# Do you prefer book reviews with or without spoilers?



## kyrin (Dec 28, 2009)

The subject says it all. I'm curious about what others think on the matter.

I personally don't like a lot of spoilers when I read a review for a book. I don't mind it as much for movies and television.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I hate spoilers. Most of the time I don't read reviews because I'm afraid they'll contain them.


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## kim (Nov 20, 2008)

Please, no spoilers.  I'll stop reading a review as soon as I suspect spoilage.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Of course, one person's interesting detail is another person's spoiler.  That being said, I _definitely_ do not want a true spoiler in a review: something that reveals a plot twist or character revelation which knowing ahead of time would truly spoil reading that revelation in the book. I would prefer that any other aspects of a review which might possibly give away anything about the book, other than the very beginning, be kept as general and ambiguous as possible. E.g.: tell me, "I really liked how Bob developed as a character and the way the author dealt with his childhood trauma," as opposed to, "I really like how the author had Bob buy a dairy farm as a way to cope with having been weaned too early as a baby."


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Without. But...

I don't mind the occasional spoiler section of a review as long as it's clearly marked.


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Without. I don't think I've ever been so ticked off as when I read Entertainment Weekly's review of Deep Blue Sea. They flat out said that


Spoiler



Samuel L. Jackson gets chomped by a shark in the middle of his rousing speech


. I mean, that's HUGE. I'd already seen the movie, so I wasn't spoiled, but I was still ticked off on behalf of people who hadn't seen it.  I mean, that's something you just don't see coming. Well, unless you read it in EW.


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## JoeMitchell (Jun 6, 2010)

Definitely no spoilers.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Absolutely without spoilers. I really don't like reviews that give plot details.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

No spoilers for me. I like to get an idea of the premise of the book and also the genre, but nothing more than that. I don't want to know something that I couldn't have guessed would happen. Newspapers and magazine reviews are notorious for giving the plot away, especially for movies as well as books, so I tend to steer clear of them. I do read reviews on Amazon which are generally speaking less spoilerish. (Is that a word?   )


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

NogDog said:


> Of course, one person's interesting detail is another person's spoiler.  That being said, I _definitely_ do not want a true spoiler in a review: something that reveals a plot twist or character revelation which knowing ahead of time would truly spoil reading that revelation in the book. I would prefer that any other aspects of a review which might possibly give away anything about the book, other than the very beginning, be kept as general and ambiguous as possible. E.g.: tell me, "I really liked how Bob developed as a character and the way the author dealt with his childhood trauma," as opposed to, "I really like how the author had Bob buy a dairy farm as a way to cope with having been weaned too early as a baby."


What the cute dog said. If I choose to read a review, I know I'm risking being told some "interesting detail" that I'd otherwise have the pleasure of discovering in the course of reading, but I don't think it's asking too much for a reviewer to avoid major spoilers.

Just a couple of days after the fifth _Harry Potter_ was released, I came across a newspaper review, and was spoiled as to who died in the book! I thought that was just mean.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Small ones are okay but not major ones that reveal something very significant to the plot. But I read a lot of historical fiction so it's difficult to spoil the plot - unless it deviates greatly from historical fact, I pretty much already know what is going to happen. So I don't worry much about spoilers.


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

No spoilers for me as well. I never read reviews until I got my kindle. I had to start because I was just buying free books willy nilly and I got some, shall we say, interesting surprises. I started reading the reviews so that I could know what I was in for.


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## RJ Keller (Mar 9, 2009)

Gah!! Without!!!!

Siskel and Ebert ruined the twist ending of "Jagged Edge" in their review back in the mid-80's and I _still _haven't forgiven them for it.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

I'm definitely in the minority, but I couldn't care in the slightest about a spoiler in a review.


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## RJ Keller (Mar 9, 2009)

Seriously? It doesn't ruin the book/movie for you if you know what's coming? (Not trying to be obnoxious. I'm honestly curious.)


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## Taborcarn (Dec 15, 2009)

I don't like it when a reviewer feels they need to show spoilers.  It's possible to say whether a book is good and worth reading without giving the major plot points away.  And it just seems lazy when an entire review is just a plot synopsis.


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## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

I've recently had several reviews of THRILLED TO DEATH that gave away plot twists. Very frustrating! Even though the reviewers loved the story, I feel I can't use those reviews or even link to them because it's not fair to readers.
L.J.


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## 13500 (Apr 22, 2010)

WITHOUT!

Why would someone want to ruin the ending for another reader? And ruin the work of the writer? 

Karen


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## CNDudley (May 14, 2010)

KarenW.B. said:


> WITHOUT!
> 
> Why would someone want to ruin the ending for another reader? And ruin the work of the writer?
> 
> Karen


I'm with everyone except David.  And it isn't just reviews--I've learned not to read the "Introduction" or to sneak a peek at the discussion questions, if it's a book-club type book.

I recently discovered Maeve Binchy books for travel reads, and whoever does the copy writing for the back cover and/or inside flap has given away what I consider significant plot developments that didn't come along till the last 100 pages!


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## June Shaw (Sep 1, 2010)

I definitely don't want spoilers. For me, that would be like flipping to the end to find out what happened.


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## RosemaryStevens (Aug 15, 2010)

No spoilers in any medium be it book, tv, or film.  I want to escape into the story and let it unfold for me.


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## Valmore Daniels (Jul 12, 2010)

No spoilers.


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## ToniL (Sep 9, 2010)

I confess, I'm one of those people who like to read the end of the book first!


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## Alice Y. Yeh (Jul 14, 2010)

RosemaryStevens said:


> No spoilers in any medium be it book, tv, or film. I want to escape into the story and let it unfold for me.


Hey now, some people like to do that. (I don't.)

I agree with NogDog that spoilers are subjective. In general, I appreciate reviews that give a better sense of which direction the book is going in, especially when the product summary is vague. For instance, "This book focuses on Jane Doe's personal journey through self-publishing and the difficulties that she faced along the way," as opposed to "It's a book about self-publishing. The end."

When writing reviews, I will find myself touching on plot twists, but not explaining them - that is, addressing that they're there without saying what they are. It's a fine line to walk, since you want to be as honest as possible without ruining the experience for someone else. I think that some reviewers, like Metroreader, do this quite well. Others...not so much. That's why you have to love the spoiler alerts on Goodreads


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

rjkeller said:


> Seriously? It doesn't ruin the book/movie for you if you know what's coming? (Not trying to be obnoxious. I'm honestly curious.)


*warning, I'll probably be throwing random spoilers out as examples*

Very, very rarely will knowing the ending make me not enjoy the journey there. I could start a book, and you could tell me, "oh it's great, at least until Jack dies." I want to know how Jack dies. I want to see if it is done well. Now if the entire point of the book was a giant shocker "zomg Jack dies!" then I might be annoyed, but I still want to know if _it was done well._

The Sixth Sense is a good example of that. The entire movie is built around the twist. But in general, I like talking about what I watch and what I read. When I was reading A Song of Ice and Fire, my wife was further than I was. She dropped spoilers all the time, and all it did was make me want to get further to reach them myself. "Oh you should see this massive battle near the end, this fire on the water. Tyrion's awesome, all his idea."

People who say knowing a spoiler or the ending ruin the book make me wonder. How many of you have watched a movie you liked, or read a book you liked, a _second_ time? Does that diminish your enjoyment? Ruin the fun? I mean, you have the ultimate spoiler already in having read the dang thing. But I've watched The Dark Knight fifty million times and I still thoroughly enjoy listening to the Joker's voice. If the only thing I cared about was simply the plot, and knowing 'what happened', then I'd read a book or movie spoiler online and move on without spending the many hours to read it. But it is one thing to read "the Joker convinces Harvey Dent to kill the people responsible for Rachel's death." It is another to watch and listen as he actually puts the gun in Harvey's hand, his finger on the trigger, and tells him "I'm an agent of Chaos."

I will admit certain genres (Mystery's for example) may make a bit more sense to not want spoilers, and that's a genre I simply don't read.

David Dalglish


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## swolf (Jun 21, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> People who say knowing a spoiler or the ending ruin the book make me wonder. How many of you have watched a movie you liked, or read a book you liked, a _second_ time? Does that diminish your enjoyment? Ruin the fun? I mean, you have the ultimate spoiler already in having read the dang thing.


When I watch a movie with a twist the second (or third or fourth) time, it's a different experience. This time, I'm watching to see how the plot fits in with the twist, looking for all those subtle clues that I missed the first time. (The Usual Suspects is a perfect example of this.)

Both experiences are enjoyable, and the second watch is even more pleasurable if I was fooled by the first watch. Someone spoiling the movie lessens that enjoyment.


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## CandyTX (Apr 13, 2009)

Definitely without. I am always careful about that when I do reviews myself. Another thing that annoys me is when they spend time (especially a lot of time) telling us the plot. Um, we can read the description for that.  A quick sentence or two is fine, but seriously...


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

> People who say knowing a spoiler or the ending ruin the book make me wonder. How many of you have watched a movie you liked, or read a book you liked, a second time? Does that diminish your enjoyment? Ruin the fun? I mean, you have the ultimate spoiler already in having read the dang thing.


ME! I very very rarely even read a book a second time and even more rarely watch a movie a second time. . . .unless it's been long enough that I have safely forgotten it.

That said, with something like _The Sixth Sense_ I agree with swolf. I saw that in the theater and was totally surprised -- and then started thinking over the clues that had been given. When it was on TV some years later I TiVo'd it so I could watch it again to see the clues that were so obvious now that I knew the ending.

I also did re-read HP each time before a new book came out to remind myself of the details of the story and which threads were still waiting to be tied up. . . .

But, honestly, that's about the extent of my re-reading or re-viewing.


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## Vianka Van Bokkem (Aug 26, 2010)

No spoilers for me!

Vianka


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

I am definitely a no spoiler person.  That is how I review books on my blog.  But the few complaints I have had about my reviews have all been from people that think more detail needs to be included.  When I read a fiction review, I want to know 1) is the book good, 2) was the plot coherent, 3) maybe a book or two that was similar in feel or tone 4) a very brief idea of the set up.  And sometimes no set up.  

Honestly, I like reviewing non-fiction better.  It is not a spoiler to talk about who won the battle of Gettysburg.  It is easier to interact with the ideas of a book when it is non-fiction.


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## Alice Y. Yeh (Jul 14, 2010)

What if the book isn't as plot-dependent? I read Austen knowing FULL WELL that the heroine/hero will live "happily ever after." What I enjoy are the clever phrasing, the ironic commentary, and other literary tidbits stuffed in here and there. Ruin it all you want - we all know that the alternate male lead is a cad.

That's Austen, though. In response to David's question about rereads, I think that each reading is a new experience, and for some books, it really will make a difference. Yes, I'll reread a murder mystery just to enjoy the story, but I want that thrill that comes from the first time through. You're allowed to tell me that there are a million suspects with plausible motives and airtight alibis. Please PLEASE don't tell me that Miss Scarlet did it in the ballroom with a lead pipe. I'll have to hunt you down with the anti-spoiler stick


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

I think I've already admitted certain genres such as the Mystery genre certainly make more sense with the 'No Spoiler!' mood.


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## Alice Y. Yeh (Jul 14, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> I think I've already admitted certain genres such as the Mystery genre certainly make more sense with the 'No Spoiler!' mood.


Whoops sorry about that! This is what happens when you read posts while sleepy.

Wouldn't it be lovely if Amazon let you give spoiler alerts to your reviews? Goodreads lets you put one of those up, and KB lets you black things out.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Alice Y. Yeh said:


> Wouldn't it be lovely if Amazon let you give spoiler alerts to your reviews? Goodreads lets you put one of those up, and KB lets you black things out.


Of course, that only helps if the person cares about giving away plot points. . . .many don't. . . . and if they do. . .they can certainly note it at the beginning of their review!


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I am very wary of reading reviews because so many times someone will not just give a small spoiler (which I could probably handle) but they feel like they must rewrite the entire book for their review. I mean come on already I want to read what the author wrote, not have someone tell me every bleedin twist and turn of the plot so there's nothing left for me to discover. If a review starts going down that direction, I skip it.


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## 13893 (Apr 29, 2010)

I hate spoilers and I've only looked at the back of a book once (to see if Harry was alive at the end). But I also like to read books and see movies more than once, and that's when I read reviews -- after the fact. 

I read/watch the first time for the sheer pleasure of finding out what happened. Doing it again is for the sheer pleasure of seeing how it happened, enjoying clues I missed the first time, or picking up on references I couldn't have known about without knowing the whole thing first.

The Sixth Sense is the best example. The first time through, I was focused on the boy and the Bruce Willis character. The second time through, I was blown away by what an amazing performance Toni Colette gave.

But I want to have that experience myself -- I don't want a reviewer to take it away from me. I guess that's why they're called spoilers!


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## Alice Y. Yeh (Jul 14, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> I am very wary of reading reviews because so many times someone will not just give a small spoiler (which I could probably handle) but they feel like they must rewrite the entire book for their review. I mean come on already I want to read what the author wrote, not have someone tell me every bleedin twist and turn of the plot so there's nothing left for me to discover. If a review starts going down that direction, I skip it.


I was confused when I first started seeing those sorts of reviews online. They weren't really saying anything new :scratches head:

(Your profile image is seriously awesome, btw. I was staring at it for a while, trying to trace the little moving circle.)


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

I don't mind it when a reviewer tells a little bit about the plot, but I won't read the reviews that go on and on about the storyline.  If I'm interested enough to read the reviews, I already have read the blurb and know what the story is about.  The details of the story I would rather find out as I read it.  And no no no on the major spoilers.  Just. Don't. Do. It.

Vicki


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

I don't like reading spoilers and make a conscious effort not to put them in when I'm writing a review. It's fine, though, if someone puts in a spoiler alert. The only time I'll read those is when I know I'll probably not read the book anyway.

Debra


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## stormhawk (Apr 29, 2009)

Definitely NO SPOILERS!! 

I want to know if a book is worth reading, if it excited or changed the reader, how that person responded to it. For details of plot I'll either read the back-of-the-book description. I try very hard not to include spoilers or even minor plot  details when I'm writing a review.


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## Shetlander (Mar 10, 2009)

rjkeller said:


> Siskel and Ebert ruined the twist ending of "Jagged Edge" in their review back in the mid-80's and I _still _haven't forgiven them for it.


I stopped reading Ebert until after I saw a movie since he can't stop giving away the plot. I'm interested in reivews, not book reports.


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## Cathymw (May 27, 2010)

CandyTX said:


> Definitely without. I am always careful about that when I do reviews myself. Another thing that annoys me is when they spend time (especially a lot of time) telling us the plot. Um, we can read the description for that. A quick sentence or two is fine, but seriously...


I've never understood why people do that in book reviews as well.

I think it's also a reason many people don't like to *write* reviews. They treat them like the dreaded book report where you had to summarize all the book details to prove to the teacher that you read the book. 

To me, I prefer reviews without spoilers and without a synopsis, and more with things like "I loved this book and really enjoyed the descriptions of the dairy farm. And I could really relate to main character since I also had childhood issues. I wish now I had taken the steps that the main character did as well."


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## D.A. Boulter (Jun 11, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> People who say knowing a spoiler or the ending ruin the book make me wonder. How many of you have watched a movie you liked, or read a book you liked, a _second_ time? Does that diminish your enjoyment? Ruin the fun? I mean, you have the ultimate spoiler already in having read the dang thing.
> 
> David Dalglish


That's an interesting point you bring up. I've reread a lot of books, some multiple times. But each read is a different read, each viewing is a different viewing. The author/screenwriter/director works hard to present a story in a certain manner. Information is given in, what is hopefully, a logical progression in order for the author to make that first read a memorable one. The reader/watcher's lack of knowledge of what is to come is important.

During a first reading/viewing, many (if not most) people enjoy being carried along into the unknown. They like surprises and they can only be surprised this once.

So, yes, being told a certain aspect of the story does ruin it for those readers/viewers. It ruins the first reading/viewing which one can never have again -- unless one has a poor memory.

The second and subsequent readings/viewings bring up different aspects of the reader/author relationship. They have a different purpose and can be as enjoyable or even more enjoyable than the first date . . . but they _are_ different. Thus the preliminary experience can be ruined by a spoiler even though the movie/book in and of itself is not ruined. Though people say, "David told me the ending and ruined the movie for me," the actual, more accurate statement is, "David told me the ending and ruined the _experience_ for me. The 'experience' being that initial date where one treasures the surprises, minor and major.

If you enjoy a movie like you say you enjoy 'The Dark Knight', you go back to it for a different experience. The return experience has much to do with where you are emotionally at the time of the re-viewing/rereading. You already know what is there, what happens, but you go back in order to fill some hole that you know needs filling. You don't go back for the initial surprise.

Thus I, too, don't appreciate spoilers. I want my relationship with the work to evolve from the first date, where all is new and wonderful, to the reminiscences of past joys, basking in the sunlight of both remembrance and familiarity. The spoiler ensures that the hard work of the author to place me in a certain spot at a certain time in order to work her magic will have been in vain.

And that's one reason that I hate writing blurbs for my books. Blurbs are spoilers of one sort or another. I told the story the way I told it for a reason. I didn't tell it the way I told it so I could tell it again in 10,000 less words. In my novel, I don't want to tell you that the heroine does a certain thing for a certain reason. I want you to find out about it by reading the first couple of chapters. But you aren't going to get to the first couple of chapters if I don't at least give you a hint about what is going to happen. You'll say, 'Why should I read this book if I don't know I'm going to like it?" And I have no good answer for that. My answer is, "Because it's a good book," but what to me is a good book might be trash to you. So we have the dreaded blurbs. But I still *hate* writing them.


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

June Shaw said:


> I definitely don't want spoilers. For me, that would be like flipping to the end to find out what happened.


Exactly! No spoilers for me. I don;t like them for TV & Movies either. I want to enjoy the ride, and be surprised. It's satisfying when you guess right about something, but also pretty cool when the authour manages to shock or surprise you.


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## stormhawk (Apr 29, 2009)

No spoilers, darn it. Is Psycho a better or worse movie when you know the secret? Or The Sixth Sense? Although worse might not be the right word to use here ... different, definitely. When you know you watch (or read) looking for the clues and hints that lead you to the conclusion, but the first time you're seeing the story while trying to both find those pieces and assemble them into a coherent whole.


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

I don't mind a little bit of book description in the review, as long as it's not just a retelling of what's in the 'official' blurb itself -- because all too often the blurb really doesn't tell a lot or, I've found in actually reading the books, has little to do with what the entire story is really about and only covers perhaps the intro of the story, when the rest of the story goes off on a whole 'nuther tangent.  There have been times that the blurb has been vaguely interesting but based on further general plot info in the reviews, I've decided that it's probably not one I'd want to read.  And I appreciate that info.  I usually don't consider that kind of info a spoiler, depending on how it's presented of course.

As to the original question, I don't like blatant spoilers in a review but at least if a reviewer is kind enough to mark it, I can skip reading it.


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## Holly A Hook (Sep 19, 2010)

No spoilers for me.  I like there to be some intrigue when I read a book, because if I'm dying to know what's going to happen, it keeps me reading.


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