The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/08/promiscuous-reading.html

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/mar/13/why-finish-books/

After reading these two articles, I got to wondering about the importance of finishing books. I try to read only one at once so that I can finish it without being promiscuous, but occasionally I don't finish one and this leaves me with great feelings of guilt and failure.  But, should that be so?  The information age has reorganized information into discreet units and changed these units at the fundamental level.  It has shown us, for example, that the album does not have to be the proper unit of music, the track itself can now stand on its own.  When a work is cognitized and placed into our mental warehouse of information is the linear nature of beginning, middle, and end a necessary part of that experience and of that information?  After watching a movie, the significant elements might just be a scene or two, or even a line of dialogue.  Perhaps just he visuals of the cinematography are important.  Unless a story centers on beginnings or endings, the start and end can seem a bit arbitrary anyway, especially in the era of ongoing sequels.  And, in the postmodern age, non-linearity becomes more interesting, as re-juxtaposing scenes in a "random shuffle" fashion becomes a more significant element of form. When viewing a painting it doesn't always seem necessary to understand the entire story and context.  Just seeing a depiction of a particular world is sometimes enough.  It seems plausible that this can be transposed to the world of text and just comprehending the world created might be enough.

Of course, non-fiction works present more problems.  Hopefully the author develops a progression of propositions that lead to a conclusion.  However, it is rare that most works follow that form, even in modern philosophy.  The thought process is often obscured and not as organized as it should be.  Perhaps, if done correctly, each chapter can stand as discrete element of discourse.  Furthermore, just by reading a significant insight found within a book, a useful conception might be formed in one's database.

I don't think I can change my practice of finishing works. But, in a universe formed by an ever-expanding plurality of perspectives, it seems that the future of information may involve reduction to significant and discreet points.