Saturday, February 18, 2012

When 'The End' leaves you feeling unsettled ...

Today I finished reading a book. I started it last night, put it down at an hour I'm never quite sure if it should be described as early or late, picked it back up the moment I woke this morning and didn't put it down until I finished it.
The book? The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I reviewed it on Goodreads. I don't usually but I felt like I had to with this one. And even then I didn't know what to say!

I just ... how do you put that feeling into words, when you've just finished a book that was so good, that you were so immersed in, and then it ends? I've just spent several long (or short, depending on how you look at it) hours with these characters, and I'm not ready to let them go yet. I want more time.

Now I'm wandering from room to room, like me cat when she's looking for someone to feed her, and I just can't settle. Everything I do loses its appeal so quickly, because I want back into that world. I think that maybe I should just start another book, to keep that feeling at bay, but then I can't stand the idea of starting another book when I've just read one that was so amazing.

Do you know this feeling? The one you only get after reading a book you really connected with? How do you get past it? Or am I maybe just a bit coocoo?

12 comments:

  1. I just finished the Scorpio Races too! I thought it was a very good book. I guess it didn't leave me unsettled though :) But I'm not sure I've ever had the feeling after finishing a book. It sounds very interesting though! :)

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    1. Not many books leave me feeling like that, but I love it when they do. And hate it! I'm glad you enjoyed Scorpio Races too. :)

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  2. I don't get that feeling often, but I do get it from time to time. It was strongest with James Clavell's 'Shogun'. It's a big book, and I didn't read it super-quickly. But I remember staring at the last page and feeling as if I'd been wrenched away from that world. All I wanted to do was go back there :)
    That's the sort of book I want to write!

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    1. I haven't read Shogun. I'll have to check it out. Yes, if I could write stories people didn't want to leave I'd know I'd succeeded as a writer.

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  3. Yup, I definitely get that. When I read the Sky is Everywhere I had that exact same feeling.
    Can't wait to borrow the book from you!

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  4. Oh, The Scorpio Races is a wonderful book! It touched me deeply, too.

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    1. Rabia, I'm so glad you loved it too! I couldn't put it down.

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  5. I've definitely felt this way before. Haven't read this book - or any of hers for that matter. Going to add it to my TBR!

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    1. I was reluctant at first to read this book, because I hadn't heard great things about the Shiver trilogy, but I'd seen so many good reviews for Scorpio Races that in the end I just had to read it!

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  6. Oh, I TOTALLY do that with really good books. It's just such a shock, to be bereft of a well-crafted world so abruptly. I usually end up wandering around re-imagining scenes like someone mourning a loss. Then I'll pick up the book and reread all my favorite scenes, lingering on each exchange, each piece of dialog, each unexpected action. I think it's my goal in life to write a story that sticks with someone the way all my favorite books have. Good post!

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  7. I love that feeling of wanting to read to the end to see what will happen but then not wanting the story and your friendship with the characters to end. I usually mull over the book I have just read and then try to pick a light read as my next book.

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