Do spoilers ruin your enjoyment of a story?

The other day I was talking with a friend about movie spoilers and whether they ruin the experience of watching the movie, specifically spoilers that give away the plot twists in thrillers or mysteries. She mentioned a study that she’d heard about last year that examined spoilers and books.

I found this article referencing the study: Spoilers Don't Ruin Stories from The Huffington Post. It posed some interesting questions.

The author of the article asked, “is plot irrelevant, and is a story really about the process as opposed to the result? Or are there just two types of people in this world -- ones that enjoy spoilers and ones who don't?”

Other paraphrased points/questions the article raised:

• Is the value of a story in how it’s told?
• Do readers enjoy books where they know the outcome more because it’s easier to read?
• Does it lessen the stress of “negative” plot twists to know they are coming?

One of my nieces does three things to sample stories before she selects a book. She reads the first page, a page in the middle, and the very last page. She does this to get a sense of the style of writing to make sure it’s something she’ll want to read for an entire novel and to check that none of the characters she may come to care for are going to die in the end.

I imagine with only three sampled pages she might miss a major character dying off, but it seems to be a system that works for her. She devours books and speed-reads at an astounding rate. Apparently, knowing the end of the story does not diminish her enjoyment of reading. In fact, I’d say it helps her lessen the “severe emotional stress” the Huffington Post article refers to, so she can sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey.

To some extent, I can understand that. When I read a romance, I expect the two (or more) people the story is about to end up together and for the arc of their relationship to have a satisfactory, happy ending. This, of course, can be subjective. My definition of “happy” and someone else’s might not mesh. When I finish a romance and it doesn’t fit my brand of happy, I’m disappointed and wished I’d known the ending going into the book. I might have read it anyway or I might have picked a more romantic story.

What do you think? Do you mind spoilers for the books you read?

What about books that are heavy on mystery or suspense? Would you like to know how it all works out in the end before you start the book?

Sloan Parker
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