# Anyone else get depressed when they finish a good book?



## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

I'm just wondering if it is only me or do other people get depressed when they finish a really good book. 
For me I guess it is the feeling of having to go back to reality. Reading has become an addiction to me just because of this feeling. Maybe my reality just sucks that bad...

Oh and it gets really bad when I am at the end of a series. It's like you spent all this time with these characters, got to know them, laughed, cried and sometimes, depending on papercuts, you've even bled with them! 

Anyone else feel the same?


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## MyricaBlue (Feb 10, 2012)

Definitely feel sad when I finish a great series or all of a favorite author's work and know there won't be any more. I hunted down Nero Wolfe mysteries for years and it was a letdown when I realized that I'd found them all.


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## Trophywife007 (Aug 31, 2009)

I do feel sad.  It's like having to say goodbye to good friends; I miss them!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Quite the opposite. I have a good feeling when I finish a book I've enjoyed.

Mike


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Yes, the sense of detachment from the world I was enjoying is quite painful at times.  Frequently I will read the last book or last portion of the book multiple times.


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## cheriereich (Feb 12, 2011)

I sometimes do. When I finished Stephen King's _The Green Mile_ (read it in the monthly installments when it first came out), I felt very sad. Also when I finished J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. You spend so much time with characters that it can be a let down to go back to regular life or even a new book. I've noticed when I finish a great book, it sometimes takes me a few days to get into reading anything else even.


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## cooktravelwrite (Mar 9, 2012)

The short answer to this is "Yes!"  It's so sad to reach the end of a really great book.


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

At the end of a great book, I usually feel satisfied and ready to find the next one. The reading that leaves me sad is that of a crappy book, not a good one


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## JBool56 (Feb 22, 2012)

I'm with Myricablue on this. And somehow the authors I like all seem to have met with a premature end! And you know, sometimes another writer picks up the series, but it's never the same...


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

There's a thread here from years ago (I am not going to try to find it) called "The incredible sadness of a really good book." When I finish a really good book I get this awful feeling that I'll never read a book as good _ever again_. Of course, that doesn't happen but I do have a big let down that can last up to a couple of days. Also, when I finish a really good book, I have a hard time finding something else to read. I'll start and stop a bunch of books before something catches me and pulls me in.

L


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## Anjasa (Feb 4, 2012)

I get depressed and lonely while reading books at time to time. Especially good books that have sad parts.

Hell, even a disagreement between two close friends or partners or whatever can leave me sullen and I have to read until it's resolved.

I've spent an evening crying over a character that died, or a relationship that broke up, or a friendship that fell apart. I always feel enriched by it, but certainly I do get upset.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

I wouldn't say I get depressed, but I do find myself missing the characters of a really good novel. This doesn't sting so much if I know a novel is part of a series, but for those stand-alone works, it can be disheartening (Ken Follett, I'm looking at _you_).


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## luvmykindle3 (Dec 5, 2010)

I get a little sad when I finish a really good book, especially if it's the end of the series. I start missing reading about the characters. Then I start looking for my next great read.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Leslie said:


> Also, when I finish a really good book, I have a hard time finding something else to read. I'll start and stop a bunch of books before something catches me and pulls me in.
> 
> L


This is exactly what I do. It might take me a day or two before I can even thinking about reading something new.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

I've been having a bad run lately with a lot of books I've abandoned partway. Then I got C.S. Harris's latest historical mystery, When Maidens Mourn. When I finished it I felt positively triumphant. Yes! See? It's not me. There are books I can love out there.

The ending of a series I liked or the death of a favorite author does make me sad, however.


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

Glad to see there are others out there like me. To clarify, this feeling mostly comes at the end of a series or a trilogy etc... Right now I am reading the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child and I get excited when I finish a book to get on to the next one. But in the dark recesses of my mind there is the pang of terror, knowing that eventually I will run out of books to read. 

Thank God for so many authors with so many good books!

I have also experienced irritation waiting on an author to publish another book. David Morrell is another favorite of mine and I check regularly to see if and when he will come out with something new. But I can't hold it againt them knowing how long it takes to write a book, heck my first book took nearly two years to write and another year of tweaking until I finally decided just to leave it alone before I ruined it...


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## Darlene Jones (Nov 1, 2011)

YES! I hate when a good book ends - want it to go on forever.


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## Katie Salidas (Mar 21, 2010)

I completely get the feeling of being sad that I have to return to reality. I used to be so bad about finishing series books that I would refuse to read the last chapter of the last book. That way, in my mind, the series never ended. It's silly, but it held back the sadness. I don't do it anymore. Now I just jump right into another series.


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## donnamshields (Mar 6, 2012)

I'm a little sad to have a great book end, especially with series books.


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## Tinker (Oct 3, 2011)

This sounds really silly, but if I've enjoyed a book that's part of a series, I get apprehensive waiting for the next to be published - is it going to be as good, will my favourite character have a bigger part, am I going to enjoy it as much? 

On the flip side, it's a great feeling when you "discover" an author such as Connelly, and realise there's a whole stack of books featuring Bosch already out there waiting to be read, and each one can 'stand alone'. 

Guess I should try to live in the moment a little more!

Julia


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## Rick Gualtieri (Oct 31, 2011)

For me it's more a sense of relief, but for different reasons.  I have this odd habit of always starting the last leg of a book when I have limited time to read.  I'm also the type who absolutely hates to have to put down a book 5 pages before the end.  So I often find myself in a race against time.  Finishing usually brings both the euphoria of knowing how the book ended (especially if it was good) as well as knowing that "I made it!"


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Jedidiah said:


> I'm just wondering if it is only me or do other people get depressed when they finish a really good book.


Only when it's the last of a series. Ordinarily, when I reach the end of a book I really love I just go out and buy another by the same author and wind up enjoying it just as much. But when you've already read all the author has to offer, yeah, that makes me a little sad. I'm not great at waiting for the next book to come out.


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## Susan Alison (Jul 1, 2011)

Very few books really 'take me away' these days, so when I get to the end of one that does - or the series of them - then I'm a bit sad because I don't know that I'll ever get taken back to that other world again. It doesn't have to be the same world, but it does need to be the same detachment from this one.

And my real life is one I'm very happy with. The world I go to with really good fiction is just another world I like to be in alongside this one.


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## CoffeeCat (Sep 13, 2010)

It's a little of both for me. I always enjoy finishing a book I've really enjoyed (especially if it's the end of a series), but it's also so satisfying to finish whatever it is I'm reading. As others have said, it can be hard ending a series as some can be so long and involved that it deepens the connection to the characters and it's hard to get my head "out of their world".


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## Laura Lond (Nov 6, 2010)

Yes, I do feel a little down when I finish a good book and especially a good series. Especially if the author says the series is over, and there won't be more books coming out.  I was even more sensitive about it as a kid. That's why I preferred thick books, the longer, the better.


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## Cege Smith (Dec 11, 2011)

Yes, absolutely. I try to only read completed series if possible because once I get invested in the characters it's like I have to devour all of the books as quickly as possible to know what happens. (For some silly reason I didn't research Game of Thrones before I read the first one, and it's like forever in between books so I quit reading it after book 3.)

I cried at the end of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I read fast and it was satisfying as a reader that it took me as long as it did (probably six weeks or so), but that meant that I was intensely immersed in the story. I flew through the pages with that thrilling feeling and angst of wondering of "_how will this end?_"

And then it was over. And worse yet, I didn't like how it ended. That just broke my heart, I still get upset thinking about it.


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## JackDAlbrecht (Sep 24, 2011)

I get this way at the end of every book I read! You get so excited to see how things end... and then you realize the story is over.  You never get to read it again like it was the first time.  It is a bittersweet moment. I am ecstatic for the end of the WOT series because of all the years I have spent waiting for the next books... but I don't want the ride to be over!


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## jenjiyana42 (Mar 15, 2012)

Yeah, I get so involved with stories that it's hard to say goodbye when I've invested so much time in a world.  Does anyone find that actually stops you from reading sometimes?  I love to escape into an adventure, especially when I want to get away from real life, but I hate coming back to reality when I end a book so much that I think I'm better off not even trying.  I'm weird, right?  That's kind of weird.


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

> I'm weird, right? That's kind of weird.


According to this post you are either normal, or there are many more weirdos out there like us.

I personally have never let my depression over finishing a book keep me from reading one. I just go out and find new books like as quickly as possibly before I start having withdrawl!


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I sure do.  There is that immediate empty feeling when a good to great book is finishes.  Fortunately, I am not afraid to re-read a book and there are plenty of other books to hunt down and find out there.


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## aileenpettigrew (Feb 29, 2012)

I become obsessive at the end of a good book. If I enjoyed it, I will normally go out and buy everything else by that author. I have a very nostalgic feeling at the end of a book, especially if it has come to the end of the series. When I finished Harry Potter I felt so lost I nearly took the day off work to recover...


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## purplepen79 (May 6, 2010)

Depression wouldn't be the right word for me--I associate depression with lethargy and numbness, the absence of feelings.  No, when I finish a good book, I may feel sad or upset that it's over.  I'm an emotion junkie--I love a good cry.  Or a good cursing fit when a favorite character bites the dust.  Or tears of laughter at the really funny scenes.  Having spent part of my adolescence being numb, I value all my emotions now, good and bad, and love it when a fictional universe is so real that it inspires an intense emotional reaction from me.


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## Jena H (Oct 2, 2011)

When I finish reading a book that really engaged me, I feel a little wistful, like at the end of a really good movie, or when it's time to leave a great party.  But I wouldn't say I feel "sad."  And if the book was really good, and well-written, I find myself still thinking about the characters as if they're real people, and wondering what they'd do in "X" situation.  But I too sometimes find it hard to get 'into' another book after that; I can't tell you how many books I've given up on because they haven't grabbed me by page 30 or 40.


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## Carl Ashmore (Oct 12, 2010)

Yes definitely!


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

Yeah. That daylong feeling of, "What now?"


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

> I become obsessive at the end of a good book. If I enjoyed it, I will normally go out and buy everything else by that author.


Yep, been there! I'm usually in no place financially to buy ALL the books...but I will usually buy three at a time.


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## kdrollinger (Oct 17, 2011)

I definitely get sentimental at the end of most books, especially ones that I loved. It feels like turning the last page is the equivalent of being ripped out of the matrix and I don't want to go. Often times I end up dreaming my own stories for the characters I loved. So maybe the solution in to join a fanfic site. Like some sort of good book rehab site so you can ween yourself off.


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## J.I.Greco (Apr 10, 2011)

Depressed? No. Envious, maybe a little. But mostly, finishing a really good book just encourages me to hit the keyboard and write harder.


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## Neil Ostroff (Mar 25, 2011)

I know it sounds silly, but I used to love Charlie Brown books and hated when I finished one.


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## Alex Owens (Mar 24, 2011)

I'm not sure if it's depression or sadness that I feel when I finish a really good book, more like a wistful melancholia. I know that with each book I fall in love with, I feel at thee end as if I've left a little piece of myself behind, so invested in the book was I. 

I'm sure that doesn't make any sense, but oh well...


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## Shaun Eyles (Mar 25, 2012)

I have to say that I do feel sad when I finish a great book. Usually, for me it is when I finish a great series and have really got to know the characters. I remember reading a series when I was in high school called The Chronicles of Pryrain by Lloyd Alexander. The librarian at my school put me onto the series. It was the first fantasty series I read and it started my love of the fantasy genre. After finishing it, I remember feeling like I had lost a friend because I had become really entrenched in the series.

I think that it is fantastic that a novel has that power. It shows that writing is not a dying art.


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## glennlangohr (Nov 15, 2011)

I feel your pain. I get sad, bored and borderline depressed when I finish a book that tugged at my heart strings. But, sometimes that kind of book inspires me at the same time. Reality does suck to go back to though.


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2012)

That's happened to me a lot. It's because you've become tangled in someone else's life and problems and you don't want it all to end!


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

When I read a really good book, I do take my time at those last few pages, it's like spending all the time you can with a friend who is moving across the country. But that sure beats a book that you read thinking "When will this thing finally end?" THAT is like a house guest who won't take a hit, and won't leave.

After I read a really good book, it can be hard to pick out a new one, I had so much invested in that one, the next book has to be worthy of my time. I'll poke around with samples for a while before really settling into something.


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

I think getting to know so many other Indie Authors is helping me out. My "To Read" list is growing rapidly and I am actually reading two books at once now. Well, I read the one on my Kindle until the battery dies and then I go to my trusted old paper back.


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## KMenozzi (Jan 8, 2012)

Kpfowler said:


> I'm not sure if it's depression or sadness that I feel when I finish a really good book, more like a wistful melancholia.


That's what I was going to say. Depending on the book and how involved I've become with the characters and their story, my reactions upon finishing a book can range from feeling somewhat let down to actual tears of appreciation for what the writer has achieved. If I can put the book down and not feel anything at all, that's a book I'll never bother reading again.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

Off topic but related and somewhat funny ... I was just looking over the Kindleboards and saw this post again and for some reason my mind read the subject line as "Anyone else get _dressed _when they finish a good book?"


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I guess I am different. I am elated when I finish a really good book, even if it made me sad or cry. I am so happy to have read such a great book and I go right to the next one hoping it will be another great book. 

Now having to wait on the next book by an author I love, is a different animal all together  . 

I do sometimes pace myself reading a series, especially if its really good so I can savour it. But I don't get sad or depressed. I am more hopeful that I can find other things to read that are as great. And I usually do, eventually.  

And I have many characters that refuse to leave my head. They all live in there together, hopefully getting along while I read my next great book.


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

> "Anyone else get dressed when they finish a good book?"


That was my NEXT topic!!


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## Indy (Jun 7, 2010)

There are different kinds of good books.  Two of my favorite books right now are cookbooks, and there's no "ending"- they will just be reread about a hundred times, is all.  They are better than a list of recipes; they are brief looks into culture, history, and the author's childhood that keep me busy for a few minutes at a time in the kitchen.  For some reason, I think Pratchett is in a class by himself as I haven't had the urge to reread his things, yet they are awesome and I will read every single one and love it.  Then there are the ones that I keep going back to, knowing the end, because it makes me feel a certain way to experience it, and it's a combination of the familiar plus the difference time will make, in my reading.  When I finish one of those, I need a few days to recover. 

Emotional reactions can be good and bad, though.  I got all excited reading The Merchant of Venice, until I realized I really shouldn't want to murder greedy lawyers out of hand.  Particularly when I'm reading some very interesting, very openly anti-semitic stuff.  I thought, it was the times all right- the times can be any time, people don't change that much.


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## liafairchild (Apr 2, 2011)

Sometimes, when I know I'm coming to the end, I will stall. I'll read a chapter, then wait a day or two before reading the final chapters. So hard to let a great read rest.


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## Harriet Schultz (Jan 3, 2012)

Jedidiah said:


> I'm just wondering if it is only me or do other people get depressed when they finish a really good book.
> For me I guess it is the feeling of having to go back to reality. Reading has become an addiction to me just because of this feeling. Maybe my reality just sucks that bad...
> 
> Oh and it gets really bad when I am at the end of a series. It's like you spent all this time with these characters, got to know them, laughed, cried and sometimes, depending on papercuts, you've even bled with them!
> ...


Not precisely depressed, but anxious to find other books by that author. I miss the just-finished book's characters until I get into the next read and then get immersed in the new. Does that make me fickle?


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## ChrisWard (Mar 10, 2012)

Yep.  Two books I remember having that feeling for in recent years were The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon and The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger. Both brilliant books.  Also, I recently had a similar feeling after I read the entire Dark Tower series by Stephen King back to back.  The last three books were a little meh but even so, being with those characters for so long left me kind of numb for a couple of days afterwards.

Chris Ward


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## shauno (Mar 23, 2012)

Its like the end of a brief lustful marriage.


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## Alberto Giuseppe (Mar 27, 2012)

Not so depressed but at times saddened if, say as in a Calvino or Adams, you know you're finishing the last book or words you hadn't already read of an unique author. Rare good reads, particular if by surprise, always leave me instead delighted and wanting to share them.


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

> Its like the end of a brief lustful marriage.


Haha!!


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## Harriet Schultz (Jan 3, 2012)

Trophywife007 said:


> I do feel sad. It's like having to say goodbye to good friends; I miss them!


Your icon is one of my favorite paintings! What a nice surprise to see it here.

I, too, miss the characters more than the story.


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## manhattanminx (Mar 10, 2012)

Absolutely!

Fictional characters can become old friends in a short period of time and it's a lonely feeling to say goodbye.


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## OdiOsO (Nov 12, 2010)

Not _exactly_ depressed... more like having to say farewell to good friend...
but I know _he_ will waiting for me on the shelf the next time I want to meet with _him_.

BTW, I think I'm getting too personal with my books, ain't I?


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## Shawn Mackey (Mar 28, 2012)

It occasionally happens if the book is really good and made an impression on me. I'll usually end up reading everything by the author in the hopes of it having the same effect.


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## KathyLynnHarris (Feb 2, 2012)

I'm so glad it's not just me! My husband thinks I'm crazy to feel down when I finish a really great book with characters that hang on to me for a while.


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## Adam Poe (Apr 2, 2012)

I have always tried to stall my books out when I find a good one. I try to limit myself to 1-2 chapters a night. It does not always work out though hehe. When I finish a great book and it is either the end of a series, or the next in the series is still months away I am always saddened. Especially if it has been stated by the author that this is their last venture into that world, ugh!


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## KA Poe (Apr 2, 2012)

I am always depressed after reading a really good book, especially if there are no sequels [or won't be for a long time]. Worst of all was the end of _Harry Potter_. I always looked forward to getting my hands on a copy of the next book in the series, and knowing that there is [almost definitely] never going to be another one is tragic 

It's almost like losing a good friend. You start to know the characters, adapt to their story and feel as if you know them...and then they're gone. Sometimes I get really bad about it and avoid finishing the book, that way it 'never ends' :x


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## JackDAlbrecht (Sep 24, 2011)

KA Poe said:


> I am always depressed after reading a really good book, especially if there are no sequels [or won't be for a long time]. Worst of all was the end of _Harry Potter_. I always looked forward to getting my hands on a copy of the next book in the series, and knowing that there is [almost definitely] never going to be another one is tragic
> 
> It's almost like losing a good friend. You start to know the characters, adapt to their story and feel as if you know them...and then they're gone. Sometimes I get really bad about it and avoid finishing the book, that way it 'never ends' :x


I completely agree with you. I grew to be attached to the whole cast in Harry Potter, more so than with any other books. I wish she had written a recipe for that kind of success...


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

> I wish she had written a recipe for that kind of success...


She did! You have to live in your car and continue writing until the lucky bee stings you on your eyelid...


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## Joseph_Evans (Jul 24, 2011)

Yep, I was distraught for a week after finishing Troy by Adele Geras, and I was devastated after finishing His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.


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