Too much of a good thing?

We’ve talked about the pleasures and need for alone time in the past. And I remain a firm believer that spending time alone is a wonderful gift. But is it vaguely possible, as with all good things, that there could, on a rare occasion, be too much of a good thing?

For the past few summers, I have had the great fortune of renting a cottage for a week in Muskoka, Ontario. We are usually about ten people – myself, my son, his partner and eight or so of their best friends. It is a magical time. Enormous quantities of great food and beverages, sun, water, music, games and generally a good time is be had by all. It’s fabulous.

The days are spent having fun in the sun and water. In the afternoons we blend in dinner prep. I create menus in advance, bring recipes and have done the shopping. The kids (I use the term “kids” in the familial sense. These are twenty-something humans, some of whom I have known since they really were kids.) pick a dinner component to prepare and we all work together to get a casual gourmet-ish feast on the table. Pretty much pure joy, bordering on gluttony.

This year was a little different. Equally pleasurable, but with a twist. The kids, all now having “real” jobs, could only stay up at the cottage for a long weekend, which meant that I had the cottage to myself for the balance of the week. When I first learned of the shortened timeframe, I was disappointed, but understood completely and not being one to shy away from spending time by myself, I quickly warmed to the idea.

We had our wonderful handful of days together and then I packed the kids up with leftovers, waved good-bye and happily settled into a few days of solitude. First order of business – find some suitable, light, summer reading. I latched onto a gentle mystery series by ML Longworth set in Provence, France – sort of a cross between Peter Mayle and Martin Walker. Perfect.

I finished one book, liked it and decided I’d read more. And thanks to the wonders of the internet, ebooks and satellites, I found the next in the series online, downloaded it and dove in. Enjoyed it and continued with the next. And the next. And the… uh, oh. Also thanks to the internet, ebooks and satellites, two dreadful little words – “Pre-order now” followed by available April next year. Sigh.

I guess binge reading, just as binge eating and binge anything else has its downfalls. A lesson learned? Maybe. Maybe not. However, my current read is a standalone novel; not part of a series. 😉

How about you, do you binge read/watch? What have you binge read or watched? What do you do when it’s over?