It’s the moment that comes at the end of every great story. You finish the last sentence, sigh (maybe wiping away a tear or two), close the cover, and slowly come back to reality . . . along with a massive book hangover.

I’ve seen several descriptions of book hangovers, but generally it’s that withdrawal period after a great story ends when you find yourself in a listless sea of misery and longing.

Symptoms include, but are not limited to:

• Physical fatigue (because you stayed up until 5 in the morning to finish the book)
• Confusion or disorientation as you try to connect back to reality
• General listlessness, moodiness, and irritability
• Inability to move on to a new book
• Unexpected bouts of despair, rage, and helplessness

Book hangovers are a real thing, and maybe they should be called “story hangovers” since this feeling can occur at the end of any great story, whether it’s a book, movie, video game, comic book, etc.

I recently experienced this myself after finishing Kingdom of Ash, the seventh and final installment in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. This was actually the inspiration for this topic and I included some suggestions on what to read next at the end this post.

As far as general book hangovers, here are a few steps you can take to alleviate immediate symptoms and prevent it from happening in the future.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELIEF

1. Dive into book reviews, author interviews, social media, and forums. You need to process everything you just went through with your book community!
2. Re-read the series, the novellas (the mini stories in between the main books), or your favorite parts of the book.
3. Find some fan-fiction, or write your own.
4. Explore the fan art, playlists, etc. related to the book.
5. Watch the movie version, if it exists
6. And finally, the only true cure for a book hangover, move on to another book. I have more tips on that further below.

PREVENTION

Like a real hangover, being proactive is your best bet. Two methods are staggering and overlapping, which sound similar but are quite different.

Staggering allows you to prolong a great book experience, while overlapping lessens the withdrawal symptoms and helps you transition to the next story much faster.

To stagger, simply read another book in between the books of a series (overlapping works better for stand-alone novels). For example, when I started TOG I saw the fifth book was going to be published in a few months. Rather than going on a book binge, I read a book or two in between each TOG book, and by the time I finished, the fifth book was available. The trick to this method is finding the right balance of time/books. Too much, and you’ll find it awkward to slip back into the original book’s plot. Too little, and it doesn’t really accomplish much.

Overlapping is self-explanatory. If you know it’s going to be tough to move on from your current book or series, start reading a chapter or two of something else at the same time for a smoother transition.

“MOVING ON”

I say this knowing you never really move on from a great story, you carry it with you for life. The great news is there are more books out there waiting to be loved and enjoyed. Here’s are a few ways I find them:

Goodreads – my go to. If you’re an avid read and you’re not on Goodreads, I highly recommend it. It’s a fantastic way to see what your friends are reading, write and read reviews, save your book history, and get recommendations, which you can do by:

• Looking up books by the same author.
• Checking out the READERS ALSO ENJOYED section listed from the book’s page.
• Browsing the extensive GoodRead’s lists.
• Signing up for one or more of their newsletters.

Get creative with Google searches
Don’t just search for the author or title + what to read next, try to get more specific. What was it about that book that you liked? You can glean some keywords from reading book reviews on Goodreads or Amazon.

For example, try googling Books with . . . strong female protagonists/paranormal romance/heists/epic quests/great world building/assassins, etc.

Amazon
Check out the “Customers who bought this item also bought” section and the reviews.

Last but not least, talk to your local librarian or small book store owner.
This is literally what they do for a living.

Final Tip – do a “palate cleanse”
Sometimes reading a very similar book might exacerbate your symptoms and you may want to do a “book reset” instead, which is essentially the same thing as crunching on some crackers in between wine tasting to cleanse your palate.

Sometimes reading a very similar book might exacerbate your symptoms and you may want to do a “book reset” instead, which is essentially the same thing as crunching on some crackers in between wine tasting to cleanse your palate.

If your book had a female protagonist find one with a male protagonist. If it was an adult, try a teen or child’s point of view. If it was a popular/trending book, find something obscure. Or translated from another language. Or in an entirely different genre.

What to read after finishing the Throne of Glass series?

And finally, since I know there are many of you out there just like me who have just finished TOG (or will be soon) here’s what I’m going to try out to cure my own book hangover!

• Truthwitch
• The Queen’s Rising
• City of Brass
• Bloodleaf
  
• Dance of Thieves
• Shadow of the Fox
• Everless
• Anything by Leigh Bardugo
• SoulBound
• Girls of Paper and Fire
• The Queen’s Poisoner
• Rebel of the Sands
• The Assassin’s Curse

What tricks do you used to cure or prevent your book hangover? What’s your book hangover from right now? Share below!