[AlbatrossLover] This might be a strange question

[AlbatrossLover]

A man starts reading a book. He's already familiar with the story, and the book is in a language he understands, yet he finds it really difficult to comprehend what's going on with the story at first. Why?

[Balin]

Is the story the same edition as the one he is familiar with? Is it a new one? Does it come with a preface?
Is the book nonfiction? Fiction?

[AlbatrossLover]

Is the story the same edition as the one he is familiar with? Yope Is it a new one? No Does it come with a preface? No/Irrelevant Is the book nonfiction? Fiction? This

[Balin]

Is the genre of the mystery relevant?
Is the story in a different type of language? Different Shakespearean content relevant?

[AlbatrossLover]

Is the genre of the mystery relevant? No (and a small FA since the story's main genre isn't mystery but not really relevant) Is the story in a different type of language? No Different Shakespearean content relevant? No

[GalFisk]

Would others have the same problem with this book? Did the book's author intend for this problem to occur? Is the man having a stroke or other brain/mind malfunction?

[wunderland]

Is he familiar with the story from having previously read the same physical book? another identical copy? a book in which the story is told using the same words in the same order, but with some other relevant difference from the book he is now reading? another book? or has he previously encountered the story in a non-book medium? such as a film?
Is it the sort of story where knowing the ending seems to change the meaning of the start?
Does he start at the beginning and proceed through the pages in the usual order?
Is it a printed book? an ebook? relevant?

[Balin]

Is he reading in Braille?

[AlbatrossLover]

GalFisk
Would others have the same problem with this book? Depending on certain factors, yes. Did the book's author intend for this problem to occur? No Is the man having a stroke or other brain/mind malfunction? No

wunderland
Is he familiar with the story from having previously read the same physical book? another identical copy? a book in which the story is told using the same words in the same order, but with some other relevant difference from the book he is now reading? another book? or has he previously encountered the story in a non-book medium? this, no to rest such as a film? but not this
Is it the sort of story where knowing the ending seems to change the meaning of the start? Irrelevant/FA
Does he start at the beginning and proceed through the pages in the usual order? Yes-ish
Is it a printed book? an ebook? relevant? some factors make it more likely to be the latter, but not really relevant to the solution

Balin
Is he reading in Braille? No

[Balin]

Has he seen a stage production of the story? Heard an audio recitation of it?

[GalFisk]

Is it a nonlinear book? Choose your own adventure? Are the orders of events in the book different from the other work?

[irishelk]

Is it a widely-known story that's often told orally or in other forms? Like a fairy tale? Is it a true story?

Does he find it difficult because it is different than the story he is familiar with? Does he understand the story as it is written, but is confused because it seems unfamiliar? Or is he actually finding it difficult to comprehend the plot?

[Doriana]

Character names relevant? Does the book use different names than the ones that were used in whatever version of the story he's familiar with? If so, translations relevant? (I remember struggling with HP7 in French because they localized almost all of the character/place names...)

[AlbatrossLover]

Balin
Has he seen a stage production of the story? Heard an audio recitation of it? No to both

GalFisk
Is it a nonlinear book? Choose your own adventure? Are the orders of events in the book different from the other work? No to all

irishelk
Is it a widely-known story that's often told orally or in other forms? Like a fairy tale? Is it a true story? No to all

Does he find it difficult because it is different than the story he is familiar with? Does he understand the story as it is written, but is confused because it seems unfamiliar? Or is he actually finding it difficult to comprehend the plot? This (or more specifically finding it difficult to understand the story as its being told), no to the rest

Doriana
Character names relevant? No Does the book use different names than the ones that were used in whatever version of the story he's familiar with? If so, translations relevant? ]Not in the way the preceding questions imply. In general, Yope(I remember struggling with HP7 in French because they localized almost all of the character/place names...)

The FA I pointed out in the previous batch of questions isn't present in any of the questions above, but figuring out what it is might help.

[Doriana]

Is something wrong with his copy of the book? Are the pages in the wrong order? Are there pages missing?

[biograd]

The "No" answer to the question about "often told orally" eliminated my two first guesses, which were "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut" and "N'heures Souris Rames" (those of you unfamiliar with either or both of those should look them up--they're good and funny).

Anyway, would he have the same problem with any copy of this particular book? or is there something unique about this one?

Is the FA that there is only one story involved? that the story has only one beginning and one ending?

[AlbatrossLover]

Doriana
Is something wrong with his copy of the book? No Are the pages in the wrong order? No, but this line of thinking is somewhat OTRT Are there pages missing? No


biograd
Anyway, would he have the same problem with any copy of this particular book? this or is there something unique about this one?

Is the FA that there is only one story involved? No that the story has only one beginning and one ending? Saying yes/yope to this feels too misleading for something that's not directly relevant to the solution so I'll clarify: the FA was that the story already had an ending.

[GalFisk]

Is the problem cause by: him? The book? The author? Is it deliberate? Does he expect it to occur when deciding to read the book? Does he want it to occur? Does it add to his experience? Is he reading it for pleasure? As part of his work? As a hobby? In order to proofread? Edit: does his comprehension get better with time? If so, becuase the book is more comprehensible? Because he gets better at comprehending it?

[klondike mary]

Is the story 'based on a real-life occurrence' ? Does the reader have a different viewpoint/ opinion about the occurrence or its outcome than the author?

[irishelk]

Is the story completely written yet? If not, is it part of a series? Was it intentionally left unfinished or with a vague ending? Did the author not have a chance to finish it in their lifetime? Are they still writing it? Is the man the author?

[AlbatrossLover]

GalFisk
Is the problem cause by: him? this-ish The book? The author? Is it deliberate? NoDoes he expect it to occur when deciding to read the book? No Does he want it to occur? NoDoes it add to his experience? No Is he reading it for pleasure? Most likely this but irrelevant As part of his work? As a hobby? In order to proofread? Edit: does his comprehension get better with time? YesIf so, becuase the book is more comprehensible? Because he gets better at comprehending it? Yope


klondike mary
Is the story 'based on a real-life occurrence' ? Does the reader have a different viewpoint/ opinion about the occurrence or its outcome than the author?No to both

irishelk
Is the story completely written yet? NoIf not, is it part of a series? Yes, but maybe not in the way you're thinking Was it intentionally left unfinished or with a vague ending? Did the author not have a chance to finish it in their lifetime? Are they still writing it? this Is the man the author? No

[Doriana]

Is the book published in installments?
Fan fiction relevant?

[AlbatrossLover]

Doriana
Is the book published in installments? Yes
Fan fiction relevant? No

[wunderland]

When he "starts reading" the book does he start at the first installment? The first one he hasn't already encountered? A later installment that he thinks is the first one he hasn't already encountered?

[Doriana]

Relevant where the installments are published? Are some installments published in outlet A, and some in outlet B, but he only reads one of the two?

[AlbatrossLover]

wunderland
When he "starts reading" the book does he start at the first installment? this, no to rest The first one he hasn't already encountered? A later installment that he thinks is the first one he hasn't already encountered?

Doriana
Relevant where the installments are published? Are some installments published in outlet A, and some in outlet B, but he only reads one of the two? No to both, OTWT

[Doriana]

Does he skip installments?

[wunderland]

Have some of the earlier instalments been altered since he previously encountered them? perhaps the author took the story in a new direction and needed to change some earlier details as a result? to confirm: is there just one author?
Was the version of the story that he previously encountered, simply some instalments of the book in (electronic) print?
Did the man previously encounter the story using his sense of: sight? sound? touch? (less likely I suppose, but this is the LTPF:) taste? smell?
Were the instalments published in the same order as they appear in the book?

[AlbatrossLover]

Doriana
Does he skip installments? No

wunderland
Have some of the earlier instalments been altered since he previously encountered them? No perhaps the author took the story in a new direction and needed to change some earlier details as a result? No to confirm: is there just one author? Yes
Was the version of the story that he previously encountered, simply some instalments of the book in (electronic) print? No, it was an adaptation in a different medium
Did the man previously encounter the story using his sense of: sight? this... sound? and this, no to rest. touch? (less likely I suppose, but this is the LTPF:) taste? smell?
Were the instalments published in the same order as they appear in the book? Yes

[irishelk]

So, does the book consist of the parts of the series, which were previously published separately, now compiled? Does the man's confusion stem from his not knowing that the story was published serially? Does the book present this information in a way that confuses him? e.g., it includes the date of original publication before each section?

Are the installments relevantly episodic? Or relevantly connected in a bigger story? Cliffhangers at all relevant? Does each installment re-introduce the characters or situation?

[JenBurdoo]

pm sent.

[AlbatrossLover]

irishelk
So, does the book consist of the parts of the series, which were previously published separately, now compiled? yes Does the man's confusion stem from his not knowing that the story was published serially? NoDoes the book present this information in a way that confuses him? e.g., it includes the date of original publication before each section? No/irr

Are the installments relevantly episodic? Or relevantly connected in a bigger story? Cliffhangers at all relevant? Does each installment re-introduce the characters or situation? No/irr to all


JenBurdoo
pm sent That's it!

Hint: Think about what kinds of books would be published this way.

[irishelk]

Is it the trade paperback of a comic book? If so, is it somehow very different than a movie that was later made from it? Do the characters look very different?

Is it a serial from an old magazine? I was initially thinking Conan Doyle or Mark Twain...anything along those lines?

[AlbatrossLover]

irishelk
Is it the trade paperback of a comic book? Not exactly this, but it is indeed a collection of comic book installments. If so, is it somehow very different than a movie that was later made from it? Do the characters look very different? No to both, there are no relevant differences between what the man is reading and the adaptation he's familiar with.

Is it a serial from an old magazine? I was initially thinking Conan Doyle or Mark Twain...anything along those lines?No to these

[Enjay]

Has he read comic books before? Does he have difficulty understanding how to follow them?

[AlbatrossLover]

Enjay
Has he read comic books before? Yes, but... Does he have difficulty understanding how to follow them? Not comics in general, but...

[Balin]

Not quite comic books - is he reading manga? Starting at the wrong end of the book?

[AlbatrossLover]

Balin
Not quite comic books - is he reading manga? Yes!Starting at the wrong end of the book? Not exactly this but basically the same concept.

******SPOILER******


The man is reading a manga volume for the first time, after having already watched its Anime adaptation. He intends to read the first few chapters quickly, since he already knows what happens, but as he isn't aware that the panels are meant to be read right to left the dialogue and story seem to be quite confusing until he realizes his mistake.

Based on a somewhat infamous post in the Attack on Titan reddit, where someone allegedly read the first 45 chapters of the manga without realising how the pages are meant to be read. The title is a reference to that series.

Congratulations to JenBurdoo and Balin for finding the solution, and thanks again to everyone for playing!

[irishelk]

Aw, good one! I know this in theory about manga, but it always takes me some time to adjust when I open one.