Discussion Post: Why I Never Finish A Book Before Bed

So if you follow me on Twitter then you have probably seen me whining about how I am about to finish a book before bed and I have a rule about not doing that. I think I tweeted it three times in the past two weeks. I'm probably the only bookish person I know that won't stay up late to finish a book. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I did that. I will stay up late reading, but I never finish a book before I go to sleep.

Calling this a rule is probably a stretch but it's definitely a bookish quirk. I only realized recently that I do it however. The reason I realized I do it is because for the first time it has also been problematic. Usually I'm very happy not finishing the book before bed. But for three times in the past two weeks I have regretted this policy. But I am going to keep doing it. In general it works for me. I like it. I know what you're thinking, "but Cassi clearly it's not working anymore." No, it is working. I just like complaining about it. Complaining is one of my top five favorite hobbies. So to prove it to myself and to you I thought I would explain myself. Especially for you people who think I'm crazy for doing this. Also I'm secretly hoping that there is at least one other person who does the same thing.

What I Do:

Okay so let me set the scene for you. You're reading a great book, minding your own business, and you know the climax is coming. You look at how many pages you have left. Wow, not very many, only 50 pages. And you think about how long that will take you to read. I'm not a very fast reader so 50 pages usually takes me about two hours, sometimes more. So that's when it hits you. If you finish thins book it will be about 11pm and that's bed time. So what do you do? Well I stop reading. I put that book down and pick up something else. I'll finish it tomorrow.

So I was talking to Octavia from Read.Sleep.Repeat about this and I realized that this is a mentality that I have always had. I remember being in college and working on big projects and papers where most people would stay up late working on their and I'd write a draft and then be like "meh, imma sleep and finish it in the morning." Even my senior research thesis I didn't pull an all-nighter. In fact never in my life have I stayed up all night. The closest I came was when I worked for Americorps and we were hosting a lock-in for our students. I slept for about an hour and a half but I slept. This mentality I think has translated to my reading. I would much rather get up early and finish a book then stay up late.

Why Do I Do This:

1.) Because I Really Love Sleep

Well there could be any number of reasons. Maybe it's a little personal, like this is just how my brain works. Like I said I have done this for as long as I can remember and in other instances. I'm not a night owl (I mean I'm not even really a morning person either but that's a different story) so the idea of staying up late is not something I revel in. I really love my sleep. It's like my favorite thing ever. Not to mention the fact that I have always read for pleasure before bed. In high school, in college, when I didn't get to do a lot of reading I would treat myself by reading for a few hours before I fell asleep. So I think subconsciously my brain is trained that book means sleep. And I think even if a book is amazing and I don't want to put it down, I will reach a point where I am too tired to read (that point isn't 10:30pm but stay with me on this) so rather than hit a wall where I can't focus anymore and start missing information I decide to just call it quits for the night.

2.) I'm Always Reading Multiple Books

"Could I be reading any more books?"

One thing that I think allows me to do this is that I'm always reading multiple books. At the moment I am reading a physical book (The Rose Society by Marie Lu), an e-book (The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrcik Rothfuss) and an audiobook (Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger). So because I am reading more than one book, I can put one down if I am going to finish because it's easy to just go to another one of the books I'm reading.  It even helps me balance my reading better. There are some times where I even plan out how many pages I will read in one book to finish on schedule and then just go right to the next book. This means I almost never am placed in the situation where I do finish a book right before bed. 

3.) It's How I Avoid Book Hangovers

But I also like this because when I finish a book, I like to start reading something else immediately. I don't like there to be any more than an hour between finishing one book and starting another. If I go to bed after finishing a book then I can't do that. Now there is probably a longer explanation about why I do this but mostly it's because that's how I avoid book hangovers. For me, book hangovers are not very common. It takes the rare book to affect me in that way. I have found that the longer I linger with a book the longer it takes to forget it and reenter the real world or restart another book. So if I finish a book and then write a quick review or take a quick break, and then start something else I can avoid stewing with a book. So if I finish a book right before I go to sleep then I will be lingering with that book and the book hangover. As I fall asleep and try to shut my brain off all I will be able to think about is that book.

So there you have it. My explanation for why I never finish a book before going to bed. Does that make sense? Am I crazy? Do you do this? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!