What Do You Take for a Book Hangover?

Ever had a book hangover? 

You know what I’m talking about. You read a book and you really, really get into it. The author’s words transport you, the ideas engulf you, you probably get emotional while reading, and the ending leaves you with a special feeling you’ll want to remember but will fade as time passes. In short, the book moves you.

Famous books that did this trick for me: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Redshirts by John Scalzi, Replay by Ken Grimwood, and all three novels by T.J. Newman (Falling, Drowning, and Worst Case Scenario). On the romance side of things, Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman.

I originally dubbed it a book halo because of the afterglow I found myself in after reaching “the end.” I always wanted to marinate in the warm feelings of a good book.

It was my co-worker who gave me an alternative definition: a book hangover. Despite the fun you likely had getting intoxicated enough to earn a hangover, a true hangover is something you endure, the price for last night’s good time. I admit I still preferred halo until I thought about another aspect unique to a book hangover.

What Do You Read Next?

When an author delivers a genuine emotional wallop, if you’re like me, you don’t want the book to end. You want to remain in that gooey, warm feeling the author gave you.

But when those feelings fade, you face a choice: what to read next? Do you chase after that feeling and select a similar-type book and/or author in hopes that you’ll get another emotional thrill? Can the next author even rise to the standard the last one reached? Will the new book make you feel the same way?

It’s really a fool’s errand. Every book we read is unique. Every book cannot hope to compete on the same emotional level as the last one. If they did, then would there even be book hangovers? 

The easiest answer to how to deal with the emotions of a good book hangover is to read something vastly different. You just finished a great thriller? Try a cozy. That epic fantasy left you feeling awed? Read some non-fiction.

There is always something you could try, but your experience may differ.

How Often Do You Re-Read Books?

My answer to this question is simple: practically never. Why? There are more books ahead of me that I want to read for the first time than books behind me that I want to pick up again. 

I have no practical reason why I recently felt the pull to re-read a book. Something subconscious. Something I heard or watched. Nothing overt. But it happened, and for the first time in forever—seriously, I can’t remember the last book I read a second time—I re-read a book.

Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman is the story of Billy, a single dad of a son about to leave for college, who is put in contact with Margot Hammer, the now rock-and-roll recluse but for whom Billy had a crush on back in the day. The meet-cute is fun, mostly believable, and the characterizations of the people in the novel feel real and genuine.

I stumbled onto this novel back in 2023 and devoured it. I still hold it up as my favorite romance book I’ve read. Granted, I’ve not read a ton—only read my first Emily Henry this year—but I do watch a lot of rom-coms so I’m familiar enough with the genre. When I finally downloaded the audiobook a few weeks ago and pushed play, I was instantly in mood of the book.

What about that emotional payoff at the end, that halo of good feelings? Interestingly, it manifested itself again. Different this time, but still present. I was very happy and slightly surprised to experience it again. 

This is the book that gave me my most recent book hangover. I ended up spending a week not reading anything else other than comics. I didn’t listen to another audiobook. I tried to catch up on all the podcasts that keep stacking up my queue. I just didn’t want this hangover/halo to end.

But end it did. And yet I found another way to carry those good feelings forward, and I’ll tell you about that next week.