Where/How Do You Stop When There's No Natural Breaks In A Book? (4/3/22)

[Marc]

Some books have no chapters. Some have little to no punctuation or paragraph breaks. When you're reading a book with no natural breaks in the text (chapters, sections, paragraphs, periods at the end of a sentence), how/where do you choose to stop? Is it always the same approach or does it vary by book? Does your general stop-approach regardless of natural breaks in the narrative vary by reading type (paper copy, e-book, audio)?

[Robert]

In the case of book without any chapters, i set myself page limits - Usually it's a 100, if the book is more challenging then 50 but if I'm going with the flow, then when I'm tired

[Marc]

I set page limits, too, sometimes.
I always stop on a left-handed (or, even-numbered) page if it's a paper copy (unless it's a new chapter/section) and I'll pick a consistent stopping point (e.g., if there are no paragraphs, I'll stop at the end of the first sentence; if there are no sentences, I'll stop 3 lines down). I do the same with e-books, except I pay no attention to the pg numbers being even/odd since there's no "left" or "right" pages. If there are paragraphs, I'll just stop at the end of the first paragraph.

[Hugh]

I prefer to stop at a sentence break, but in books with very long sentences I will stop anywhere, and repeat a few lines when I resume, usually starting at a comma.

[Lark]

I recently read Interstate by Stephen Dixon (which I recommend) and because of its relative lack of periods and paragraphing I read more pages than I usually do. It felt necessary to get to the end of an idea, and the compulsive no-stopping rhythm was part of its meaning.

When I did stop I found I needed to mark the margin with a pencil, and to begin there when I started again.

I recommend this book. It couldn't have been written any other way. Its formatting challenges weren't just to upset me--they created meaning.

[Simona]

I usually stop with the logical encapsulation of an idea/event in the narative - can be a comma, semicolon or just a natural pause. The longest sentence I ever read was about 80 pages, in Marquez's "Autumn of the patriarch". Didn't even realize where time went, but then again I assume that's how it goes when the story flows so seamlessly. On the other hand the lack of punctuation is exactly the reason why I didn't read Joyce's Ulysses yet, so looking forward to the other answers on this thread.

[Emmeline]

I stop when it's time to get off the bus. :-)

[Hugh]

Emily wrote: "I stop when it's time to get off the bus. :-)"

A dangerous game - I have been known to miss my stop for that reason...

[Marc]

I used to just keep reading as I walked when I got off the subway for my commute (been working from home fulltime since March 2020 so no train rides). But you still have to remember where you left off (or you just reread from the start of the page).

[Julie]

I stop at the end of a paragraph, preferably the first one at the top of the left hand page. But sometimes I will get interrupted and stop somewhere else at the end of a paragraph. If there are no paragraphs at all, or even worse, super long sentences, I will not read the book. My brain just cannot handle that kind of chaos.

[Tracy]

I have discovered some ingenious bookmarks- they are magnetic and folding, about an inch long and 3/4 inch wide. The best feature is an arrow on one side, so I can stop pretty much anywhere.

If I finish a page, I’ll tag the top of the page to read next with the non-arrow side.