Acceptable ways of reading books.
Aug. 23rd, 2006 06:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
avreliaRecently there were couple of discussions whether it is sacrilege or not to fold pages in a book. It is not a question for me – I just can never ever do it. But what is a question – can you look at the end before you read everything else? Because I do it. I have a slight feeling that it is wrong, but it is not enough to stop me from doing it.
When I was a child, I hated bad endings. I accepted the necessity of them, but didn't feel it's worth my time to read a book if it ends unhappily. And I would check the ending to see if it is any good. And then – what the point of reading it if I know it ends badly? So I didn't read a lot of classical literature for that reason. For some books, however, the ending – good or bad – didn't play any role whatsoever – the book was just too good not to read it (or, you know, it had to be read for school – or both).
I grew up. Somewhat. I hope. But the habit of looking at the ending first persisted, even though I don't refuse books with unhappy endings. In fact I prefer open endings to all others.
Now it doesn't matter whether it is a happy ending or not , but the desire to know immediately how it's written and what's there. I often look at the end when picking up a book in a bookstore or a library – by the look and style of the ending I can judge whether or not I want to read it. It feels like in this case I do the least damage to my reading integrity – I don't know any characters and I am not engaged in a story, and by the time I got to end I forget all about it, so it is all new.
But sometimes the book is so engaging, so I feel I cannot put it down without knowing what happens in the end, and I have to know it now immediately. I look and then feel slightly guilty for it.
And sometimes I don't even explain myself to myself, and don't feel guilty at all.
So, what do you think about jumping to look in the end of a book? I mean, of course fiction.
[Poll #804743]
When I was a child, I hated bad endings. I accepted the necessity of them, but didn't feel it's worth my time to read a book if it ends unhappily. And I would check the ending to see if it is any good. And then – what the point of reading it if I know it ends badly? So I didn't read a lot of classical literature for that reason. For some books, however, the ending – good or bad – didn't play any role whatsoever – the book was just too good not to read it (or, you know, it had to be read for school – or both).
I grew up. Somewhat. I hope. But the habit of looking at the ending first persisted, even though I don't refuse books with unhappy endings. In fact I prefer open endings to all others.
Now it doesn't matter whether it is a happy ending or not , but the desire to know immediately how it's written and what's there. I often look at the end when picking up a book in a bookstore or a library – by the look and style of the ending I can judge whether or not I want to read it. It feels like in this case I do the least damage to my reading integrity – I don't know any characters and I am not engaged in a story, and by the time I got to end I forget all about it, so it is all new.
But sometimes the book is so engaging, so I feel I cannot put it down without knowing what happens in the end, and I have to know it now immediately. I look and then feel slightly guilty for it.
And sometimes I don't even explain myself to myself, and don't feel guilty at all.
So, what do you think about jumping to look in the end of a book? I mean, of course fiction.
[Poll #804743]
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no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 10:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 11:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 11:02 pm (UTC)And it is absolutely wrong, even evil, to turn down the corners of a page. I have lots of other book rules, too. Cause I'm like that. :-)
no subject
Date: 2006-08-24 12:57 am (UTC)and I cannot do anything like folding pages or writing in a book - not even in books that designed for it (as textbooks). What are your other rules?
no subject
Date: 2006-08-24 01:25 am (UTC)*channels inner Willow*
I'm kind of a freak about books. I usually buy paperbacks for cost savings, and my goal is that when I'm finished with it, it will look unread. I also buy rather than borrow from a library, because I prefer to read new books that others haven't touched.
Turning down a page? Sacrilege!
Breaking the spine? OMG!!!!!
Food splatters? Death. Sentence.
I rarely loan out books because I'm afraid people will not treat them well. You should have heard the User Agreement I verbally gave my brother when I loaned him all the Harry Potter books. It was worse for the 1st editions. My sister and The Daughter raze me about this stuff all the time.
But I'm not changing.
*pets inner Willow*
/end of post to Mollie May's LJ
Write? In a book? Are these people the spawn of the devil?
I don't even set them down open to my spot.
And I organize them:
living room: mysteries
library: science fiction & fantasy
bedroom: romances.
(Thinking of switching mysteries and science fiction because my SF/F/Paranormal collection is now the larger of the two.)
Then they're organized alphabetically by author and within each author by publishing date. Unless they're part of a series, then, of course they would reside next to the rest of the series.
It's kind of scary, actually. *snort*
Mostly, I'm normal.
Honest.
Your icon, btw, is gorgeous!
no subject
Date: 2006-08-30 11:29 am (UTC)and I love lendnig books to people!
no subject
Date: 2006-08-24 06:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-29 11:46 pm (UTC)I find it the most sound philosophy. ;)