# Do you buy novels without reading the first few pages first? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2018, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730 "2018-09-04T09:30:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/21 "2018-09-04T17:38:24Z")
Slacker reminds me of “M” from my long-ago [science fiction book club rant](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=112429). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/22 "2018-09-04T22:59:19Z")
Regardless of how insulting it was, I have to be impressed that you remember that post after 16 years. I find posts from five or six years ago and don’t recognize them at all, although I nod along with this SlackerInc fellow’s perspicacity and general good sense. 😉 > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I couldn’t even imagine doing that. You have to read it to know if you like it. > > Sure, I’ve literally trashed books before I’ve finished them, but it takes more than half usually to be sure they actually do suck. You can’t punt at two pages. I would totally feel the same—if there were only like 82 books in the world, or I were stuck on a desert island with only a limited number. But there are thousands of really great books I will never have time to get to in my lifetime. “Life’s too short”, literally. And I disagree with your formulation. You can’t know whether a novel is really good without finishing it (multiple Stephen King novels with frustratingly bad endings taught me that lesson), but you can tell when something’s bad. If it’s just poorly written, reading more of it isn’t going to help. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Beyond books, ever since DVDs came out my way of seeing a new movie hasn’t been “previewing” it by watching it in the theater or renting it–I just buy the DVD if it looks like something I might like. People with the kind of disposable income to do that are in a different world than I am. If I rent or stream a movie, I always give it five minutes. If I don’t dig it by that point, I move on. I have watched the first five minutes (and only the first five) of many, many movies. In a movie theater, I won’t walk out unless it’s really unendurable. At least, that was always my policy before and after I had MoviePass, on the rare occasion I see a movie in the theater. During those five glorious MP months, I went to multiple movies a week, including some marginal ones, and walked out a few times. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/23 "2018-09-05T08:49:31Z")
actually when I worked at the swap meet id buy books by the cardboard (fruit( box …. no clue on what they were until I sorted through 25 boxes of books one weekend ………. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/24 "2018-09-05T09:04:10Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > All those romances, and not a single ripped bodice to show for it. Yeah, I’d be disappointed too. I actually find that particular subgenre extremely revolting and an important part of American rape culture. So I’m certainly not disappointed by any lack of ripped bodices; I’m disappointed that there is such a push to make bodice-ripping be considered sexy, and that the people doing that push haven’t been bitchslapped to death by now. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/25 "2018-09-05T13:46:26Z")
No. I can’t think of any time I did that. I go by reviews, the author’s name, and the blurbs. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/26 "2018-09-05T14:30:06Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I actually find that particular subgenre extremely revolting and an important part of American rape culture. So I’m certainly not disappointed by any lack of ripped bodices; I’m disappointed that there is such a push to make bodice-ripping be considered sexy, and that the people doing that push haven’t been bitchslapped to death by now. Ravish culture. The women in those books are ravished, which is romantic apparently. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/27 "2018-09-05T14:31:52Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I actually find that particular subgenre extremely revolting and an important part of American rape culture. So I’m certainly not disappointed by any lack of ripped bodices; I’m disappointed that there is such a push to make bodice-ripping be considered sexy, and that the people doing that push haven’t been bitchslapped to death by now. Apologies for any offense given, I was merely riffing on your “never been physically assaulted” by romances remark with the most common trope of physical assault contained within said romances. Again, my apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/28 "2018-09-05T14:59:39Z")
I can’t imagine _not_ reading the first page or five of a work of fiction. Frequently I will also flip to a couple of random places in the middle just to make sure it doesn’t develop into something that I won’t like. I don’t necessarily remember specific titles if it’s been a while since I read them, so for authors that I am familiar with I still need to do that just to make sure it’s not something I’ve already read. Nonfiction requires more investigation than simply looking at the table of contents and bibliography. Things like the quality of footnotes, whether or not the subject delves into areas that interest me or goes off on ridiculous tangents, etc. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/29 "2018-09-05T15:44:46Z")
In general, yeah, I buy books without reading the first few pages. Mostly because I buy based on a couple of things- primarily either word-of-mouth from friends whose literary opinions are not crap, and works from authors I have enjoyed in the past, combined with the jacket description/amazon description. I tend to think that giving a book 2-3 pages to prove itself or a movie 5 minutes is pretty draconian and short-sighted. Why? Because not every one gets rolling that fast. Some are kind of slow-starting- take “A Deepness In the Sky” by Vernor Vinge. It probably took me 40 pages until the action and plot started rolling, but once it did, it turned out to be a terrific read. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/30 "2018-09-05T15:50:47Z")
I pick up a random page to see if I can tolerate the prose, or if I see anything interesting at all. Not the first page, something midway through. Being middle-aged, I have no concerns about remembering any spoilers. Edited: some books I buy just because I think they’re important, knowing I’ll donate them to the library whether I like them or not. I’ve pre-ordered Bob Woodward’s new Trump book for this purpose. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/31 "2018-09-05T15:55:09Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Regardless of how insulting it was, I have to be impressed that you remember that post after 16 years. I find posts from five or six years ago and don’t recognize them at all, although I nod along with this SlackerInc fellow’s perspicacity and general good sense. 😉 Not really insulting you personally, Slacker, unless you’re the kinda person who (a) joins a book club, (b) never reads the books, and (c) always tries to steer the conversation towards your favorite TV shows. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/32 "2018-09-05T16:12:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No. I can’t think of any time I did that. > > I go by reviews, the author’s name, and the blurbs. This. I really can’t think of a single time in my life I’ve done that. And I read a lot. At 900+wpm fiction doesn’t last very long. A good blurb writer can grab me before anything else. Then author’s name and my experience with same. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/33 "2018-09-05T17:40:58Z")
I ready probably 2-3 books per month, for leisure as well as 1 book for our book club. I exclusively read on my iPad mini and use the Kindle app. Occasionally I’ll see a book I’m going to buy offers a sneak peak on the Amazon site but I never read it. I’m either going to read it regardless if it sucks or is of little interest to me (book club selection) or I’m purchasing something that based upon author, description, genre, reviews, recommendations, etc., that I’ve decided to buy. Reading the first few pages just doesn’t tell me enough. I’ve had plenty of books where the first few pages were great, and by the end I hated the book. I’ve also experienced the opposite, starts badly but ends up being a great read. Of course occasionally a book loses me immediately, mostly due to the author’s writing style but I will generally slog through it to finish anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/34 "2018-09-05T19:05:36Z")
No, I don’t read a few pages, either at the beginning or in the middle or whatever. Of course, I don’t tend to buy a lot of books anymore, as the library is my current source for reading material. But even on a new book I haven’t heard of and don’t know the author, I think it takes more than a few paragraphs to decide if it is any good. I’ll decide if I’m interested by the blurbs, author, genre, whatever. But read some of it? Naw. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/35 "2018-09-05T19:10:37Z")
Sometimes, but I read a lot of books and don’t choose them all the same way. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/36 "2018-09-05T23:11:31Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Not really insulting you personally, Slacker, unless you’re the kinda person who (a) joins a book club, (b) never reads the books, and (c) always tries to steer the conversation towards your favorite TV shows. 😉 Never joined a book club, but if I did I wouldn’t do that. > [@Bayaker](#): > > I can’t imagine _not_ reading the first page or five of a work of fiction. Right? Although I should have stipulated: “Assuming you’re not wealthy and not getting the novel for really cheap”. If you can only afford to buy a few books a year (meaning relatively new releases in hardback that you are really interested in and have to pay full freight for), how can you not sample first? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/37 "2018-09-05T23:21:48Z")
I’m surprised more folks aren’t using the library. I do very little pre-filtering, instead just abandoning books once I get home and find they suck. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/38 "2018-09-06T00:04:08Z")
Yeah, I should definitely use the library a lot more. Years ago I was a regular, but have gotten out of the habit. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/39 "2018-09-06T00:06:00Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Yeah, I should definitely use the library a lot more. Years ago I was a regular, but have gotten out of the habit. I hear the best libraries stock NK Jemisin ;). ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/40 "2018-09-06T02:30:52Z")
As long as the front cover graphics look all V. C. Andrews-y…I just eat that shit up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730.md?page=3)