Weekly Lists #133: Books that got me in a Reading Slump

You know those books that are so good, so amazing, get you so well that… Well, you’re just kind of stuck afterwards? The ones that get you in their grips, and won’t let you go, even though… I mean, you know, you technically finished reading them like a week back? And no matter how much you try, you just can’t get yourself interested in reading something else? Yeah, these are the books that got me into that kind of a reading slump!

1. The Chrestomanci-series (Diana Wynne Jones)

I reread this series at the beginning of April and realised I’d forgotten how much I actually loved it. I finished all 6 novels ànd the 4 novellas within a week and then just sort of… Not read anything for a little while? Somehow, I already missed the world of Chrestomanci, even though I’d only been in it for a couple of days.

Especially The Wizards of Caprona (my old favourite) and The Pinhoe Egg (my new, additional favourite)… I just wanted to get back to (or stay in) those worlds, and reading something else was the farthest thing from my mind.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling)

Strangely, I was fine reading all of the Harry Potters. Well, all of them except for the last one. And honestly – that was just really inconvenient. Because, you know, I read Deathly Hallows on the first day of what would turn out to be a holiday with a lot of driving in it. And then I just couldn’t get myself to read anything else because it was over all of a sudden. So I had nothing to distract me from the heat, the roadsickness, the “sitting together too closely in the back of a car”. But again: Harry Potter was suddenly just over. How on earth was I supposed to read anything after that?

3. The Little Shop of Happy Ever After (Jenny Colgan)

Also known as: the most recent addition to this list and, as such, basically the reason for my writing this. This book is promoted by the author as a book “by readers, about readers, for readers” and I swear – she got that just right. The way the main character talks about her love for reading sometimes? I felt so seen. And sure, it’s chicklit, so of course there’s romance and a happy ending. But something in the writing of this one just got to me. And it took me like a week to finally open a new book. You know, yesterday.

4. Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)

I knew this book would get me into a bit of a slump. I mean, the movie left me crying. And seeing the reviews? I just figured the book would be the same, if not better. Well, it did. And it just, well… I’m not saying it broke me? But it came close. Really close. Basically, I was a mess after finishing this and I couldn’t get past it. Let alone think of starting another book!

5. Good Omens (Neil Gayman & Terry Pratchett)

I feel like I’ve mentioned this book a lot on here, lately. But the way Good Omens combined humor and intertextuality and just plain old good writing?  I couldn’t find any other books that had that and that was all I wanted anymore.

I’d say that’s actually the biggest common denomenator in this post: I read a book that’s just so book I want more of it. And really, you never can, can you? So you just sit there and think of what could be if only more authors wrote things just like this so you could enjoy it for all eternity. But they don’t. So, you know… You just stop reading for a little while… That’s not just me, right? Right? (Please tell me you’ve had this happen?)

-Saar