"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!)"
I usually need a little time to reflect before I jump into the next book. Depending on the type of book I just finished, that can be a couple of hours to a day or more. It's hardly ever more than 2 days, though, because I can never wait to get started on the next one:)
Most of the time, I start thinking about what I'm going to read next before I've finished the one I'm on -- since I've started doing challenges, I pull all my challenge books out of my bookcases and put them in a separate bookcase in another room, so I know which ones to focus on. I have to be in the right mood to start a new book, so I like having them all in one place when it's time to pick the next -- I can contemplate my choices much easier being able to see them all.
Generally speaking, I will reflect longer and more intensely on a fiction book than a nonfiction. I'll also sometimes do a little outside research (SparkNotes, academic papers focused on the book) because I want to make sure I understood the different layers of the story and connected with what the author was trying to say. (I'll also do this sometimes for plays or movies based on plays -- for example, I don't know if I would have figured out on my own that "The Crucible" was a reaction to McCarthyism.)
5 comments:
We book bloggers do not give much gaps between books, do we?
:D
No time to waste!
Booking upto ending
I also research after finishing some fictional books, especially classics!
Separating books is a good idea. I'm always forgetting what's on my challenges lists.
I am in awe at the thought of someone who has a spare bookcase into which to put her challenge books. Leaving them around in piles on the floor is the more likely scenario in this house.
Yes, some classics almost require outside research, lol. Slaughterhouse-Five is getting researched this weekend.
The separate bookcase helps to keep me from going crazy at the library, too -- I already own more books than I can read, who needs to check out more?
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