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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Booking Through Thursday

You’ve just reached the end of a book . . . what do you do now? Savor and muse over the book? Dive right into the next one? Go take the dog for a walk, the kids to the park, before even thinking about the next book you’re going to read? What?
(Obviously, there can be more than one answer, here–a book with a cliff-hanger is going to engender different reactions than a serene, stand-alone, but you get the idea!)


Hmmm ... it depends on the book. If it's one that I've been particularly invested in, I'll pause for a bit, and muse, before moving on, so I can digest it properly. Or if the ending is unexpected or sad, then I have to stop for a bit, and chew over what was and what might have been.
If it's something light-hearted, like a Star Trek novel for example, then I'm happy to move on straight away.

I run into a dilemma if I don't have something lined up, and sometimes I don't read anything for two or three days. But that unhappy circumstance never lasts long.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not certain whether the idea of not having something lined up fills me with horror or relief. There are times when I have so many books I have to read for a deadline that the pressure takes away some of the pleasure, but then the thought of not having anything there is terrifying.

Anonymous said...

I'm a muser too. Your answer reminds me of the Francis Bacon quote... "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested."

Fortunately, I'm not sure it would be possible (barring stranded-on-a-desert-island scenarios :) ) to run out of reading material! Too much choice can be as frustrating as not enough though.

Lynda said...

I'd panic too if I didn't have books ready to read next. Musing on the book usually one happens if it's thought provoking ;0)

gautami tripathy said...

As I feel it, to many books and too short time to read. Hence dive right in for the next!

Booking upto ending

trish said...

You mean you don't have your next 20 books lined up?! Oh, the horror! :-) Just teasing.

Anonymous said...

I said almost the same - some you sit and think about and then go to the next, but I also have the situation when I don't have the next book. Or at least none of the books I have are ones I want to read at that moment.

Maree said...

Once, I couldn't decide what to read next. So I put three books on the floor and picked the one the cat smooched. :)

jlshall said...

Even tho' I can't imagine being without another book on the immediate horizon, I know I shouldn't be that obsessive! You're really much wiser, taking time to savor each book as you finish it.

Lesley said...

I just cannot bear to be without a book, so I'll dive right into the next one. If I've just finished something with great impact, I'll shoot for saomething completely fdifferent next time. And I may move to a shorter book after a long one, but otherwise there's little rationale!