Should a book say "The End" - Page 4

nashira · 01-05-2011, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wannabee

Opinionated. Uh huh!
My mates used to have a joke they made about me. After two cannibals ate me, one cannibal looked at the other and said "Mark doesn't agree with me. What about you?"
My wife used to laugh when she heard it.

Jaime_Astorga · 01-05-2011, 01:05 PM

No, it shouldn't. "The End" is just narmy. If it's a long, multi-part epic, maybe "fin" or something elegant like that could be appropriate. Like others said, there is usually a section after the end of the main content ("about the author" in fiction or "appendix" in nonfiction, for example) that tells you that you finished without needing to spell it out, not to mention other hints like denouement and a chapter called "epilogue", so it is redundant anyways.

Xanthe · 01-05-2011, 01:21 PM

I like "The End" to be used for ebooks.

I'm reading an ebook right now that has a quirk in its formatting. When I use the "large" font setting, it's dropping paragraphs here and there, causing no end of confusion. If I drop it down into the "medium" font, I'm getting the full story (though it's harder for me to see). Given the fact that ebooks often go through secondary and tertiary conversions, and the fact that authors often like to leave ending up in the air, having "The End" or "Finis" or "Fin" at the end of the story just is a nice courtesy to the reader.

HarryT · 01-05-2011, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xanthe

I like "The End" to be used for ebooks.

I'm reading an ebook right now that has a quirk in its formatting. When I use the "large" font setting, it's dropping paragraphs here and there, causing no end of confusion. If I drop it down into the "medium" font, I'm getting the full story (though it's harder for me to see).

Are you reading it on a Sony Reader, by any chance?

boxcorner · 01-05-2011, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaime_Astorga

No, it shouldn't. "The End" is just narmy. If it's a long, multi-part epic, maybe "fin" or something elegant like that could be appropriate. Like others said, there is usually a section after the end of the main content ("about the author" in fiction or "appendix" in nonfiction, for example) that tells you that you finished without needing to spell it out, not to mention other hints like denouement and a chapter called "epilogue", so it is redundant anyways.

Narmy sounds barmy to me.

patrickt · 01-05-2011, 09:19 PM

So, some say yes and some say no and I say I don't really care.

The End.

boxcorner · 01-06-2011, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patrickt

So, some say yes and some say no and I say I don't really care.

The End.

Here's the sequel.

Readerlover2011 · 01-07-2011, 04:25 AM

Natural ending is much better.

boxcorner · 01-07-2011, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Readerlover2011

Natural ending is much better.

That might work well for some paper books, but with an e-book where the reader is left hanging - by the storyline, so-to-speak (sorry about the pun), unsure whether the story has really ended, or not, and when nothing follows it in the form of any advertisement, or end notes, I think it could lead to confusion. The reader might think that part of the e-book has gone missing. Would you not agree?

rePete · 04-08-2011, 06:41 PM

no

but I'm partial to '- 30 -'

because in the newspaper writing/editing area that's how an article was indicated as done: I use it to indicate when a book I have is read, adding a date.

crich70 · 04-09-2011, 02:25 AM

Newspaper articles used to have --30-- at the end as the equivalent of "The End" for fiction books and stories. I think both have fallen by the wayside in a lot of cases now days. Take the Harry Potter books for example. Not one of the 7 has "The End" at the end of the book. Instead Ms. Rowling has a sentence that indicates a transition of sorts. Harry going home to Surrey or that his scar hasn't hurt for 19 yrs etc. You can let the reader know that the story is over without having "The End" in big block letters.

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01-05-2011, 01:05 PM	#47
Jaime_Astorga Member Retired Posts: 274 Karma: 4446 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Florida Device: PRS-350-SC: Sony Reader Pocket Edition	No, it shouldn't. "The End" is just narmy. If it's a long, multi-part epic, maybe "fin" or something elegant like that could be appropriate. Like others said, there is usually a section after the end of the main content ("about the author" in fiction or "appendix" in nonfiction, for example) that tells you that you finished without needing to spell it out, not to mention other hints like denouement and a chapter called "epilogue", so it is redundant anyways.

01-05-2011, 01:21 PM	#48
Xanthe Plan B Is Now In Force Posts: 1,894 Karma: 8086979 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Surebleak Device: Aluratek,Sony 350/T1,Pandigital,eBM 911,Nook HD/HD+,Fire HDX 7/8.9,PW2	I like "The End" to be used for ebooks. I'm reading an ebook right now that has a quirk in its formatting. When I use the "large" font setting, it's dropping paragraphs here and there, causing no end of confusion. If I drop it down into the "medium" font, I'm getting the full story (though it's harder for me to see). Given the fact that ebooks often go through secondary and tertiary conversions, and the fact that authors often like to leave ending up in the air, having "The End" or "Finis" or "Fin" at the end of the story just is a nice courtesy to the reader.

01-05-2011, 09:19 PM	#51
patrickt Wizard Posts: 1,221 Karma: 8381518 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Device: Paperwhite 4 X 2	So, some say yes and some say no and I say I don't really care. The End.

01-07-2011, 04:25 AM	#53
Readerlover2011 Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: none	Natural ending is much better.

04-08-2011, 06:41 PM	#55
rePete Connoisseur Posts: 78 Karma: 116768 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Where the Mississippi runs East to West Device: Pandigital Novel	no but I'm partial to '- 30 -' because in the newspaper writing/editing area that's how an article was indicated as done: I use it to indicate when a book I have is read, adding a date.

04-09-2011, 02:25 AM	#56
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Newspaper articles used to have --30-- at the end as the equivalent of "The End" for fiction books and stories. I think both have fallen by the wayside in a lot of cases now days. Take the Harry Potter books for example. Not one of the 7 has "The End" at the end of the book. Instead Ms. Rowling has a sentence that indicates a transition of sorts. Harry going home to Surrey or that his scar hasn't hurt for 19 yrs etc. You can let the reader know that the story is over without having "The End" in big block letters.

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