How To Get Over a Book Once You Finish It

What is a person to do after finishing a book? After all, reading something is like being in a relationship with a whole bunch of people and places that might only exist on the page — but so often feel real. So when the book ends, what do you do? What can you do?

My personal strategy has usually been to immediately flip back and find my favorite parts, in total denial that the book is actually over — which makes sense given that denial is one of my favorite coping mechanisms. And when I can't sustain that anymore, I make one last effort to prolong the inevitable by reading the author's acknowledgements. Surprisingly, some of them can be pretty entertaining.

Fortunately, the avid readers over at Epic Reads understand and share the heartbreak that comes with finding yourself at the end of a good book, and they've created a video called "When the Words Stop" that speaks to all the things we're thinking and feeling. And non-readers may think they sound like they're talking more about a break-up than finishing a book, but we all know the truth: some of the best relationships you can have are with great books. And finishing them can be heartbreaking.