Writing Wrongs

June 14, 2007

Booking Through Thursday

  1. Do you cheat and peek ahead at the end of your books? Or do you resolutely read in sequence, as the author intended?

  2. And, if you don�t peek, do you ever feel tempted?

If I�m really enjoying a book, I do not want to know, ever, how it�s going to turn out. In fact, I freak a little if I�m shuffling pages, or if the book falls open in a spot I haven�t reached yet, and I see a bit of text.

I also steer clear of reviews until I�ve finished the book. Because you know, somewhere, in one of those reviews, someone included a spoiler. So far, I haven�t found the internet equivalent of holding my hands over my ears and singing, �La, la, la, I can�t hear you.�

The one time I do peek is when I�m finding a book less than inspiring. If I�m thinking of ditching a book, I page through it, looking to see if there are surprises I haven�t predicted. Every once in awhile, I�ll go back and read the whole thing, but usually not. Great reads, for me, are connected to voice. If something isn�t doing it for me, it�s probably voice related, so it wouldn�t matter how surprising the plot is.

This is one of the things I like about the audio books I listen to during the commute. Sure, technically, I could slip in the last CD, skip to the last track, or flip through the book at the bookstore. But a really good book, with a terrific reader, it�s about both the journey and the destination. And you can�t speed up and rush through the scenery. You�re held captive, but in a good way.

No rushing, no pushing. A good story, well told. Something to both enjoy and aspire to.

Charity Tahmaseb wrote at 9:38 a.m.

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