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!)
This is the first year that I’ve joined multiple reading challenges. I would like to successfully complete all of them, so it’s not feasible for me to immediately re-read a book, no matter how much I like it. Since I don’t always write a review of the old book before starting the next, I keep it close by to fresh my memory as I’m writing the review. Sometimes that leads to reading several more pages than intended and no writing. 😀
If I complete a book late at night, or unexpectedly finish it at lunch/on the commute, I have a bit of time to mull over what I just read, and decide what book I will read next. Sometimes I already know what book it will be. If I change my mind, it will usually be because I’m not in the mood for it.
Generally, I try to start the next book the same day, even if it’s just a page or two.
Do you feel pressured to read quickly due to the multiple challenges you’re participating in?
I usually have a couple going at once – never just one. Sometimes I feel more inclined to read one book over the other, often depending on whether its fiction or nonfiction.
Lisamm – Pressure to read faster? No, not really. I try to pick at least one book a month that counts for two different challenges. That helps. Several of the challenges are short-term and/or don’t require 12 books by the end of the year, so I’ll have the chance to concentrate on those I’ve neglected. 🙂
Avid (re: More than one book) – I was reading two at once, but I stopped doing that last year. One was for my commute, and one was for home reading. But my commute changed and I realized that I wasn’t finishing that book any faster than the at-home book. My average was four books a month whether I reading two different books at once or not.
Thanks for stopping by! I’ll come visit!
I think that starting a new book is exciting, so that’s usually what I think about after I’ve finished a book: what I will be reading next. I think more than really pondering a book, I let it sit in my subconscious and see what thoughts come to the surface. 🙂
Trish,
Exactly! As I get closer to the end of the current book, the more excited about the next book I am, and doubly so if it’s one I’ve been looking forward to for awhile (new book, recently obtained older book, “tortured myself long enough with putting it off” book, etc). But I’ve noticed the more enthralled I am with the story of the current book, the less likely, or less frequently, I think about the next book or the pending review of the previous.
It’s a little silly, but thinking about the next book while still reading the current one seems like I’m being unfaithful: so excited about starting the book but barely a third way through it, I’m thinking about the next and/or reminiscing about the previous (for the review).