Friday, March 22, 2019

Discussion: It's Stressing Me Out!


This Week’s Topic: It's Stressing Me Out!

I was checking my feed on Twitter when I saw this tweet the other day:
The name of a book didn't immediately come to mind, but it got me thinking about what sorts of things stress me out in a story.


  1. Books in a series that end in cliffhangers: Every time you read a series, you run the risk of it ending with a cliffy. I guess that's not the end of the world, but if you read it prior to release or around the time of publication, you will be waiting a LOOOONG time to get some answers, and that not knowing stresses me out. 
  2. B I G books: I know there are a lot of big book lovers out there, but I guess I just haven't really found the right ones, because I often find them to be bogged down in details and it takes FOREVER to get the information I want or need. It also takes a while to get to the ending, and I always want to know how it all ends. 
  3. Final books in a series: This is just stressful, because I worry that the author will ruin it all or destroy something I love or kill someone or disappoint me. When I have dedicated myself to multiple books and become attached to the characters, I set that bar pretty high, and I will never NOT worry about the author not meeting my expectations. 
  4. Sick Characters: I read a lot of books featuring sick kids. I don't know, I love them, but it's always a 50/50 chance the character won't live, and it's painful waiting to see what fate the author has given to the character. 
  5. When you KNOW something bad is coming, you just don't know when: It just puts me on edge. The waiting. I have little patience to start with, but waiting for the other shoe to drop is the WORST!
  6. Books that span many years: I can think of four books like this, off the top of my head, and each one had my heart locked in the front car of a roller coaster. The ups and downs can be so painful, even when I know an HEA is coming. 
  7. Books with open ending: You know I hate these. When I am not explicitly told what happened, my mind will churn and churn until I can come up with a plausible ending. 
  8. Stressed out characters: I think I am some sort of empath, because anything the character is feeling flows into me. Therefore, a stressed out character will immediately stress me out. 

Now it's your turn!

What makes a book stressful for you? 
Let us know in the comments!

54 comments:

  1. Yeah, cliffhangers stress me out as well.

    Interestingly enough, I also find certain graphic novel series stressful. They put their main characters in peril so often that eventually I have trouble with my desire to keep reading them.

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    1. I think it's a sign that the author has done their job well. Feeling anxiety and stress for a character's wellbeing means we cared about them. I have never gotten to the point, where I couldn't read the story any longer, but I could understand it getting to be too much.

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  2. Big books stress me out, too, especially because most of them don’t need to be that big! I also get weirdly stressed out by “realistic” books that aren’t realistic. Research errors pull me out of a story quickly.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. There are some authors, who I won't read, because I they seem to think we are back in the time when authors were paid per word. Seriously, I felt like they were wasting my time, and making me read 100+ extra pages, that were not needed to accomplish the goal of the story. I have been prompted to google as I read too, because what I read seemed true, but it also didn't.

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  3. Sam you hit the nail on the head. BIG BOOKS stress me out now, so much so. It's not that I don't like them/love them just that I don't want to get that involved. It would take me forever to read it. I have to say no for now. I am on book 7 of the Outlander series and just have to say NO - no big books this year. I need my 200-300 pagers to feel like I have completed a story and it has not bogged me down with details. Not that I don't love it - just no time for it. =)

    Mary

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    1. My sweet spot is between 300 - 400 pages. I have read longer books, and the size of the book is warranted, when I don't feel like the book is long, but I have read so many 500+ page books, which seemed like they could have told the story with a lot less pages.

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  4. I completely get it with open endings, please just tell me how it ended haha! Big books have started to scare me now I'm used to smaller books.

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    1. It's not that I don't understand what the author is trying to do, but I read about these characters, got involved in their lives, began to care for them, and you just leave me wondering about their fate. It seems sort of unfair.

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  5. I always have concerns about the final book in a series being a total letdown ie Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series. That last book was dull!

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    1. I have become so averse to series, because I put so much time into it, and have been burned too many times by the finale. Some have been good, but others have been such huge disappointments. It's such a gamble with my time.

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  6. books that are sad stress me out. Also good books. Books that end abruptly with no real resolution, cliffhangers and open endings. I hate those.

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    1. Endings are a huge thing for me, so I am right there with you. I have knocked full stars off books I adored until the very end. Those final impressions are so important for me.

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  7. Ugh, I can't stand books that end on cliffhangers! I can't even count the amount of books I've been skipping over the years just until the whole series is finished before I'll start reading them. Also, I've read so many stand-alone books that have real cliffhangers at the end too, and I hate the feeling of not having any closure. Big books are also stressful for me!

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    1. I have a love/hate relationship with cliffhangers. They are a lot easier to digest, when the series is finished, but waiting is the worst! Standalones with no real conclusion or closure regarding the central conflict should be banned. They make me want to cry puddles.

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  8. I agree with your list above. More than that, I think I'd add characters who put themselves in obviously dangerous or detrimental situations. Like so much of their woe in the book ends up being because of their own actions!

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    1. Those are the characters I yell at, like horror movie style. It's an interesting tactic employed often in movies, TV, and books. I guess, the fact that it stresses us out means that we at minimum, care about the character, which is always a plus. I also think the author did a good job, because they leave us thinking and reflecting on the character's choices. Even if they were bad or wrong, we kept thinking about them.

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  9. Well it's just the mood in the book that stresses me out Sam! You know something creepy. A villain lurking in the shadow and you don't know who will be killed and when next. But you just know there is something BAD that will happen SOON!!! LOL Sophie @bewareofthereader

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    1. Isn't that why people read suspense-thrillers? They totally stress me out, each and every time, but I believe it's the main purpose of the genre, so I know what I am signing up for. I just don't want to feel that way while reading a book, which I DIDN'T expect to evoke such feelings.

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  10. Ooh, good topic.

    Thrillers tend to stress me out. I'm not a fan of being kept on edge the entire time. Books about genocide stress me out (although I still read those, because I feel like it's important to hear the stories of survivors). And math books. Math books stress me out INSTANTLY!!!!!!

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    1. I am giggling, because you have math and genocide in the same category. (BTW, I am a math ho, and even took calc 5 as an elective in college), but reading about any sort of human atrocities makes me feel a lot. I think it speaks to our character, that such things make us uncomfortable, because they should.

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  11. Oooh this is fun! And thought-provoking, because I had to really ponder it before commenting! I think really, the biggest for me are the sequels/series enders, and the long ones. And maybe books from favorite authors? Most of my stresses come from expectations, I think. I want them to destroy me so I am cool with ALL the awfulness I guess hah.

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    1. I may be my own worst enemy, when it comes to series enders, because I always want something BIG! and if the book goes out with a whimper, I am sadly disappointed. Look, I invest hours, reading 1000+ pages in a series, I DESERVE something memorable, but yeah, this totally ties back to my last discussion on expectations and how they affect my reading.

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  12. Big books and series finales always get to me so much! I actually tend to put off reading series finales or big books for years because I don't want them to end or they intimidate me. Open endings get me that way too. I always want to have a closed ending :P

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    1. There are quite a few final books lingering on my TBR, because I fear that the author cannot live up to the greatness of the rest of the series. It's a well known fact, that I am not a fan of open endings. I personally think they are lazy and the author is afraid to make a decision regarding the character's fate. It's wrong to do to the readers, and that is why I then go on to write my own ending. Otherwise, I would just keep wondering what happened.

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  13. YESS stress caused by books are the worst and anticipating the terror is the real pain. I love this discussion.

    Gayathri @ Elgee Writes

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    1. I probably make some of it more stressful than it should be by building it up in my head.

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  14. I agree with when you know something bad is coming - I take every little thing as a hint or foreshadowing, and each time it doesn't happen, I get more anxious!

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    1. The funny thing is that is a trademark of suspense-thrillers and what we are signing up for. Drat the authors, who do their job too well.

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  15. Omigosh, yesssssssssss, Sam. I'm totally the same with big books. There are many books that I'm been hesitant to start because they are just so LARGE, and I know I want to go through more than just getting stuck on one. I also agree about knowing when a bad thing will happen. Like with Opposite of Always? Like, I knew it was coming, but I felt so tense on how I didn't know when and how. Wonderful post, Sam! :)

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    1. I just find them so intimidating, and I can't always see past the size. Ha! Opposite of Always we had to keep reliving that bad thing coming each time. That book did stress me out, but also made me so happy.

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  16. YES to final books in a series! After the ending of the Remnant Chronicles I have a fear of authors ruining a beloved series. I'm so stressed by Finale but I also can't wait to read it! I actually don't mind open endings as long as they answer SOME questions, but cliffhangers are definitely stressful!

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    1. I usually put off final books, and wait for reviews to start rolling in. I can't let the author ruin it all for me. There have been times I have had to write an alternate ending, just to save the series for myself.

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  17. I think cliffhangers are probably what stress me out the most. I hate to be left hanging.

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    1. It's not just the danger the character is left in, but the wait too! So painful.

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  18. So many of these stress me out too. Especially big books and series enders. I have a serious issue with finishing series because of this.

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I constantly put off finishing series. It takes me a really long time and a lot of review research before I am ready to read that last book.

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  19. Unexpected cliffhangers stress me out more than knowing what I was walking into so I can brace myself for it. The secret to reading big books is listening to the audio book. If it gets boring you always can speed it up and it isn't a 5 pound monster in your bag. Though I agree that long books are, for the most part, very long-winded and slow moving (which isn't something I love in the stories I read) :)

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    1. I think if I am prepared, I am more receptive to a cliffhanger, but I think it depends on what sort of circumstances the author leaves the characters in. I find big books more doable in ebook format. I tried to listen to a HUGE book, and when I saw how long it would take, I was so put.

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  20. Ahh I love this post, I can relate to so many of these. Cliffhangers are so stressful, especially when you have to wait for the second book and ahh, it' so frustrating haha. And yes, stressed out characters stress me out, too, you're not alone in this haha :)
    Wonderful post! :D

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    1. I have like zero patience to start with, so waiting to find out something that is vital to me is so painful.

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  21. Cliffhangers can stress me out. I remember reading the third book in Karen Marie Moning's Fever series which ended up the main character in terrible trouble. The fourth book wasn't out yet and I think I spent months worrying about the character until I found out what her fate would be. Cliffhangers are not nice!

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    1. And then not only do you have to worry about the character's fate, but with unfinished series, you need to worry if the book will even be published. That happened to me with a Diana Peterfund series. I'm still mad.

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  22. These are all stressful things to be worried about, but I think the final book is the most stressful (for both reader and author).

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    1. I guess the author would feel a lot of pressure, because of all the reader expectations. That has to suck too.

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  23. Big books stress me out too (especially when it's getting down to the final chapters and there are still so many questions), which is probably why haven't read one in a long time!

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    1. That holds true for long or short books for me. I hate when I am reading a book, and I still don't feel like things have been wrapped up with just a bit to go. I am always nervous about a disappointing ending of a cliffhanger that I can't live with.

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  24. Open endings... nooooo! Total pet peeve of mine. I feel like the author didn't uphold their end of the bargain when they leave the ending open. Give me an ending! Give me answers! I don't *want* to imagine for myself. Gah!

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    1. I need definitive endings. Otherwise, my mind works through all the possible outcomes until I am batty.

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  25. I don't like cliffhangers - and the next book is what usually stresses me out because I'm freaking out about all the possibilities.

    I'm not a fan of cheating and waiting for it all to come to a head and come crashing down stresses me out.

    And open endings stress me out. i worry about everyone too much.

    I don't like being stressed when I read lol so I try to avoid it.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I feel like any book worth its salt stresses me out a little bit. Not to a hyperventilating state, but that tension is a test to see if I am invested enough.

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  26. Intense books or thrillers stress me. Forbidden stressed me out because of it's nature. I had to put down both Mud Vein and The Weight of Blood and read romances in between chapters to relax.
    I loved this list!

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    1. They stress me out too, but that's a good thing when it comes to that type of book. It means the author was able to thrill me. I definitely need a pallet cleanser between stressful books, and my goto would be a romance as well.

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  27. I've never thought of books stressing me out because in my head I view it as relaxation. That being said, I do find that when I'm getting to the end of a book and it#s going to end on a cliffhanger stresses me out. As does starting a big book because it's such a commitment!

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    1. Cliffys are the worst. Especially when the characters are left in precarious situations. If the author does a good enough job, I will worry about those characters, off and on, until the next book.

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