Anna Karenina. A book that has so many intersecting stories that a synopsis on the jacket would be hard to write let alone to read. You’re better off skipping it and going straight for the story itself.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The beginning had me scratching my head and wondering if I was going crazy. Enter the summary on the back of the book. Suddenly the setting for the story became clear and I was ready to enjoy the book.
Just about every book has a synopsis, or summary if you will, on it or in it. For the most part I avoid them.
Why?
I have found that, if it accurately reflects the book, the summary takes away the journey and leaves you with the information and desire to race to the finish. Then where are you? You’ve been told what the book is supposed to be about, what you are supposed to take away from it and ultimately what to think about it overall. And that is all assuming that what you read on the back cover is in fact what the book is even about. So often these synopsis give a glorified version of what one person thinks the story is about and then when you read the book you are left wondering if you missed something or if maybe the printer had put the wrong story in the wrong cover.
Now, I’m not saying that there is no reason for a little sneak peek of what’s under the hood. Maybe you don’t have any interest in a steamy romance and are instead looking for a grisly murder mystery. Reading the jacket is the best bet to getting what you want. If you’re a person who devours one genre but doesn’t enjoy straying into other, unknown territories then by all means, read that cover!
But, if you’re a reader who likes to live dangerously then I suggest you pick up your next book and, without looking at the synopsis, dig in. You may be pleasantly surprised or absolutely horrified but either way you will go into it with an attention that you wouldn’t have before. You won’t be looking for landmarks, you’ll be enjoying the journey. But, if you just absolutely have to read that cover, don’t feel bad. Just remember that there is so much more to a story than what is sold on the back. Well, I hope so anyway.
You can get Anna Karenina, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and many more at our online sister store SugarCreekBooks.
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