Slightly tangential, but Max's comment on letters reminds me of something I experienced with reading quite a few years ago. I'm guessing that many of us consider the size of the book when thinking about reading. If a book looks to be 400 pages, you have certain expectations (often subconsciously) than if a book is 200.
A couple decades back, I bought a used copy of Steinbeck's retelling of Arthurian legends, knowing it was the last thing he was working on when he died, and knowing that it was unfinished. Still, it was a hefty enough volume, so I was happily reading along and got to the all-important moment where Lancelot kisses Guinevere for the first time. Steinbeck set the scene perfectly. It was in an unused tower at Camelot, late at night, and it was pitch black. There may have even been a reference to a moonless night (or knight?). Anyhow, there I was, in rapt attention as the chapter ends with the scandalous kiss. Eager for more, I turned the page, and...
...letters. Letters from Steinbeck to his editor, letters from the editor to Steinbeck, sketches of what chapters might follow...but all just extraneous, extratextual addenda for surely 100 pages or more. It was definitely a shock, and not a welcome one. I couldn't help but imagine poor Steinbeck, on his deathbed, trying in vain to write a few more pages to prevent the cliffhanger, but alas.
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