I'm on my first run through on Alan Wake. Well, my second if you count the first 20 minutes I had to replay after switching to Easy Mode ;p

I'm wondering how important the manuscript pages are. I'm having a bit of trouble with the combat scenes, so I'm loathe to run around more than absolutely necessary trying to find those pages.

Am I supposed to be reading them as I get them, 'cause they kind of spoil the story... but then, one I (actually found and) read gave me a hint that in my upcoming battle, I needed to run, not fight. @_@ <--genki confused! I missed a bunch of pages in the first chapter, and it looks like I've missed quite a few in the second, which I'm playing now.

What to do? Input greatly appreciated!

Short answer: They don't do anything. Neither to the coffee thermoses. They're just collectibles. They don't have any impact on the game.

They're only important if you want to know all the little subtleties to the story.

The pages are not spread out in the right order and some can only be found on the highest difficulty setting (which unlocks after completing the game), so don't worry about missing parts on the first playthrough. You are expected to stumble upon them and learn about upcoming story developments and dangers, but this information is not helpful nor does it spoil the story for you. I highly recommend you collect any pages you can find and read them, just don't go out of your way collecting them if it distracts you from the actual game. Much of the time they add to what you actually see and do in the game (like explaining what people are thinking) and sometimes they are just funny or interesting in some way, especially the rare ones you find on the highest difficulty setting. Remember, literature is a very important part of the theme of the game.

On a similar note, think about the TV sets showing Alan going crazy while actually writing the story in the cabin. Alan Wake is a very simple schlocky horror story made fantastic by presenting itself in several mediums within an over-the-shoulder shooter.

Thanks so much, that is very helpful (and thank you, too, hudfreegamer!) ^__^

On steam, there is achievement for manuscripts.
"Paging Mr. Wake"
"Picking Up After Yourself"
"Collector's Edition"

I do enjoy achievements, but I have the GOG version of the game :D

Oh, that's good to know, too, thank you!

And not only for the Story. You can gain some weapons in cases, only if you have same amoung of pages as a price. If you want to unlock all weapons, you must find at least 40 pages.