Miscellaneous Monday: The Book Hangover

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Happy Monday Everyone!

If you have read any of my previous Miscellaneous Monday posts, you will know that I love keeping try to it’s namesake and I enjoy sharing random knowledge you never knew you needed to know.

I was gifted the Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest for Christmas. I spent a bunch of free time over the next month or so playing through the entire story.  It's been many years since I last played through it, when I got to the end, I felt a little bit sad that I was finished and a little lost about what I should do next. This is when I decided to Google this to see if there was a name for this feeling, sure enough, it’s called a “Book Hangover“.

However, the term has become more widely used than simply just books.  It can also include TV series, Movies or Video games (yep, they tell a story too!). The definition stems from the concept of being immersed in a story’s world and characters and not being ready to leave them behind even though the story is finished.

I had gotten into a routine of playing for a short period of time after getting the kids to bed at night and I very much enjoying following through the story again. I have found this to also happen when I have binge watched few really good TV series on various streaming services.

So, how do you get over a Book Hangover? Some experts say the best option is to do something completely different. In the case of me playing a video game, I decided to do activities away from my computer screen, such as painting and writing.

So, if you have ever experienced these types of symptoms in the past, now you can put a name to it!

I hope you all have a great start to your week!

[Iryna Menzheha_SaaSJet]

I love this term—Book Hangover!

Wishing you a great week ahead! 😊

[Andy Gladstone]

Book Hangover manifests itself for me in my dreams. When I am absorbed in a book or series, I start to dream about the characters and universe that the story takes place in. I know I am thoroughly enjoying a book when I fall asleep with it on my chest (my wife makes fun of when I fall asleep with it on my face too) and my dreams are filled with the continuation of story outside of the binding of the book.

[Stephen_Lugton]

@Jimmy Seddon I have a Kindle and Kindle Unlimited so as soon as I finish one book I just download a new one and move on.  The only downside of doing this is if I'm reading a series and I read the last available book but the series hasn't finished, or is never finished - here's looking at you George R. R. Martin!

[Stephen_Lugton]

And @Andy Gladstone falling asleep with a Kindle on your face is much more painful than falling asleep with a paper book!

[Barbara Szczesniak]

When I was 23, I was made consciously aware that I associate book characters with people I know. I think most of the time, it's actors, but occasionally someone I know. Anyway, I was on a business trip in Florida when a character in my book died, and I had to call my boyfriend back in California to make sure he was ok. 

I do sometimes switch genres after spending a lot of time in one, though I do tend to stick with sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery. 

@Andy Gladstone and @Stephen_Lugton, what I like most about my Kindle is that I can read at night with the room light off and see with the (non-blue) backlight. I sleep on my side, so I just rest the device next to me and, when I fall asleep, it just turns off and doesn't fall on top of me.

[Stephen_Lugton]

@Barbara Szczesniak I sleep on my side, but I read on my back and it's just luck whether the Kindle falls backwards onto my chest, or forwards onto my nose

[Matt Doar _Adaptavist_]

This is a big part of why people write fan fiction I think. To keep things going that they have enjoyed.
https://archiveofourown.org/media
Some adult content, some general

[Andy Gladstone]

@Barbara Szczesniak and @Stephen_Lugton I just can't bring myself to read from a screen. I love the smell and sensation of a paperback or hardcover in my hand. Even when I travel, I will always bring a physical book along. I'll continue to display my smudges ink badges of honor on my nose and forehead!