Best part of a book

[Violanthe]

Which part of a book—beginning, middle or end—do you find the most interesting or engaging? Which do you find most pivotal for the success of a good story? Which part, when flawed, can most easily ruin an otherwise great book?

 

[abecedarian]

Which part of a book—beginning, middle or end—do you find the most interesting or engaging? Which do you find most pivotal for the success of a good story? Which part, when flawed, can most easily ruin an otherwise great book?

Really, those are the three pivotal places in any book that had better be terrific, or I'll be sorely tempted to fling them back to the bookbag or shelf.

 

[Ronny]

I went with the middle, there's the build up in the beginning, the story in the middle and then the wrap up at the end. That's how I think of it anyways.

 

[Anamnesis]

I voted for "the beginning", although in response to the question "Which part can ruin an otherwise great book?" I selected "the end". The beginning and middle can be fantastic, but if the end is disappointing then the whole book is marred as a result. So why did I vote for "the beginning"? I've always liked reading them the best for some reason...

 

[SFG75]

Great topic!. I'm one who prefers the middle. Actually, I prefer something between the beginning and the middle to be more precise. I love.....live for the part where the plot starts to thicken and the pace quickens. It's hard to state exactly where that belongs in a lot of books, but when it does occur, that's when you first know that you are hooked and that you can't put the book down.

 

[KristoCat]

I couldn't have said it better myself, SFG

 

[Violanthe]

The middle for me. That's most of the book, after all.

 

[dragondrool]

Definitely the middle, when I get absorbed and life keeps interrupting the good parts.

I sometimes tend to rush the reading of the last three chapters a lot, so the last part is the last section I would choose for the poll.

 

[-Carlos-]

The end of a novel. How the story ends up is great. If it is a superb writer neither the beginning, middle or end. I would instead say the whole thing.

 

[ions]

The part that is written best.

 

[onetwentypm]

I voted for the beginning because I just love the fresh anticipation of wondering where the book will take me.

 

[Violanthe]

The part that is written best.

That works out well if the beginning or middle is written best. But if an ending is written heads above the rest of the book, it won't get appreciated so much because not as many people will get to it.

 

[-Carlos-]

I did not vote, sorry. The reason: I believe that a book must be viewed as a whole and not in parts- beginning, middle, and end. A story developes and changes with each page so to divide it does not make any sense. Anyway, that's my angle.

 

[Wintergreen]

If you let me redefine the middle as the point at which you really get into a book and forget that you're reading, then I'd go for that. For some books, of course, this doesn't happen until sometime after the end of the story.

 

[Heteronym]

I agree with Crimson King.

One can't break up a novel. If the writer has done his job properly, then each part is inseparable from the other, each moment builds on the previous one and whets one's apetite for the next.