In my previous post about reading a book halfway through, I mentioned how I would move on to the next book before finishing the one I had started. But weeks or months after putting that book down, I’d finally return to it, discovering it anew like a forgotten story I had once read.
At first, it’s like being flung into a scene where the characters are in a heated debate. You know not what’s going on, but you can’t help but finish the chapter given how tense it is. And as you turn the pages, the characters from chapter 1, 2, etc., slowly return to mind, and all the details and plot elements begin to take shape as you reconnect all the dots.
It’s kind of like reading a short story, even if you’re at the middle of the book you took a break from. For a short story can drop you in the middle of the action/scene, and as you read, you slowly catch up (and see) what’s going on.
As the book ultimately reaches its conclusion, it’s too late to put the book down and read something else. With the end in sight, to stop and read something else now would spoil the impact of the last pages. Besides, wouldn’t you want to know what happened at the end?
Fallton Havenstonne 