Lately I’ve been thinking about spoilers, and more specifically, the etiquette one should use when writing a book review. Do I need to post a “spoiler warning” in the title? Is there an expiration date on spoilers? Do people reading a book review blog expect to read spoilers?
Not too long ago I was having a conversation with two friends. I knew that both people were Harry Potter fans, and it had been quite a while since the last book came out. Since, in my opinion, any *real* Harry Potter fan would have finished the book long ago, I felt completely ok with discussing my feelings about J.K. Rowling allowing Harry to survive the series (totally a mistake, if you ask me, but oddly; she didn’t consult me). As soon as the words came out of my mouth, one of my friends said “WTF!!! I haven’t finished the book yet! You ruined it!”. My first reaction was to feel bad. As a reader, I respect the reading process. I’d never intentionally ruin a book for someone. I apologized profusely and felt terrible for the rest of the conversation.
Later, as I had time to think about it, I changed my opinion. Dude had PLENTY of time to read the book; it had been out for AT LEAST six months when this conversation took place. I finished the book within 24 hours of its release and this asshat can’t finish it in six months? Even my stepfather, Ken, who read at a snail’s pace, finished the book within a month.
So that brings me back to my original point. Shouldn’t there be a shelf-life on spoiler alerts? Don’t get me wrong, I’m never going to go around intentionally spoiling books for my fellow readers. But there comes a point when, if you haven’t gotten around to reading a culturally significant book, that you have to accept that it’s going to be discussed in your presence. If you really care about a book *that* much, move it up on your priority list. If you let the final installment of Harry Potter languish on your bookshelf for six months then you don’t deserved to call yourself a Harry Potter fan. You might as well just wait for the movie to come out…
Books are my Drug of Choice 
It seems unclear to me whether you’re meaning in personal conversations here or in print/online media. However, as you have said that you are wondering about whether to put such a thing in the title of a post, I am looking at it from the blogging perspective.
I have to say I completely disagree with this post. I think that the very people who are coming to look at book reviews are often the people who are looking to see if the book is worth reading, and they are choosing your column to judge this by. It seems unfair to reward this with spoiling. If you’ve read the book already, you will inevitably care more about your own opinions than those of the reviewer, and while there is a great deal of value in reading a review of a book you’ve finished, the original purpose of reviews is to tell a reader whether it’s worth his/her time to get into the book or not.
I also think that it’s wrong to say that because a book is old or not recently released, spoiler alerts are no longer needed. Good books, unlike a lot of other media, have no expiration date. You can come late to the party or early, and the story will still be fresh and readable. I know I often wait to read a just-released book because I have three others in line before it, and I (out of some perversion of democracy) feel it would be unfair to let the book cut the line. This goes especially for books like To Kill a Mockingbird. Some generations are just now getting old enough to appreciate this book, and yet it (somewhat) recently had an anniversary, so many journalists re-reviewed the book.
Finally, I think the “spoiler alert” signal doesn’t hurt the reviewer to put it up, but it will hurt the reader if he accidentally reads a spoiler. Frankly, I just think it’s worth the bit of time it takes to put out the warning.
Kate:
Thanks for your thoughts!
For me, once things have reached a certain “age”, I give up my “right” to read it without the ending being potentially spoiled. For example; I purposely avoided discussing Harry Potter for quite some time, and even for a few months after I finished the books, I would ask my conversation partner if they had finished yet before continuing with my thoughts. I respect that my reading pace is faster than most, and that not everyone makes reading the priority that I do. But after a certain time, particularly with something as widely popular as the Harry Potter series, I do think that one gives up their “right” to be sheltered from spoilers. Had I waited 3 months to read the book and someone spills the ending, it’s my fault for not having made that particular book a priority.
As far as classics go, I don’t expect ANY protection from spoilers. Even the book “1,001 Books to Read Before You Die” gives spoilers, and there are definitely no warnings before you read the reviews. I view reading those books more as a right-of-passage and an appreciation for great literature than as something I expect to be surprised by. Does that mean I deliberately seek out spoilers in advance? Of course not, but I’m not going to get bent of of shape if I hear the ending ahead of time.
That being said, I will take your advice and put a spoiler warning in each of my posts. I think rather than putting it in the title, I’ll put a warning “Tittle and Author being discussed – spoilers likely). I do respect that not everyone shares my opinions on spoilers having a shelf-life, and I certainly wouldn’t want to intentionally ruin a good read for someone!