I like to read, but given my very short attention span my reading has been limited to short Internet articles, magazines, and emails. I try reading books and have found that it usually takes me a few months to complete your average 300-page novel or non-fiction.
In the course of that few months, I tend to start reading, then take about a month or two off from the book only go back to it and finish it as fast as I can. I don’t what’s wrong with me. Maybe the rough boring patch of the book weighs on me and I can’t continue. Whatever the case is, I’ve recently come across another phenomenon I’ve been experiencing whenever I actually finish a book and have decided to call it “Book Depression.”
Book Depression is when you finish a book and you’re actually depressed that it’s over with. You’re not depressed because of the story turned sour or things didn’t turn out like you thought they would, you’re depressed because you just finished the book.
This has happened to me for like my fifth consecutive book that I read. I just finished Ketchum’s Saratoga (an essential read for anyone who’s interested in the Revolutionary War). Last night after finishing the book I felt a sense of accomplishment for about 20 minutes – and then I just wanted to read more. I was hoping for a missing chapter in the book or something. I don’t get it because I just finished a 447 page book and thought I was short changed.
I was thinking about it today at work and realized the reason I have an attachment to books is because they take me so damn long to read. I actually grew old with the book. When I first started Saratoga, I was on a beach in the summer reading it. Now I’m getting ready to freeze my balls off.
Does this happen to anyone else? It seems a bit odd and the longer I think about it, the more I think I may need some ritalin to help me get through some of these books faster so I can reduce my attachment. Anyone else care to chime in on the so-called “book depression” phenomenon?
On a side note, the book was phenomenal. I suggest you pick it up if you have the chance.
