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mind_the_umlaut t1_j6jdlcz wrote

Reply to comment by ohboop in The 10 Inalienable Rights of the Reader by swedish_librarian

My reading friends and I agree that there is a 'statute of limitations' on spoilers. I still insist on secrecy for books 100 years old or younger, but many of them are much more relaxed about it. After all, isn't the point of the story HOW they get to the crucial moments? And how their lives are affected afterward?

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Merle8888 t1_j6kg7ag wrote

Why the 100 year mark? I presume you haven’t been alive and reading adult literature for 100 years. There are far newer works that have entered the cultural zeitgeist to the point that it’s hard not to be spoiled just by living in the world (think Harry Potter or Twilight). There are far older works that most people don’t know—I doubt the average person on the street could tell you the major plot points or ending of a single work by George Eliot, let alone, say, George Gissing (perhaps my personal favorite Victorian novelist!).

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mind_the_umlaut t1_j6lox5v wrote

I'm being hyperbolic here, of course I'd better expect and be peaceful with finding out spoilers for Count of Monte Cristo or David Copperfield. I picked 100 years really randomly and for humor purposes. Everything that hits the public domain is free game for open discussion.

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ohboop t1_j6jit0o wrote

>After all, isn't the point of the story HOW they get to the crucial moments?

The point of reading can be whatever people want it to. The point when I read is to be entertained, and I am greatly entertained by subversion of expections, which necessarily goes against being spoiled in most cases.

Luckily for me my friend's ask before starting a conversation with me about literature, so I just ask them not to spoil me and they respect my wishes. If someone takes issue with that...well how weird of them to have strong opinions on me not wanting to be spoiled? Sounds like I'd have a hard time if my friends were like the people on this sub

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Character_Vapor t1_j6nd5bb wrote

>The point of reading can be whatever people want it to.

No, it's the how. At least historically speaking. Spoilerphobia is a modern ailment.

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