I am sure some of you may have realised I am a fangirl. I try not to be, I try to hold back, but for a couple of days before the new Spider Shepherd book comes out (or the next book in a series I love), I just can’t help myself. I’m full of discussing Spider, I keep telling my boyfriend that it will be delivered to my kindle before the week is out (THE 14TH, just in case you were wondering), and I even let a spider live yesterday – just because I couldn’t kill anything called Spider (I think I am becoming superstitious, but I thought if I killed that huntsman spider, maybe White Lies would feature a chapter with the death of my hero, and I couldn’t have that).
I’ve also formed a ritual around the release of the latest instalment – and it is a little bit embarrassing. The day before the book is released I ensure my kindle is fully charged and I start checking it (who knows, maybe they will release it early? By accident? Because I LOVE SPIDER SHEPHERD?) every couple of hours.
On the day the book is released the obsessive checking becomes hourly, or even bihourly. When I have work, I take my Wi-Fi device with me so I can sync my kindle at work. A couple of hours into the release day, I start wondering that maybe my device is broken (OR MAYBE THEY FORGOT TO RELEASE IT! MAYBE AMAZON HAS GONE OUT OF BUISNESS! MAYBE THE REST OF THE WORLD IS DEAD AND ONLY AUSTRALIA IS LEFT, SO WHY DO I CARE ABOUT A BOOK?). Obviously at this stage I have gone insane, and having a conversation with me would be painful.
Once I see the new book is being downloaded, I notify my friends and family that I have a terrible sore throat and therefore they should not call me, visit me or expect anything from me. I also inform them that I expect to feel better in a day or two. My boyfriend who shares space with me is informed that if he ever wants to touch me again, he needs to give me some peace, and no I will not watch (insert awesome TV show here) with him. SPIDER SHEPHERD IS IN MY KINDLE! PRIORITIES!
I then sit on the couch (or maybe don’t bother getting out of bed) and read. I do nothing else. No housework, no uni work, no cooking. I eat whatever is in the cupboard. As soon as the TV is turned on, I go to another room. I also start to check to see if other people have goodreads rated it, and what their ratings are. I am still obsessed, but I can start to see that this isn’t going to last forever (only 100 pages left! OMG, what will I do when it is over?)
When I finish it, I have a short depressed period of a couple of minutes, thinking about the wait for the next in the series. I also tend to read lots of other books straight afterwards, as if reading my favourite series excites the reader in me – I’ll knock over five or six books in a week. And I then call my dad and sister and fake a sore throat, but say I am feeling much better.
The problem is, this year, I am on holidays and am not going to be able to have an internet connection while I am gone. I have to wait until the 18th to read White Lies, so I can’t participate in the above crazy ritual.
I was wondering, does anyone else have crazy rituals or superstitions like mine around books? How do you deal with the release of a favourite author’s novel? Do you get over excited? Will you share with me? Or am I just batshit insane?
Other installments in Ranty Runt’s Rants:
The worst time to love a reader
My personal war on romance
Breaking a blogging slump
Ranty Runt of a Reader 
And that explains so much.