew exactly what was in it. I ripped it open and was done reading around 2 am. I was in a daze and don't think I slept for the rest of the night.

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u/themoshref Jun 30 '14

A little different but I did this with bio shock infinite. Also did it with American psycho

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u/muffinprincess13 Jun 29 '14

Thirty straight hours?! Did you sleep?

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '14

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u/shoeslayer Jun 29 '14

I did that every single summer when they came out (only it took me more than 30 hours because I read it in English, which isn't my native language, because I was too impatient to wait for the translated book).

Nowdays every time I pick up a Harry Potter book I get the weirdest feeling. I feel like I'm back in my teenage years, sitting on my bed in the summer and feeling this crazy sense of joy. I can't even describe it, it's like physical sense of nostalgia.

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u/kbiering Jun 29 '14

Have you read them in your native language and English? Are there any differences because words don't translate? Were your feelings the same after reading both versions?

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u/shoeslayer Jun 29 '14

I read the first two only in Hebrew (my native language), and starting from the third I started reading them in English. After they were stranslated I also read them in Hebrew.

Once my English improved I enjoyed the English versions more, because I feel like the original is always better. The translations were always very hurried because of the high demand of the readers, so I felt like they were good but a little sloppy. Also, English is a much more flexible language than Hebrew.

I did have some problems at the beginning, though: I was 12 and my English was okay, but not great, so I had problems understanding which words were made-up by Rowling and which words were just words in English that I wasn't familiar with. Anyway, the language didn't influence my feelings. Today I just enjoy reading a book in the language that I originally read it for the first time, because that first time wonder is connected in my mind to the language in which I read it.

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u/kbiering Jun 29 '14

It makes me feel better there's another person out there willing to admit they're a slow reader. :)