Part 2 of Bookworm Problems (you can read Part 1 here) because all bookworms know that they have a list of problems as long as their “To Read” list. So let’s get down to the next instalment of the hardship that bookworms face.
Yes, I’m starting off with the hard stuff and I’m just going to say what we’re all thinking. Dobby the house elf. I can still feel a sharp, stabbing pain in my chest by the mere thought of it. But I know that our beloved Dobby is just another name in a list of thousands of character deaths that we wish never happened. When you read that sentence or paragraph of that character’s final moments, you feel as though a piece of you has broken off and there’s a hollow and empty feeling in your stomach. You look to your friends for comfort, expecting sympathy and understanding but their curt reply is, “Sirius Black isn’t real, it’s made up!” But it FEELS real and no amount of “it’s just a book” is going to make up for that. Of course, there’s the whole ordeal of characters coming back to life but that’s a whole different problem.
[Editors Note: How can character deaths be on here with no mention of Game of Thrones? That's the worst for it!]
Ask yourself this, how many books are currently on your “To Read” list? Under 10? More than 10? More than 20? And when exactly are you going to find time to read all these? You know that you have a list as long as your arm that you are slowly crawling through but life is full of little interruptions. “Come and talk to the family” or “can you do the dishes?” or “you’ve been in your room reading for six days straight, don’t you think you should take a shower?” NO! Can’t you see I’m busy reading? Because you obviously have to find out whether this character survives and you definitely need to stick around to see if these two characters kiss because there’s something going on there and you called it from the start. Honestly, who has time for socialising when you have all these books to read?
Picture this scene; you’ve been waiting for the last book in a series to come out for months! You pre-ordered the book and you are eagerly awaiting its arrival but another country had an earlier release date than you. And they’ve already read it. And they post spoilers. Personally, I hate spoilers. I like finding out plot twists for myself because otherwise there would be no point in reading the book if people are just going to tell me the ending and it just, well, spoils it. There has probably been a moment when you are happily scrolling through the internet and then BAM! You read something you shouldn’t have and there are some things that you just can’t unread. You wish to be zapped back in time to tackle yourself away from the computer to stop it from happening. You wish to be zapped to some spoiler-free land where you can read happily until the end.
There comes a time during your read-a-thon when you realise that you simply can’t concentrate because your stomach is grumbling so loudly it’s awoken the Mutts of Panem. If you’re like me and a bit of a clean freak when it comes to your books, you want to choose something that doesn’t make a lot of mess and isn’t going to ruin your perfectly cared for paperback. But why not simply take a break from reading for a little bit? Which brings me back to Bookworm Problem #7; there’s no time! Plus, it just got to the really good bit where the hero is about to face off in a final battle against the villain and you don’t know how it’s going to turn out but you really can’t stop reading until you’ve found out what happens. It’s a matter of life and death!
Probably the most problematic of the problems on this list. There will come a point (it may have already happened) where you come across a character that you absolutely love with all your heart but your fellow bookworms hate with a passion. It’s hard to deal with. You could write essays about how wonderful this character is but other readers continue to argue with you. Or it could be the other way around; a character that you hate that everyone else loves. Everything about this character makes your skin crawl but they all insist that they’re just “misunderstood” yet nothing they say can convince you otherwise. Troubled water starts to run freely between your friendship and, honestly, you don’t know if you can carry on like this anymore. Maybe you should go on a bookworm break?