Tell me about that feeling you get when you finish a book.

[kenyon1]

I go back and look for my favorite parts to try and extend that feeling.

[Sarah Clay]

When I finished Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, I felt empty. Like, my children have departed! WHat am I supposed to do now?! Read some cliché YA novel? I don't think so.

[kenyon1]

that was my first Dickens book! I was amazed out how relatable it all was down to the tiniest of mannerisms from characters

-- 06 Jul 2015, 18:31 --

I'll have to try old curiosity shop again. It bored me the first time around and I quit it, but my mind
may have been wandering too much at the time

[CharChar84]

Most of the time, when I finish a book, I feel disappointment. Not necessarily disappointment with the book itself...just that the book is done. I tend to get really engrossed with whatever books I am reading. Like REALLY engrossed...and I really wish the story would continue. This is why I love to read trilogies and series books. When I get down to the last 2-3 chapters, I find myself stalling and reading very slowly.

[maroki13]

For me, it definitely depends on the type of book and my emotional reaction to it. If the book was completely engaging and I was immersed in that world, then I feel jolted back to reality and I almost have a sense of loss. However, if the book isn't very engaging or I'm not connected with the characters, I'll feel a sense of relief that I found out the ending and that I'm finished reading it.

[girl_of_1000_lives]

Whenever I finish a book, it feels like yet another life I've experienced has ended and I cant help but sit back and smile. However at the same time, I grieve for the fact that the characters, whom I always manage to get attached to, will no longer be a part of my life, and that they are just going to disappear into the lines on pages until I open up the book again.

[alice2015]

I've read all of Sydney Sheldon's books including his memoir. He introduces me to read more. I can't put his books down. I was very proud of myself reading all of his books. I love the way he writes suspense mixed with mysteries, action, love and romance. It was always exciting to wake up in the morning and the first thing you pick up is his books and just read. My chores was forgotten. Well, technically I finished my chores like a lightning just so I can continue reading. It was always exciting full of adventures. I would reread it again.

[velocirapthor]

Mostly I just feel sad - like I will never find another book as good as the one I just finished. Sometimes I feel betrayed, like "Why would the author do that to my precious characters." But mostly sad.

[Sherrie07]

I always want to keep reading.. like what heppened when they grow old especially in romance stories. But then i find another book and it goes again. I love to read short stories coz i can read so many in one day but when i finish each one i feel disappointed because I want to know more about their lives.

[snraja1963]

If the book is interesting, it will have its impact at-least for some time.

[Emmmm41]

When I finish a good book I always get a feeling of sadness and then accomplishment. I feel sadness because the emotional highs, and thrill of the book are over. I know I can reread it, but to me it's not the same. I don't get the same thrill of finding out if the girl goes back to the guy, or if villian actually wins or not. Sure my emotional attachment to the characters are there, but it's not the same. I also fell accomplished because I am the type of person to finish a book as fast as I can. So if I beat my record of how fast it take to read a book I feel very accomplished.

[CCtheBrave]

I have to agree with DAto, above, that I get that "over-the-moon" feeling when I finish one, magnificent book. I know a book really captured my heart when I finish it and I feel even more inside of the story than before. When I finished the Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, I thought "oh my God, that was sooooooo badass!" Great endings make books last longer, in my opinion, because I end up re-reading a few pages, talking about it, writing about it, etc.

[heidiodie123]

I absolutely LOVE Richelle Mead! I've read all of The Vampire Academy books, and started the Bloodlines series - but have only read the first book so far. At the moment, I'm reading the Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon (currently on book five The Fiery Cross) and am dreading the end of it.
I find that when I read the last book of any good series, I have a warm glow of accomplishment, but also a tender grieving for the characters I've come to love. I always want to know more! What happened to the characters still left? Are they content? Did life turn out the way they expected? Or did some tragedy occur that wiped all happiness from their lives? I am a BIG "What if"er...and have a serious case of projecting into the future.
~H

[miss_argyle]

It really depends on the book, doesn't it? If it's something stand alone and not part of series, you might not get as involved in the characters as you do when you live with them for a longer time. For example, the Deverry Series by Katherine Kerr is about 15 books long. When I finished the last book, I felt a little bereft, like I had lost family members or something. Of course, if you start a series before it is finished (hello, George R.R. Martin!) you end up living with the characters for a longer time as you wonder what is going to happen to them in the end.

I'm not saying that a non-series book can't leave you thinking about the characters once you're done, it's just a shorter time period in your life that you are spending with them. I've read Jane Austen's Persuasion (and seen the wonderful film version) many times and quotes from the book come to mind constantly. I guess that's a different way of living with the characters.

[skcasta+]

I don't want to leave the world of the story and characters. If it's a really wonderful book, I am sad at the ending. I just finished All the Light You Cannot See. 5 stars!!! I borrowed it from the library, and I don't want to return it. I called to renew it, and the librarian said that several people have holds on it. I will return it tomorrow. I love this book so much that I am going to buy a copy.