The Beginning or End?

Friday, January 20, 2011
Which do you enjoy more - the start of a book or the end?

I have been supposed to finish Siddhartha now for, oh, a few months.  It’s pretty pathetic that I am still on chapter 2 considering it probably has 120 pages if that.  I’ve read the book before at least twice but am re reading it with a group of my friends.  It’s proven to be harder than I thought.  Okay, bear with me.  I’m having a thought.  

 
It’s a short book.  I’ve read it before.  I am actively reading other things in my free time.  Why am I not reading this book?  Is there something in there?  I already know what it is about, is that the point?  Am I putting off reading my book intentionally for a reason, is what I am wondering.

I obviously enjoy the end of the book more than the beginning because it gives me that whole “I did it!” moment.  But then you are kind of let down because it’s over.  After you read the book, the story is over and you don’t get to spend that time with those characters.  You get used to having them in your day to day life because they are actively in it as you work your way through it, and then it is over.  

I read The Book Thief last year, and it was like that.  I read it in such small increments too (20-30 min. at a time) that it took me awhile, so I grew used to having a little bit of time with the characters.  After growing accustomed to something, you notice when it is removed from your routine, even if you barely have one; eventually it makes you sad. 

But when the book is over, where do the characters go?