What would You Prefer To Read .. The Original Version Or The Abridged Version

Thiruvananthapuram, India
May 6, 2007 11:18am CST
You and me have a lot of work and little time to read. So how do we read a lengthy novel. Would you go for the abridged version ? I think that a good book receives acclaim for both its original version as well as its abridgment.
1 person likes this
13 responses
@mamasan34 (6518)
• United States
12 May 07
I have read both on occasion. I do prefer to read the original. I know it takes longer and you need more time, but I think it is more enjoyable to read the original rather than the abridged. I would rather know the entire story rather than a summary of it. So, I will take more time and take longer to read the book rather than shorter time and not have the story in it's entirety. But I do know that I have read the abridged versions of some and they are just as enjoyable!
2 people like this
@mamasan34 (6518)
• United States
28 May 07
Thanks for the best response rating! I am honored! Happy reading!
@Darkwing (21583)
6 May 07
If there was a novel that interested me enough, I would choose the original version. If you want to go back to it, you could read the abridged version just to refresh your memory on the story but nine times out of ten, once I've read a novel, I remember it and have not need to refer back. Brightest Blessings.
@craftwave (1338)
• United States
12 May 07
How do I read a lengthy novel? One page at at time. I usually read the originals. As a matter of fact I never really pay attention to if it is ariginal or abriged. If I see a book I want to read I read it.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
14 May 07
I read the original version. It may take more time, but you get more out of it. I remember getting the Readers Digest Condensed versions, and never liked them, especially when I finally obtained the original and found how much I missed. When my husband buys an audio book, he usually goes for the unabridged version.
• India
7 May 07
It is true that we finds it difficult to find out time to read novels. But an abridged form of novel will not serve any purpose for me since I am interested in "quotings" in the novel than its story.
1 person likes this
@federickp (607)
• India
12 May 07
I like to read original versions. I like originality let it be in anything. I hate remixes and rewritings because that is not a natural way of expression. I have read novels which are original, songs which are originally sung by those singers only... and i hate remixes like anything..!
@tentwo67 (3382)
• United States
6 May 07
Your title and your actual question are different in my opinion. If I wrote a lengthy novel I might be inclined to produce an abridged version to expand the audience. For reading, though, I go for the full version. There's more richness of detail and storyline that way. It's actually the same reason that I almost always prefer a book to a movie.
@vicky19810 (1600)
• China
12 May 07
yes friend,i would like to read original version than the abridged version.lol...
• United States
6 May 07
If is one of my favorite authors then the fatter the books the better as I do not want it to end.
@imsilver (1665)
• Canada
6 May 07
I'll read anything I can get my hands on. I've never really thought of the difference between the original and the abridged versions of stories until lately. I picked up the abridged version of I-Robot for my son to read. After he was done with it I read it quickly and I was not impressed. So much of the actually story was missing. Now I'm on the hunt for the original book for him to read.
1 person likes this
• United States
6 May 07
I would never read an abridged version of any book. If it's worth reading at all, then why read it with parts chopped out? I sometimes think a book should have been shorter, but that's the privilege of the author, not of anyone else. I usually enjoy long books, anyway, so I don't really have any motivation to read someone's idea of how much is too much.
• United States
6 May 07
i prefere the original myself
@13days (98)
• India
6 May 07
yes i would go for the abridge version....