The Joys and Woes of Finishing a Book

Do you find yourself in the same predicament as me when you get close to finishing a book? Part of me wants to hurry and finish it, to see where the characters end up, how the author finds resolution, to have the satisfaction of closing the book and knowing its secrets. The other part doesn't want my relationships with the characters to end, doesn't want to lose the thrill of exploration, doesn't want my good excuse for ignoring my kids to be gone. I finished "Five Quarters of the Orange" and felt that same bittersweet feeling that I remember from being a kid and finishing the Little House on the Prairie series, or recently finishing Harry Potter (OK, I cried my eyes out, so sue me.) The thing that helps to wash away that wave of melancholy is knowing that I have stacks of new books to read. On to "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." My mom says it's the best book she's read in a while.