What has given you a “book hangover”?

CharlieBear

Have you ever finished a movie, show, book, game, or something else and upon realizing there’s nothing more of the story to consume, you feel this massive gaping hole form in your heart and fall into a debilitating despair because you don’t think you will ever be able to find happiness again? A bit over-dramatic I know, but I have felt that many times over the years. I think most recently for me it was finishing Julie and the Phantoms and then realizing that Netflix had cancelled it 😅😟😩😭

Do you have any beloved media that this has happened with you? And if so, did you replace it with something else? (And most likely start the process over again…)

cuddles_ndream

I had that feeling when I was in my mid-20’s and the 1st season of jersey shore ended 😅😂

CharlieBear

@cuddles_ndream hahaha ok that’s pretty funny. No judgement though 😂

cuddles_ndream

@Charlie_Bear 🤣

TxTom

Yes, after Darth Vader died in Episode 6: Return of the Jedi, I realized there was no point for there to ever be a post-Vader movie. Star Wars is simple: it's about a kind, innocent, young boy who grows up, and tempted by evil, transforms into a despotic human/mechanical monster, but finds redemption through the salvation of his son. What a cool story.

Unfortunately, I found Episodes 2 and 3 lacking in the development of Anakin's character. Vader was cool and calculating. The actor playing older Anakin ruined the character with an overly emotional, temper-tantrum throwing "child."

CharlieBear

@Tom2019 i could not agree more

SweetPeaJen

I have felt that "gaping hole" so many times in my life. It's like losing a best friend when a book series, beloved show, or movie series is over! 😭😭 Just takes finding a replacement to get over it though.

achetocuddle

@cuddles_ndream Lol.

@Charlie_Bear This has happened to me more than once. Most recently it happened with an author named Lisa Dickey when I realized I had read all of her travel books. I just remembered this: When David Letterman retired from his talk show I was almost inconsolable. Oh dear, I just remembered that when Howard Stern stopped having his radio show on E! channel I was really depressed. Many people IRL found that puzzling to say the least. Lol.

TxTom

@jenluvzscooby You'll experience that reading "Goodbye, Mr. Chips".

netrunner

I tend to get that feeling when I'm reading a book series I'm enjoying and catch up to where the last book is... then have to wait months, a year, or longer for the next book to be released. Same thing happens with a good tv series only there it's also possible the show ends and the writers weren't able to bring the series to a conclusion so you're left hanging.

DaringSprinter

When this happens, I typically go looking for fanfiction. A lot of it is, uh, not what I'm looking for—but a lot of it is people trying to fill the same hole I just fell into.

After enough searching through AO3, I can usually find at least two or three works that carry on believably from an excellent original, or fix the poor character writing and/or plot holes in a promising but disappointing original.

Or I just find something new. In my opinion, The Laundry Files do Lovecraft right.

GreatHornedOwl

I got it once, but in the opposite direction. I had just spent about three weeks writing a very long patent application. I had drawn the last drawing, tabulated the last table, written out the last equation, and written the last of the text. There was nothing more to do. I felt completely lost.

TxTom

If you want to enjoy something that will likely never end, go veg in The Backrooms. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's supposed to be 60 million square miles of creepy, abandoned office space. See you in a few years.

Jubal

Firefly, after watching Serenity.

netrunner

@Jubal

Firefly, after watching Serenity.

Firefly before or after watching Serenity 🤣😭
Constantine the TV series was another one. I know Keanu is confirmed coming back for the 2nd movie, but both he and Matt Ryan were phenomenal playing the same role.

Mela_B

Anything philosophy. Yes I'm a dork.

trysdet

Anything by JJ Abrams.

achetocuddle

@Mela_B Dork is good. I think it's fun and easy to have convo with a dork.

Mela_B

@achetocuddle thanks 😊💜

cuddles_ndream

@achetocuddle I’m definitely a dork 🤓 and dork rhymes with cork.

KamikaziNinja86

The Wheel of Time series, Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites series. The Unwanteds series.

All great reads, highly recommend.

Sideon

When Jordan died before finishing the Wheel of Time series, I vowed to never start another series unless it was completed. (I'm looking at you, George R. R. Martin.)

Hangover/Overwhelming Books? For starters:

• Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay
• Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Call Me By Your Name, by André Aciman
• The Men from the Boys, William Mann
• Harpist in the Wind, by Patricia McKillip (third/final book of the Riddlemaster series)

CharlieBear

@Sideon those will all be going on the list. I’m a masochist, it seems.

Sideon

@Charlie_Bear - fair warning - the Aciman and Mann books are both LGBT, coming of age stories. And achingly devastating.

CharlieBear

@Sideon Oh no…I will keep tissues nearby

TNNative

My hangover was from the Harry Potter series. I missed spending time with the characters after book 7. The books had so much more detail than the movies. The movies would have to be many hours long to capture all the events in the books.

wrench

When I finished reading the Master and Commander series by Patrick O'Brien.

21 books in the series. I loved each and every one of them and I felt sad when it was over. Had to wait a month before picking up a long series again.

emberwolfe

The Forest of Hands and teeth by Carry Ryan, I read a lot and V.C. Andrews has nothing on how scarring this trilogy was.

Constantly! Most painful was when Terry Pratchett died and I knew there would be no more Discworld. Most recent was LA by night, it was such a good show! Left a gapping wound when it finished.