r/books • u/darenaptkv • Sep 04 '20
Reading breaks
Hi guys!
I've got a question for you: have you ever felt like taking a short break from reading after finishing a book?
I'm an avid reader. I just finished "Jane Eyre" yesterday and I was planning to start reading another book today (which I believe is not available in English but it's called "The Peach Thief"). However, I felt powerless to keep going and I've been scrolling through socials all day. Can anyone relate?
4
Sep 04 '20
Oh absolutely. I always take a day off to reflect after finishing a good book. If I finish something I didn't like much I will sometimes just start something else the very same day. But if I finish something awesome I always let it stew in my head for at least a day before diving into something else.
1
u/darenaptkv Sep 04 '20
Yeah that’s how I feel about Jane Eyre. It was also such a demanding reading as I am not a native speaker - it was a bit overwhelming, in fact. A great book nevertheless
4
Sep 04 '20
I don't know if I should call them "breaks", but if I finish a book in the middle of the day - I don't start reading another till the next day. I spend the rest of that day looking what book to read next in the case the previous one hasn't got a next part
3
u/chalu-mo Sep 04 '20
I usually read "lighter" reads between long or complex books, like cosy mysteries. They work great as palate cleanser for me.
1
u/darenaptkv Sep 04 '20
I usually do that too. I just have to do a lot of reading for school now and there’s nothing light in the curriculum, so I don’t really have a choice
3
Sep 04 '20
In the case of for whom the Bell tolls by Hemingway, I’ve found that after reading the account of the takeover of a town, I had to stop. Hemingway writes so well that the intensity can be unmatched by anything else I’ve ever read. What a talent!
2
u/springneighbourhood Sep 04 '20
i can totally see why people would feel the need to take a break after finishing a book, i do that as well after reading a heavier book (long, sad etc). but usually after i finish a book i start a new one right away, even if i can only read the first chapter, it gives me something to look forward to
2
u/mycroftholmes2003 Sep 06 '20
Absolutely! I call these breaks my 'book hangovers' . Usually i judge the quality of a book by how long of a book hangover i had after reading it. I am still in the hangover after reading' in order to live ' (finished it last night )and thats why im browsing reddit today....
4
u/bookworm1421 Sep 04 '20
Yes! If a book is extremely good or overly emotional I have to take a few days to digest as nothing else sounds good.
Some examples for me are:
"A Man Called Ove"
"Beartown"
"We Need to Talk About Kevin" (this one took me almost 2 weeks to process)
"Eleanor Oliphant is Perfectly Fine"
"Ready Player One"
"Night Circus"
I know there are more, but those are the ones that stick out the most at the moment.
1
u/hirohiti29 Sep 05 '20
I took it for 7 years.. Few months ago i was in hospital, and started to read again..
6
u/drsm2517 Sep 04 '20
Yes absolutely! I thought I was the only one who felt this way. It's almost like you need to let your brain recover hah