When deciding which narrative book to read I’m always torn between two options:
- Read the book without guidance
- Read a summary first
Both of the two strategies did me good, and sometimes dirty, so which one is the best?
The two strategies
Inspecting the summary of a book isn’t a bad idea when deciding what to read.
I go for summaries that are not too long or rich, and that don’t have many spoilers.
Long summaries are the devil, because they tell almost everything, ruining the experience.
Not having an efficient memory makes it even worse. When I approached The Beach by Alex Garland I read a summary from the internet that said too much. I wasn’t even able to place the events on the correct timeline while reading. It was a fussy mess.
To avoid that I ask ChatGPT for a brief zero-spoiler summary to see if the story clicks with me.
With that tactic I’m able to decide if I want to read a specific book or not, dodging ugly reading rendezvous.