This week’s Weekly Geeks is coming from Tara SG from 25 hour books

P.A.B.D. has plagued me on and off for my entire life. I know many bookworms who are faced with the same problem. Please read on to see if you have PABD and see how you can help yourself or others suffering from this disorder.

So what is P.A.B.D.?
Post Amazing Book Depression – The over-whelming sad feeling one gets after finishing a great book.

Signs of P.A.B.D.

missing characters

* often includes talking about characters in day to day life
——- ex. I wonder what Katsa and Po are doing.
——- ex. Do you think Cat and Bones will get married?
——- ex. If she doesn’t choose Eric, I don’t know how I’ll survive.
* hearing songs that remind you of certain characters/scenes

• constant rereading of the same book

* extreme cases can lead to the reading of fan-fiction

• stalking of the author

* constantly checking their blog for updates
* Googling interviews in which the book (or series) are mentioned
* joining multiple fansites

• lack of interest in other books

* finding yourself staring at your bookshelf and seeing nothing worth reading
* wandering around the bookstore/library picking up and putting back books

How to live with P.A.B.P.

• Find other books by the same author.

* Is there more in the series?

• Search for books with similar themes.

* Thanks to the hard work some dedicated book lovers, you can find sites that help you find books similar to those you love.
* Use Amazon to see what others are buying that liked the book.

• Have a rebound book.

* Keep a favorite book on hand to immerse yourself in.

• Force a friend to read the book

* This will give you a chance to experience reading the book through someone else.
* You will then have someone to endlessly discuss the book with.

Books Known to Cause PABD
* Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
* Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
* The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
* Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris
* The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Have you had PABD?
What book caused it? How did you deal with it?

I don’t know whether I ever suffered from PABD. I feel strongly about some series and have steadfast opinions about some things, like Bill has nothing on Eric or V is the best brother, but I can live without them.

The other books mentioned above as popular PABD books never held my attention for a long time. The Harry Potter books I can do without. I read them and forgot them. Twilight I gave away after reading and I was glad when  TTTW was over because it was such a tear jerker.

A series I will be sorry to see coming to an end is Andrea Camilleri’s Commissario Montalbano books. I love all the characters, the setting (even though I don’t think I’d want to go there, it’s way too hot in Sicily) and the way he writes. Thank God there are quite a few books out there, so I have plenty to re-read.

Two books I would have liked to continue reading are

Perfume by Patrick Süskind
The story was so compelling and the characters so interesting that I was sorry to see Grenouille die in the end, even though he was so unlikeable. The way Süskind describes scents, smells and stenches is absolutely fabulous, within the first paragraph you are drawn into the story and you never get out of it again before it finishes.

Confessions of Felix Krull by Thomas Mann
If you’d like to know more about this book, please go to this weekly geek post from some time ago.
It has the subtitle “The Early Years” (in German it is called “Der Memoiren erster Teil, which implies that there is a sequel), but there never was another book by Mann about Felix Krull which is a pity. I would have loved to read more. It ended very early when Krull was only at the beginning of his “career” and since he wrote his memoirs in jail at old age (Mann wrote the book in first person) I’m sure there would have been many more stories to tell.

For more Weekly Geeks about PABD please go here.