I saw tons of people talking on Twitter about the book hangover they had after reading Nalini Singh’s latest, Heart of Obsidian. I’ve frequently found that after reading a really good book, I too get book hangovers. Nothing else sounds good, reads good, and my book mojo flies out the window. Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Karen Marie Moning, and JC Daniels are just a few authors who have book me in a book hangover.
But what about a cure? In some cases, a hair of the dog works best for me. After finishing Heart of Obsidian I tried to pick up four different books, and only got through the first chapter or so before I gave up. I tried contemporary romance, m/m romance, and a fantasy romance before throwing in the towel. I was worried for a while there that nothing would be able to help me except time. But then, I saw Kresley Cole tweeting about her newest release, MacRieve, and I knew I had a cure. Lachlain, Kaderin and Bowen all got me over the slump, and my reading mojo back.
For some people, hair of the dog makes it worse, and the only thing that helps them is water and aspirin, a method tried and true. Most times, my book hangovers are easily fixed with an old favorite of a totally different genre. I tend to have a few fall backs that I always rely on. Magic Strikes is one of my go-to books, because really? who doesn’t love the Midnight Games? No Turning Back by Kaylea Cross was one of the most suspenseful books I ever read, so that is always a good one that pulls me completely into another world. Finally, anything Rough Riders, specifically Cowgirl Up and Ride by Lorelei James. There is nothing better than a smutty best friend’s older brother story, with sexy cowboys and lots of dirty smexing.
And then there are some people that have a weird family recipe they rely on: Uncle Eddie’s magic hangover cure, or Aunt Ida’s egg and tomato drink. Trying something obscure from the book that caused the hangover is something that has never worked for me. Not sure if it’s because I don’t really read outside my normal genre’s, or because I’m a creature of habit. Either way, reading something totally different: non-fiction, a biography, or poetry just doesn’t work for me.
What about you? Do you have a book hangover cure that works best for you? What was the last book that gave you a hangover, and what was your cure? Or did you have to just sleep and deal with the pain until it went away on its own?
I find actually not reading a thing for a couple days gets me back to reading. I have read some amazing books and sometimes just enjoying the book is the relief 🙂
…sorry I have not :/ Well I guess if it was REALLY serious I would go straight for a fantasy I know and love
I sometimes find that going back and re-reading the book that caused the hangover helps (that’s my hair of the dog cure). If that doesn’t work, I try something completely different. If that still isn’t working, I reread another old favourite and my last strategy to read my way out of the hangover is to reread Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay – my ultimate comfort read. If that still doesn’t work, I watch television for awhile which reminds me why I prefer reading :-). I have found that if I try to read a book in a similar genre to the hangover-causing book, I’m likely to not finish it, no matter how good it may be.
I am at the rereading stage of Heart of Obsidian now and we’ll see how it goes :-), but I expect this will be a long one.
@Julie@my5monkeys: Ah, I don’t think I could go a day without reading SOMETHING. *cling to iPad*
@blodeuedd: A comfort read is always a plus!!
@Lynnd: Ah yes, the immediate re-read. I can’t do that. I usually need to let the book sink in before re-reading. 🙂 But that’s a good one!
I just read Heart of Obsidian so I do indeed have a bit of a book hangover. I loved it so much that I have a feeling that the other new books out that I normally would enjoy might fall a little flat and so I am avoiding them at the moment. When I normally get a hangover I either switch to a completely different type of book from my norm (maybe a biography) or do a reread of an old favorite. To get out of my currant book hangover I may start rereading the Kate Daniels to go along with your sites read-along, though I will be expecting another book hangover in late July or early August because if any book is destined to cause one it will be the newest Kate Daniels book.
I read several different genres, so I’ll usually turn to something completely different, often a mystery series I can binge on until I’m ready to go back to fantasy.
Robert B Parker’s Spenser series is good for this, as is Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series. Fun reads I can throw myself into.
I have to go to a completely different genre. If I do an immediate re-read it just adds to my hangover.
When the book in question is worth the hangover, it’s usually worth the immediate re-read. After that, there’s no set cure. Sometimes the next book I was waiting for, sometimes a book I already had in the queue, sometimes just grab a well loved favorite (genre is irrelevant for this one).
Not reading, however, is never happening–even in my worst slumps what happens is that I re-read comfort reads over and over.
@Amanda: Oh yay! A Kate re-read is enough to pull me outta any funk! <3<3 Kate & Curran
@Random Michelle: Oh, a mystery to keep the brain engaged… I like that!
@E_booklover: I’m the same way, I can’t do an immediate re-read. It would drive me into a book depression!
@azteclady: I’m the same way, I found that I CAN’T get into a reading slump. I’ll just keep trying different things until something catches my attention and love. 😀
I do a something different each time to cure my hangover. I may read more books by the same author, I may read something in a completely different genre, or I may re-read an old favourite.
My last hangover was Heart of Obsidian (so awesome!) and to try and cure it I went to m/m and then a SiFi book (that I’m reading now).
Honestly, my book hangover cure is a Law & Order mini-marathon. It totally resets my brain, plus enough dead bodies put me in the mood to start a new romance. I recently reread ‘Slightly Dangerous’ and after that, no book I picked up after that had a hero that, to my mind, lived up to Wulfric. Several L&O episodes later, I was totally good to go!
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