Emma: "Tell me how it ends." Alex: "You have to read the book."
Emma: "I want to see if he dies."
Alex: "You can’t read the end first."
Emma: "This is how I read books. If I like the ending, I know I’ll like getting to it. If I don’t like the ending, then I know not to waste my time."
I loved that movie, Alex and Emma. I feel exactly the same way. I read the first chapter and then the last paragraph. Always. Ev-er-y time.
I want to see if he gets off the island.
I want to see if he marries her.
I want to see whodunit.
I want to see if the dog dies.
Why on earth would I want to invest time and emotion reading a book where the dog dies at the end? Who would want that? This is why, when a child checks out a Dead Dog Book from my library like, Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, or Marley and Me, I always hand them the book and say, “The dog dies.”
You’re shocked I give away the ending? THE.DOG.DIES. I think people should know that before they unnecessarily torture themselves emotionally. I mean, it’s not like I’m ruining the book for them. They've probably already seen the movie.
And now, they come up to me with books like Shiloh and say, “Mrs. Lundberg, does the dog die in this book?”
“No. There’s a sequel.”
Then they skip happily away with a smile on their faces.
And if someday someone comes up to me and asks what I think of Little Women, I’ll tell them the truth. Laurie marries Amy instead of Jo, and Beth dies. I hated that book. I’m the same way with movies by the way. Just tell me how it ends.
4 comments:
Haha! Do they ever get mad at you that you spoiled the ending? Actually, that seems more like an adult thing, getting mad I mean. You are preventing them from ending up scarred for life, like Phoebe who didn't see all her sad movie endings until she was an adult. Did you cheat at the end of Harry Potter too, to make sure he was still alive at the end?
they've never gotten mad! they usually just smile and say, "i know. but i like the book anyway!"
and to be absolutely honest, and i swear this is true, the Harry Potter series is the ONLY time i've not cheated. and this created quite a problem for me! this is mainly because tim would read his copy along side me and every time it even looked like i Might be flipping to the back, he'd say, "mom! no cheating!"
i also really like re reading books. i've read each harry potter about 12 times. same with count of monte cristo, many of the classics, as well as those regency romances grandma got me hooked on!
Greetings!! You are a great writer. I havn't looked for a long time. Now my excuse is taxes. I made some progress on them tonight. YUK!!!
cheater.
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