'Madness' is an exceptional book. No wonder you couldn't put it down! I devoured that book too. My reading habits depend greatly on my mood, as do my reactions to the books. When depressed I can be very deeply moved, often in a bad way. That is if I can read at all. When hypomanic I find it hard to concentrate but do get pumped up by what I read and am more pragmatic about the difficult realities. When I am neutral I am also calm and can read quite happily.