About this quote

Reading drags you into other people's minds and doesn't always let go. That cross-wiring leaves you edgy, distracted, or oddly distant for a while. Don't excuse poor behavior—name the feeling and do one small reset: step outside, write a paragraph, or read something light for an hour. Talk about the book with one person and the mood usually softens once you put the stirred-up feelings into words.

When to use it

• At the office after finishing a bleak novel on my lunch break and snapping at a teammate: 'You get a little moody sometimes but I think that's because you like to read.'
• In the library at 2 a.m., after staying up on a heavy philosophy book before an exam, I told my roommate, 'I'm just a little fucked up from that chapter, don't take me seriously.'
• After reading a raw parenting memoir and losing patience with my toddler, I told my partner, 'I'm being short right now — it's the book, you know I get like this when I read.'
• Coming out of therapy, I explained how the novel I read last week reopened old stuff and said to my therapist, 'Books do this to me; they leave me moody for a day.'