Echo Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 I'm not planning to read the new book until maybe next month, when I can afford to start buying books again. I know that I won't be able to avoid spoilers, but I don't think they'll bother me too much. Even though I read the end of the last one, and it sort of spoiled it for me, I still enjoyed it very much, and read it all in one sitting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazeltree Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 I don't go and read the ending but I have flicked through the book once or twice if it has looked like someone has died - just to see their name and check they are ok! I did that with one of Diana Gabaldon's books - I just couldn't bear the thought that the character had been killed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasei Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 I don't think I could bring myself to read the end of a book before its time even if I wanted to. Just the thought of it is making me cringe, literally. xD I guess I'm too much of a stickler for not knowing the ending (or much of anything really. I like to go into books without even knowing the premise sometimes, just to surprise myself. I've found a number of unexpected favorites this way) to read the last pages...or even to skip ahead. To me, if I see a character's name at the end of a book then it ruins it for me during the reading every time it looks like that character might die, or has died, because I know that they will be fine in the end. Saps all the fun and suspense out of it in a way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteffieB Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Only a rare few times, when I am bored with the book and want to cut to the chase. I can only think of one or two books in recent history, so I hope this doesn't reflect poorly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergran71 Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 No never never ever, spoils the story. I do sometimes peep over at the next page though!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danna Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 I only peek at the end of the book if I am not enjoying the book and am thinking of not finishing it. There are too many books in my book shelf that are good... why waste time on something I'm not enjoying. But, I always have to know the end... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazeltree Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I like to go into books without even knowing the premise sometimes, just to surprise myself. I like to do that too - in fact I did with the new HP - I couldn't bear the thought of knowing anything about it before I read the book myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I never read the ending. It would ruin the whole book for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merflerher Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I notice most people have said 'no' to this - yet, if you re-read a book, surely you already know the ending - so what do you do, temporarily forget it? It doesn't bother me if I know the ending to a book, or a film for that matter, and I frequently look at the ending, particularly if I'm getting bored, to see if it's worth carrying on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 In comparison to the amount of books I read, very few of them are actually re-reads, and when I do re-read a book, it tends to have been quite some time in between readings, so chances are I've forgotten much of what happens - there are only a very few that I have re-read multiple times (The Stand and The Chronicles of Narnia being two examples), and each time I read them, I discover something new. There have also been occasions where I've read a book and finished it, only to realise on the last few pages that I've read it before! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I notice most people have said 'no' to this - yet, if you re-read a book, surely you already know the ending - so what do you do, temporarily forget it? It doesn't bother me if I know the ending to a book, or a film for that matter, and I frequently look at the ending, particularly if I'm getting bored, to see if it's worth carrying on! It depends what kind of book I'm reading. I would never reread a thriller or a whodunnit, for example, because the main point of reading the book is to find out whodidit, or uncover some secret. But with some books, it's more about the reading than the ending, if that makes sense. For example, I have read To Kill A Mockingbird a number of times, and although I know what happens, I just love the writing and reading the story again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merflerher Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 I would never reread a thriller or a whodunnit, for example, because the main point of reading the book is to find out whodidit, or uncover some secret. I've just been re-reading all my Ngaio Marsh's, some for about the fourth/fifth time. It doesn't matter that I know whodidit, the pleasure is in meeting an old friend again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merflerher Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 There have also been occasions where I've read a book and finished it, only to realise on the last few pages that I've read it before! Yes, I've done that too. When I worked in public libraries, I'd frequently find little marks or initials on the back page, from readers trying to make sure they didn't pick up the same book again. Can't do that in Waterstones though! What I find annoying is the way publishers use the same picture for bookcovers; or they issue a book with two different covers...the number of times I've bought duplicates:roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 This puts me in mind of that old quote about the journey being more important than the destination. Very true. Even if the path is well-trodden, it doesn't become any less exciting to walk! I re-read a lot of books and I can't imagine only wanting to read a book once (unless I really didn't enjoy it). I think re-reads can be good because you might miss something the first time around or you might be able to better understand the events leading up the conclusion. And sometimes I do forget the ending, or important events leading up to it (even in the latter Harry Potter books I recently re-read!) As for mysteries, I don't read too many. I know if I ever get around to dusting off my Nancy Drew books, they'll all seem brand new to me because I've forgotten everything that happens! Ruth, I love To Kill A Mockingbird too. I re-read it recently for the first time in years, and it will be getting read a heck of a lot more in future, that's for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratna Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 I would never read the ending of a good book or a book that I'm enjoying. I like to be surprised. But if a book turns out to be really boring halfway through, I might read the ending just to finish it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icecream Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 I am tempted to look at the title of the last chapter in Harry Potter, but i am not going to. I know what it will probably be about and I don't want to spoil it. The titles give too much away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbles Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 I used to read the last few lines/page of a book when I was a lot younger but I found it totally ruined it for me. I'd end up spending the rest of the book trying to work out how it got to those last lines... If I wasn't enjoying a book, i.e. it was a real struggle to see if it would pick up, I'd just give up reading it as, by that point, I didn't care how it ended! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.