by syaffolee

Ponderings on a Hot Summer Evening

The last book of a Certain Series is coming out and I feel nothing. I love books. I love the genre. And there’s tons of hype. But something doesn’t connect. It hasn’t connected since I read the first book and decided it wasn’t for me. I don’t feel like I should read this series because everyone else is. Why should I follow the herd?

Yet, I find myself reading an article by Stephen King. On the surface, it might look like an ode to a Certain Series, but I think he has well articulated a universal truth about any kind of beloved book. Once the story ends, there’s a sort of depression that descends upon the reader, even if there is a happy ending. It’s THE END. The magic, as they say, is gone. There have been very few books that have elicited this sort of reaction from me, but when I do have it I know that I have a book worth keeping and recommending. Also, King reminds us:

There are always more good stories, and now and then there are great stories. They come along if you wait for them. And here’s something I believe in my heart: No story can be great without closure. There must be closure, because it’s the human condition.

There’s a lesson there somewhere. We can’t dwell on one story–there are other stories out there. But I wouldn’t literally wait for them. I’d immediately pick something else to read. And even if the next story is a dud, at least it’ll help me appreciate a good story more when I do come across one.