# 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:** 14\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/101 "2018-09-13T13:51:16Z")
Well, I’ll just answer according to “when I was poor”; the answer will still be the same. My book-choosing methods haven’t changed only because the formats and the depths of my pockets have. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/102 "2018-09-13T14:07:31Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > At least reading the first few pages of a book before you buy it doesn’t require taking off one’s pants in a public place. Judgemental attitudes like this do not help anyone.☹ ---
**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 13, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/103 "2018-09-13T14:20:02Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > At least reading the first few pages of a book before you buy it doesn’t require taking off one’s pants in a public place. Unless of course if it’s something hot like _Summer of '42_. There just isn’t enough novelizations of tres risque tv movies. ---
**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 13, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/104 "2018-09-13T15:08:31Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > many of my clothes are bought online or, like **Darren Garrison** , “wrapped in plastic from stores with ‘mart’ in their names.” My most recent clothes purchase was both–Wal-Mart’s web site had some slacks on clearance for $8.99 a pair, I ordered three pairs, they shipped individually wrapped in plastic. The shirts I buy are often sold 3 or 5 to the bag. ---
**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 13, 2018, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/105 "2018-09-13T15:29:53Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > At least reading the first few pages of a book before you buy it doesn’t require taking off one’s pants in a public place. Shit. Yet _another_ thing I’ve been doing all wrong! Life is hard. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/106 "2018-09-13T16:04:15Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > You really think every pair of 34/32 jeans, in every brand and style, has the same shape and fits the same? Seriously? > > If you’re buying a duplicate of an item of clothing you already own (same brand, same size), that’s not what I’m talking about here. There are variations, but they’re typically not the sort of thing that prevents a pair of pants from fitting, unless you’re at one end or the other of the size range (i.e. you’re wearing size 32 pants, but your waist is actually closer to 33). From what I can tell, most people who seem aghast that others don’t try their clothes on are women- they have to deal with an arcane, only barely tethered to reality sizing system where a woman is deemed to be say… a size 14. And that’s it- no indication of height, shape, etc… My wife runs into this all the time- she’s tall, so often clothes may fit her in the hips and stomach, but be 4 inches too short (she actually has some “capri” pants that are just normal pants in her size!). So she’s got to try and find tall stuff, and try everything on to make sure it’s not too short. In practice this means that maybe 1 in 7 things she tries on will fit. By comparison, I know that any pair of pants with a nominal 32 inseam will be close, if not exactly the length I need my pants to be. So if I order jeans online, probably 1 in 7 won’t actually fit adequately. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/107 "2018-09-13T16:24:33Z")
First pages are always fraught, and often over-edited. I don’t really judge by them. And in the case that they are good, and likely to draw me in, I want to be at home in a comfy chair with coffee at hand before they envelop me. I do have a similar habit though, when I’m buying a book. I’ll generally flip to a random page in the middle and just read a paragraph or two. Just enough to know if it’s light reading or heavy, carefully phrased or hammered out. If someone I respect has recommended it I’ll generally read it regardless, but if it impresses me I might grab the whole series while I’m there. ---
**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 13, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/108 "2018-09-13T19:32:13Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > First pages are always fraught, and often over-edited. I don’t really judge by them. And in the case that they are good, and likely to draw me in, I want to be at home in a comfy chair with coffee at hand before they envelop me. > > I do have a similar habit though, when I’m buying a book. I’ll generally flip to a random page in the middle and just read a paragraph or two. Just enough to know if it’s light reading or heavy, carefully phrased or hammered out. If someone I respect has recommended it I’ll generally read it regardless, but if it impresses me I might grab the whole series while I’m there. They do have comfy chairs and coffee at Barnes and Noble. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/109 "2018-09-13T21:24:55Z")
I’ve never read the first few pages. I’ve had too many books I’ve ended up loving that were slow starters. I like a book that does a slow burn. Re: trying on clothes. Yeah, women’s clothes sizing is nuts. I can have four different sizes in my closet that all fit. ---
**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 13, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/110 "2018-09-13T22:05:42Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I know that any pair of pants with a nominal 32 inseam will be close, if not exactly the length I need my pants to be. So if I order jeans online, probably 1 in 7 won’t actually fit adequately. All your inseam length issues would’ve been taken care of by [this guy.](http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm15814319) Especially if you needed a fly. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/111 "2018-09-14T02:55:30Z")
My fiction purchases are in the realm of mysteries/detective novels. I get a good idea of what I might like by reading the back or inside cover synopses. International conspiracies/spy thrillers/organized crime scenarios/flamingly unrealistic plots/weirdly named characters/ultra-exotic locales are generally turn-offs right away. If something looks like a possibility, I’ll look at a couple of pages in the middle of the book to see if the writing style is readable. I never check out the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/112 "2018-09-14T04:03:40Z")
So glad I read that first line: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Saved me a lot of time, I mean who has days to spend on a book with a schizo world view like that? And that “In the beginning…”? Sheesh, cut to the chase, already. Another snooze-fest avoided. > [@SlackerInc](#): > > You can’t know whether a novel is really good without finishing it… My old boss had a quirk that was a perverse twist on this. He’d pick up a mystery novel, READ THE LAST CHAPTER, then buy it and start at the beginning. I always wondered if that skewed his perception of the book: _Lord Whifflebowel viewed the detective with a smirk …(Yeah, no wonder he’s smirking, he’s amused that the cops are chatting with the murderer!)_ ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/113 "2018-09-14T11:36:34Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I’ve never read the first few pages. I’ve had too many books I’ve ended up loving that were slow starters. Good point, but that’s about reading the first few pages to see if the book pulls you in right away. I think **SlackerInc** is mainly talking about reading the first few pages to see if the _style_ is something you can live with. ---
**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 14, 2018, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730/114 "2018-09-14T12:10:32Z")
Pretty much, yeah. Digs, your former boss was turning whodunits into Columbo stories! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-novels-without-reading-the-first-few-pages-first/820730.md?page=5)