Nollaig Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 I hate that most books don't start from page one. I KNOW there are more pages physically stuck in the book, but they're not 'reading' pages, they're usually somewhat gratuitious, other than the publishing details. I hate when books start at page 7 or 8, and you get to page 100 and you think 'ahhh I've read 100 pages' - but you haven't, you've only read 92. Does anyone else monitor how much they've read/have left to read, and get annoyed by this? Does anyone else like to keep track of the amount of pages they've read (in their blog/reading list) and find this annoying to accomodate? Does anyone else just find it annoying in general?!?! Quote
Janet Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Does anyone else monitor how much they've read/have left to read, and get annoyed by this? Does anyone else like to keep track of the amount of pages they've read (in their blog/reading list) and find this annoying to accomodate? Does anyone else just find it annoying in general?!?! Yes, yes and yes! I always finish my LJ reviews with "the book is x pages long... etc". I never cut off the pages at the beginning but I only ever count up to the page number the story finishes on - and my page numbers never tally with Amazon! Quote
pipread Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 It doesn`t bother me that much, but I do wonder why they number the pages the way they do. It would make more sense if they started the "reading" pages at number one. Quote
Ben Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 It doesn't annoy me as such. If I'm on page 100 I'll just say that I've read a 100 pages, even if I didn't start on one. Quote
Nollaig Posted February 19, 2009 Author Posted February 19, 2009 I'm too much of a perfectionist to do that. I have to be exact. Like on my reading list I've lost track of which books I've counted and which I haven't, so I'm going adding it all up again. Quote
Lucybird Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 It doesn't really bother me, but it would be nice if the story started on page one. I hate it more when there are loads of empty pages at the end of a book. It's disappointing when you think there are several pages of story left then it just ends Quote
Kell Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 I hate it more when there are loads of empty pages at the end of a book. It's disappointing when you think there are several pages of story left then it just ends That's what bothers me too - I can't help but think, "Where's the rest of the story?. Also, what a waste of paper, just having blank pages stuck in there at the end! Quote
Ben Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Well I don't normally add 'pages read' to my thread, but if I did, I would just go back and add the actual pages read. Quote
lexiepiper Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Yes, yes and yes! I always finish my LJ reviews with "the book is x pages long... etc". I never cut off the pages at the beginning but I only ever count up to the page number the story finishes on - and my page numbers never tally with Amazon! Ditto, it is a pain, I don't really understand why they do it tbh Quote
leah86 Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 I have to say that it doesn't really bother me that much..I do agree though about the awful waste of paper whatwith blank pages at the end of books Quote
Echo Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 I've never really thought about it. I'm sure it has something to do with the binding process. Quote
Lucybird Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 That's what bothers me too - I can't help but think, "Where's the rest of the story?. Also, what a waste of paper, just having blank pages stuck in there at the end! I've always thought it was a waste of paper too Quote
Talisman Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 The reason they do that is because of the way in which the pages are delivered from the printers. I remember being shown this when I did a one day course on proof reading. The pages are printed in multiples of 8 which are then cut and glued together to form the completed book. If the page count of the completed book is not divisible by 8, that means that are blank pages at the end. With print on demand the pages are done in multiples of 4, so the page count has to be divisble by 4. My book wasn't, so I added a bit about me at the back and some reviews at the front, as I wasn't going to pay for blank pages that weren't being used. I got the page count wrong though, and so still ended up with some anyway! Quote
Lucybird Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 I guess that makes sense. Wonder if that's why Jodi Picoult's books always have interviews and reader's guides and stuff at the end? Quote
leah86 Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 I guess that makes sense. Wonder if that's why Jodi Picoult's books always have interviews and reader's guides and stuff at the end? Ye thats an interesting theory. Okay makes sense now:D Quote
Seiichi Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 The pages are printed in multiples of 8 which are then cut and glued together to form the completed book. If the page count of the completed book is not divisible by 8, that means that are blank pages at the end. Just to add something about bookbinding. In traditionally bound books, sheets of paper are folded and grouped into signatures, which are then sewn together. The page edges opposite the spine are then trimmed so they become flush. If you have 4 sheets of paper per signature, then the total number of pages in the book will be a multiple of 16 pages. How the text is printed on each sheet will determine how many blank pages you'll have at the beginning or end of the book. Quote
Raven Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Does anyone else monitor how much they've read/have left to read, and get annoyed by this? Does anyone else like to keep track of the amount of pages they've read (in their blog/reading list) and find this annoying to accomodate? Does anyone else just find it annoying in general?!?! Wow, and I thought my OCD was bad! I always look up how many pages a book has when I start one, so I know how many I have left to read, but I've never kept track of the number of pages I've read. Having the actual story start on page 8 or 9 doesn't bother me either. Also, what a waste of paper, just having blank pages stuck in there at the end! Forget all that binding nonsense, blank pages are put at the end of books so you can re-write the ending if you don't like the one the author came up with! Quote
Lucybird Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Forget all that binding nonsense, blank pages are put at the end of books so you can re-write the ending if you don't like the one the author came up with! my uncle did that with the end of the fairytale about the woman and the pig, his ending was better Quote
Ben Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Forget all that binding nonsense, blank pages are put at the end of books so you can re-write the ending if you don't like the one the author came up with! Made me chuckle. Quote
Nollaig Posted February 19, 2009 Author Posted February 19, 2009 Wow, and I thought my OCD was bad! Oh you have NO idea Forget all that binding nonsense, blank pages are put at the end of books so you can re-write the ending if you don't like the one the author came up with! Brilliant Quote
Seiichi Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Forget all that binding nonsense, blank pages are put at the end of books so you can re-write the ending if you don't like the one the author came up with! That reminds me of some old books that have blank pages at the end with the heading "Notes". Quote
Raven Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 The only thing is the book where the ending is bad proplary woun't have any blank pages. That's what Post-It notes were invented for. Quote
Ceinwenn Posted February 20, 2009 Posted February 20, 2009 Oh Raven, you are a laugh! I don't count the number of pages I read, but it does annoy me that the "reading" section of the book doesn't start at page 1. Most annoying! Quote
anisia Posted February 22, 2009 Posted February 22, 2009 It doesn't bother me but my page count in my reading list is never the same with official sites because I always consider as the last page where the 'reading' part of the book ends and it usually has some pages after that Quote
Nollaig Posted February 22, 2009 Author Posted February 22, 2009 Oh Raven, you are a laugh! I don't count the number of pages I read, but it does annoy me that the "reading" section of the book doesn't start at page 1. Most annoying! We can both relax with The Shakespeare Secret, as it does begin on page 1! Quote
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