The end of the book | Pad Patter June 2, 2023

I hated Gone Girl so much because of how the book ended. I will never read another book by the author. Just thinking about the book makes me mad. I didn't enjoy the book but I kept reading because I wanted a certain character to get what they deserved. It never happened. *Growl*

 

I have a friend who ALWAYS reads the last chapter of a book before reading the entire book. If she doesn't like the way the book ends, she doesn't bother reading it. She reads romance books pretty exclusively.

I avoid Harlequin style romance books ... -200 pages ... the stories always seem to flow along nicely until you get to the last few pages and then WHAM! the author quickly wraps the story line up. Hate that. Plus those books tend to have a lot of editing errors which drive me crazy.

I didn't enjoy Gone Girl either.

 

As a teenager I read Harlequin books all the time. We had a local store that was a news stand where you could newspapers from various large cities (my town is about 9,000 population). They also had a room that was all paperback books and all types of puzzle magazines. I would go there and browse through the newest Harlequin and Silhouette book releases. I would read the blurb on the back then open the book and read the last 2 pages. Then I would decide if I wanted to buy or not. However, there was one author that I would buy the book automatically since her releases were part of a series ~~~ Janet Dailey's Americana series, a book set in every state.

Then in my 20's/30's I was a member of The Literary Guild where you could get hard back books every month at a discounted price. I built up quite the collection and still have some of them.

These days, that store is long gone and I pretty much read books on my Kindle so I can't read the end of the book before buying. Instead I will take advantage of any books that are offered for free in the genre I read the most (cozy mysteries). Then if I like the book/author I don't hesitate to buy others by them. Have a couple of favorite authors right now and eagerly awaiting the next book in a couple of series.

 

I have to agree, there was one book that shocked me by killing off a main character quite gruesomely, unexpectedly and it shocked me so much, I had trouble sleeping after that. Interestingly though I still love the author and have read all the rest of the books of hers that I can.

The only types of books that I won't continue reading are those written in the first person, where said person has serious character flaws or is "the bad guy". I will put the book down and never go back.

 

I never read the ending first, it would totally kill my lust to read it. I need that suspense, I guess.

Having said that - I absolutely totally HATE Nicholas Sparks. Read one book, and since then I feel the urge to burn every book by him that I see. LOL

I think there's sort of a "contract" between the author and the reader - if you write romance/feel good books, you have to have a happy ending. It can be rough along the way, but there has to be some kind of happy ending. It doesn't neccessarily mean they get together and live happily ever after, but there has to be happiness and hope.

 

I'm the outlier here- I LOVE a good twisty ending. It is hard tho when you get INVESTED in the characters and their stories. I read A TON so even if I'm pissed about an ending, I move on pretty quickly and usually pick something that's a different genre so that I can clear my mind of that ending! lol!

 

I have never jumped around in a book like that. I guess I prefer to be surprised, even if it’s a terrible surprise.

 

I never read the end first - it's never actually occurred to me. There are some I end up not liking the ending, but I just move past it.

On the flip side though if a book doesn't grab me in the first 5 chapters I will put it down and start another one.

 

I read the same books over and over again. A small collection of favourites from my teenaged years. The librarian used to help me choose new books based on questions she asked me about the previous books I'd read. Now, without her wonderful help, I don't try new ones - too scared too. Apparently that's a symptom of my autism.

 

That's the book I was talking about. Hated it. It was so good until he totally ruined it.

 

I do this too. I have a couple of books that I reas again and again and again, when I need comfort. Same with movies. I feel it's almost like medication for the soul.