Hey, Michael. Remember when you spoiled Harry Potter #6 for me? No hard feelings, bro!

I hate spoilers, I’ve actually stopped reading a crime novel once, and handed it into a thrift store unfinished, because someone told me who the villain was. Crime, thriller, mysteries etc novels should not be spoiled, and often my expectations towards a book will be affected too much if I hear too much about it.
I like reading books that aren’t too formulaic, so spoilers can really spoil elements of surprise.

While I’m not a fan of surprise in real life, I love them in stories. My favorite books are those that blow me away with unexpected endings.

Yeah, I still feel REALLY horrible about that Stan. Feel free to spoil something for me at anytime! I also spoiled the movie The Sixth Sense for my wife. I thought she had gone to see it with friends, but she had gone to a different movie. She’s never gonna let me live that down.

I loved the Magician King.  Just finished it yesterday.  I hope he writes another one.

I find it difficult to believe that a study of 12 college students will be taken as any kind of authoritative comment on spoilers. Studies always have to be replicated under controlled environments before they are published as serious studies. One 12-person study means nothing unless others are created with a wider, more inclusive population. It’s not a surprise to me that college students want to know the ending before reading through the entire book, or that they don’t like so-called literary novels. 

I’ve started “spoiling” books for myself recently. I would say this started the past couple of years, but if I really like a care I flip through the book to make sure their still alive. I don’t read anything about what happens to them I literally just flip the pages and look for the character’s name. It gives me a sense of relief and then I can enjoy the book without worrying.

I started “spoiling” books for myself over the past few years. I’ve found that if I really like a character I flip through the book to make sure they’re still alive. I don’t read about what happens to them I just look for their name. It makes the book more enjoyable because I’m not worried the whole time. I don’t think I’d want to know any more than that though. Also, my middle school students get pretty upset if a book is ruined for them.

Although I prefer not to read/hear them, spoilers don’t really ruin a book or movie for me.  Though if you’d done to me what you did to Stan, I might’ve been upset!  : )

I am always behind…in listening to the podcasts, in commenting…so this time I decided to pull out the laptop immediately after listening.

I HATE spoilers!  Like Ann, sometimes I don’t even read the book jacket, especially in cases where I’ve already heard enough about the book to know it’s something I will like.  I think the surprises and twists in books are one of the best parts of reading!  I am appalled to hear that some people purposely read the last pages of a book first.

I try very hard not to include any spoilers in my own reviews.  I use the book jacket as a guideline to see what the author wanted shared with prospective readers and what was left out, though sometimes I include even less than the book jacket, if I think the publisher revealed too much on it.

As for appreciating all the little clues that lead up to surprises in a plot, I often go back to earlier sections after finishing a book to remind myself of those.

Great discussion, as always!

Sue Jackson

http://www.bookbybook.blogspot.com

P.S. Michael – I can’t believe you ruined Sixth Sense for your wife!  The whole point of that movie is its surprise ending!

Unlike everybody else here, I’m one of those people who really prefers spoilers.  I think a lot depends on what you do everyday for a living and what you do for pleasure/escape–at least it is for me.  My job is verystressful, there’s day to day variation, and some if it is high stakes. I really don’t want to go to fiction or movies to be put through more stress. I’m not looking for a detailed plot, but most times, I’m happier knowing either a) things are going to work out or b) don’t get too terribly attached to Character X….

Just me. 

I would recommend Across the Universe even if you’re not a big fan of YA paranormal romances.  IMO it’s more of a sci-fi mystery than a romance.  If you’re claustrophobic like me,  you might have a few problems with the opening chapters where the heroine describes the process she goes through to be cryogenically frozen.  But I enjoyed the rest of the book and read it while on vacation in less than a day!

One comment about Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice…I never read her books until a couple of years ago, and I started with Pride and Prejudice. I was also very fond of this work for its humor. After reading other works by Austen, I wanted to learn why other people liked to read her. In my research, I came across a wonderful book:  Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen. This is a collection of essays by many literary figures, from Somerset Maugham to Harold Bloom, about why and how they read Jane Austen. It’s very interesting to read their thoughts and occasional harsh criticism of her work. I highly recommend it, but only after you read P&P!!

I would rather not know what is going to happen in the books I read, however I definitely like a synopsis of the book – it has to sound interesting to me. But I love to be surprised and I also love to try to figure out what is going to happen next. But I don’t want to be right. I feel like the author should be able to fool me. I loved Await Your Reply for this very reason. It’s a good story – or three stories to be exact – and you get some revealing information about half way through the book that changes everything – but there are still more surprises to come. With the first snippet of information that let you know things were not as they seemed, I put the book down and just sat and stared off into space, constantly readjusting my perceptions of what was happening. I totally enjoyed it and I was completely fooled. My favorite kind of book!

How about I spoil Perrotta’s The Leftovers for you? The whole novel is a DREAM.

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For the most part I prefer to be surprised as I read. I enjoy trying to figure out what is going to happen as I go. If the ending is brilliant I will read the book a second time so that I can see how the author orchestrated the novel. That said, I have exceptions. A few months ago I heard an author interview/reading that intrigued me even though I had just heard 85-90% of the book surprises.  I was curious enough about why the characters did what they did and what the ultimate ending reveals. The book and author are “A Place of Execution” by Val McDermid.