Let’s Talk Bookish: should there be a time limit on spoilers?

First day of the holidays and I baked some Christmas bread, went shopping in sweatpants with my mum and will soon head over to my besties to bake cookies and then join our parents and other friends for dinner. So, a lot happening on the first day off – anyways, onto the bookish part: today’s topic is a very controversial one: should there be a time limit on spoilers! As always, Let’s Talk Bookish is hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books!

Should there be a time limit: no

You may ask why, some books are over 100 years old, that should do it, doesn’t it? Well, no. The age simply doesn’t matter, there will always be new generations who have the right to enjoy the old books just as much as the older ones where some books may even be new. Had you been born now, you wouldn’t want Harry Potter to be spoilered for you, simply because you didn’t have the luck to be born 20 years earlier? That hardly seems fair.

Why not? Because books live off of twists and suspense.

I don’t want to read a book where I know of every twist and turn, that takes away all the suspense the author created specifically for every first time reader. Spoilers take away everything that reading is about: the gripping sensation of reading something and not being able to put it down, to wonder how the story will go on – that’s what reading is all about, isn’t it?

Simple solution: write a spoiler alert

I also love to talk about book developments in my reviews, but I always write a warning for everyone who still wants to read the book that they should simply skip the paragraph. Or I simply write two reviews. I understand that spoilers are super important for all the bookish discussions because that’s the interesting parts, but only for the people who already read the book.

All in all: I don’t think that there should be a time limit, there will always be a new audience who wishes to experience the books alone and without any knowledge of outcomes. I also tend to (sometimes) spoiler things in Harry Potter and for everyone’s sake I should probably work on that, but it’s so hard to keep in mind that maybe not everyone out here read the series and maybe wishes to someday…

That’s it for today – how do you feel about this sensitive topic? Feel free to comment! Wishing you all a very happy weekend and happy reading!