That time a guy in my book club argued that reading the last chapter first is "more efficient"

We were doing a mystery novel last month, and Jim straight up said he flips to the end before starting chapter one. Said he likes knowing who did it so he can spot the clues on the way. I nearly spat out my drink. The whole group went quiet for like 10 seconds. Our host Sarah finally asked him why even read the book then, and he got defensive. Has anyone else run into a reader who does something that just breaks the whole point of a story?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleym4317d ago

Oh man, I mean I get wanting to be efficient with time but that just kills the whole experience for me. Like, half the fun of a mystery is being confused and trying to figure it out yourself as you go. I feel like if you already know the ending, you're just checking boxes instead of actually getting surprised by the story.

gibson.sarah17d ago

Wait, has nobody else had someone literally just ruin a book for them completely by doing this? Like I went to a book club once where this one person already read the whole thing and just casually dropped the killer's name like it was nothing. I was so mad I almost walked out. @finleym43 you're totally right that half the fun is the confusion, that's literally the whole point of reading a mystery. When you already know the ending, it's like watching a movie backwards or something, you're just waiting for stuff to happen instead of actually being in the story. The whole "reduces anxiety" argument makes no sense to me either, like the anxiety is the good part, that's what keeps you turning pages at 2am. Honestly I'd rather never finish a book than have someone tell me how it ends beforehand.

emmawood17d ago

Heard this whole thing debated on a podcast once where they talked about "spoilertastic" readers. Apparently, some people find knowing the ending actually reduces anxiety, so they enjoy the journey more. I guess for them, the surprise is stressful, not fun. But for a mystery novel, that just feels like you're skipping the whole reason the author wrote it. I mean, the whole point is the author deliberately hid clues so you could be surprised when it clicks together. Jim is basically turning a roller coaster into a walk through the park. Different strokes, but man, that would drive me crazy in a book club setting.