Every Friday I’m going to ask a question. The questions I choose might be ambiguous on purpose. The goal is to have you answer the question according to your beliefs, where you’re at in life or a circumstance that might have recently impacted you. The only thing I ask is that you provide an explanation for why you answered the way you did.
It is my hope to understand you better through this and also to gain a greater understanding of humanity and how people make decisions.
When reading a book:
The Beginning or The End?
*photos by flickr
**looking forward to Iron Sharpens Iron conference tomorrow
That's difficult, Wendy. The beginning has to be good for me to get to the end, but the end must be good for the book (or author) to leave a long-lasting impression.
ReplyDeleteBeginning. There. I made a decision. My work, here, is done.
The end. Because then I've devoured it whole; thought, felt, been moved. That's where I'd rather be.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning for me. I never want to know the outcome before I have seen the conflict. I never look ahead- no peeking.
ReplyDeleteHappy writing Wendy!
Beginning, where all the excitement, conflict and anticipation are presented, like a colorful meal on a gold edged plate. The end is the dessert, but I'm always sad there's no more to devour at that point.
ReplyDeleteThe end. Not that I read it first at all, but to me the ending makes the story. Bad ending negates a good story. Great ending beautifies a bad story. That's what I think. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe beginning for sure! I HATE to read the ending first!! Drives me nuts when people do.
ReplyDeleteI have to pick?? Yikes! I love starting a new book and diving into a new world ... so that makes me love the beginning. But, when I get into a book I usually struggle to put it down because I need to know what happens next and I need to know how it all turns out. So - the end. (though I am always a little bit sad when I finish a book because it's over) Can I change my answer to the middle???
ReplyDeleteI would never read the end first, but I definitely feel like it's the most important part. It's what will keep me coming back. Beginnings weren't as important to me until I started studying craft.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
When it's done right, the end. There's nothing like closing that book and feeling like you've just returned from an amazing journey.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning! If it was a great book, I am truly sad when it ends and I feel like I've lost a friend. :O)
ReplyDeleteFor so long it was the end that held the power to make me sneak a peek. It held all the answers and the promise of satisfaction. But now with the Kindle it is near impossible to skip to the end so I must answer the beginning. It really is the initiation of the journey, then the actual journey that brings the full satisfaction to the end. Without the beginning and the journey the end is somewhat a shallow representation of what could have been.
ReplyDeleteWendy, I think you know my answer. Both. I love beginnings--babies, new books, new relationships. But I also love endings too--the satisfaction of completing a task, coming to the end of a movie, seeing maturation in my older children. Both are important. After all, God is the Alpha and Omega!
ReplyDeleteWendy...this is a tough one! For me it SO depends on the book. So I will answer and say that most books, it is the ending...because a lot of the time, that is where everything comes together or makes sense.
ReplyDeleteBlessings on your weekend :)
Bina
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteProbably the beginning. At the beginning anything is possible, by the end I've either loved the journey and don't want it to be over, or I haven't liked it all that much.
ReplyDeleteThe end. Because that's when the fulfillment comes.
ReplyDeleteYou make me crazy! I have to pick just one? No way!
ReplyDeleteBeginning: Fiction: I've got to know every detail, how did we get to where we are, don't hold back any backstory. Non-fiction: Grab me quick or I'll never get to chapter two!
End: There's never really an end, because ... Fiction: once characters have become real to me, they just live on. Non-fiction: I make it to the end of about one in five non-fiction books I start.
Which is why I've come to appreciate the story-telling aspect of fiction for sharing truth with people.
The end. Always, the end. The beginning can stink, but the end had better rock!
ReplyDeleteI love the picture of the book pages making a heart. How pretty! Have a great weekend!
The ending. It's what sells me on the author and not just the story.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the beginning. There is nothing more exciting than starting a new book. I'm always sad when I get to the ending (if the book is good anyway).
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the beginning, but I will admit that by the middle I do sometimes have to jump to the end to satisfy a huge bought of curiosity, then I continue reading from the middle to the end.
ReplyDeleteI always read the end first. It calms me down enough that I can enjoy the story. And I'm always surprised (usually) at how the ending came about. My husband, on the other hand, is a beginning sort of guy. He sees it as cheating to find the end out before the beginning. :D
ReplyDeletethe beginning has to pull me in but the ending has to leave me feeling satisfied.
ReplyDeleteThe end. As long as the beginning is interesting, the end is what determines whether it all mattered.
ReplyDeleteThe end. I love to sigh in contentment at the perfect ending to a great book.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you this weekend, Wendy!
The beginning. Especially in a wonderful book. The end, while satisfying (in a good book, at least), makes me sad because I want good books to go on and on and on and on...
ReplyDeleteI prefer the beginning. Like some have mentioned, it's the start to a wonderful journey. While the end makes me sigh and think, "Awh, it's finished!" :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the beginning! Without it, we wouldn't have the opportunity to reflect within a character's experiences. And wonder what we would have done differently. The possibilities are endless!
ReplyDeleteI think I have to say the end. As long as the ending meets my expectations, I am satisfied. this is always a toss-up when I'm reading, because often I will not like the way a book ends. But when I'm writing, the ending is my call. And I love a happy ending!
ReplyDelete