Maureen Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 looked at the ending? I must confess - I have done so on a few occasions. I still enjoy reading the book though. Some would argue that it would spoil the story for them. Have you ever done so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyanddandy Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Oooh! Never!! My son does this all the time - I can't believe it!! It spoils the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Yes, Yes I have, sometimes I can't wait to find out what happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laramie Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 I don't think I've ever looked at the end, but when I was young (well, younger!) and I was reading a really scary book I'd go on a few chapters and scan it just to check the character was still alive!! I don't really think it was cheating, and it never spoiled the book for me, I was just getting a bit of reassurance. I'm pretty much the opposite, now: I get really annoyed if I accidentally go on and see a bit of what happens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen1 Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 I have to admit I do quite often have a sneaky look at the back page. I don't necessarily read it but I do look to see what character names are mentioned in order to get an inkling as to what is going to happen. This is something that I am trying to stop though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedge Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 No, it all has to be a surprise for me, and I'm very rarely disappointed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 I used to, but not anymore unless I don't plan on finishing the book in which I don't care if I ruin it or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 No - I could never spoil the surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Never! I think it would spoil things for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nici Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Nope, never! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Never, never, never! The only reason I would look at the back pages is if it's 2nd hand - and that's just to check the pages are all there - I've been burned that way before! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icecream Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 No. I always flick to the end to see how many pages there are, and sometimes I catch a word or so, but I try not to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 No, I don't read the ending. The closest I've come was when I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time last year. I kept skipping ahead to all the Elizabeth/Darcy parts because I was desperate to see what happened between them (I had a pretty good idea how it was going to end, but I just wanted to see their interaction with each other). I do have a terrible tendancy to look ahead a few paragraphs or on the next page if I'm getting to a really good part of the book. I just sort of skim the text and read the good bit, then I have to go back and read the rest. It's really a struggle to keep on my eyes on the lines I'm supposed to be reading sometimes and I get very annoyed with myself for doing it Maybe I should cover the text with a piece of paper and slide it down. I know skipping ahead is going to be a problem when the new Harry Potter book comes out. This discussion brings to mind a quote from When Harry Met Sally: Harry: When I buy a new book, I read the last page first. That way, in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrathofkublakhan Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Eeek. I've heard of that, but never seen it. While I've been known to enjoy some ice cream before the main course -- I'd never rush to the denouement without savoring each tasty plot turn along the way in a book. I've even seen trailers for movies that show the ending -- I'm horribly offended to the point where I feel like a snob, but hey, I know what I like and how I want it to be like. Take me on the journey, I'll arrive at my own speed, thank you very much. I do have a terrible tendency to look ahead a few paragraphs or on the next page if I'm getting to a really good part of the book. I just sort of skim the text and read the good bit, then I have to go back and read the rest. It's really a struggle to keep on my eyes on the lines I'm supposed to be reading sometimes and I get very annoyed with myself for doing it Maybe I should cover the text with a piece of paper and slide it down. I know skipping ahead is going to be a problem when the new Harry Potter book comes out. Gadzooks! I've been known to get excited and find my eyes jumping about -- wishing I could read faster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angerball Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 It's really a struggle to keep on my eyes on the lines I'm supposed to be reading sometimes and I get very annoyed with myself for doing it Maybe I should cover the text with a piece of paper and slide it down. I tend to do this, which is why I use a bookmark to underline the line I'm reading, though sometimes something will catch my eye on the opposite page and I find myself reading a few lines. The only time I will skip to the end of a book, is when I've given up on it. It may be a lousy read, but I still want to know how it ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickythemaster Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 I look ahead all the time. I can't help it! The page will randomly open at a page a few chapters ahead of me and a line will jump out and catch my eye. I'll read a few lines. It doesn't ruin it for me because I don't know what context it's in and it motivates me to read the rest quicker so that I can get to that part and know what was meant by it or understand it's context. I have a tendency to read the last few lines of the book as well, I don't think I've ever read a book where I was able to restrain myself. It doesn't ruin it that much. There's usually a sort of wind down point after the climax isn't there? The last couple of lines don't usually spoil the entire book for me. I do try not to do it but my self control is astoundingly poor! Although I manage to justify it in the same way that Harry does in When Harry Met Sally. That way I don't feel too guilty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carm Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 i must admit i have cheated on occasion just to see if i could figure out if the ending was what i thought it would be- i tried doing that with the bourne identity by robert ludlum but it was making me crazy cause i couldnt figure it out so i stopped- carm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 No, I don't do that when I'm reading. Even if it is a dull book. I probably did that when I was little with Mr Men books or something, but I cannot remember doing that with a 'proper' reading book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitty Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I always did it when I was younger, and it would drive my mum mad. I dont do it anymore, because the last time I did it I found out somebody died. I was gutted, so that has stopped me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Nope, I've never done it! Not even when I was a kid. 'Though, I can understand why people would. It reminds me of a bit of When Harry Met Sally (one of my favourite films), when Harry says that he starts a new book, he always reads the end first so that if he dies, he'll know the end of whatever he was reading! I hope none of you do that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oblomov Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 I confess that I have done it a few times....very few. It is only when I want to be sure that my favourite character in the book does not die in the end . When I read Harold Robbins' The Adventurers some 35 years ago, I was very upset when Fat Cat gets killed in the end. After that, I have occasionally 'peered' to make sure that the same fate did not befall some other character that I had grown to like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laramie Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 So, Oblomov, what would you do if the character you liked DID die? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oblomov Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 So, Oblomov, what would you do if the character you liked DID die? To be honest, most of my 'peers' have not really been revealing and so I did not find out. I do not cheat enough to actually reveal the full ending. But if I do find out that my favourite character was going to die, I usually put away the book for a while.....but invariably go back to it a few months down the line. I read a lot of books set during WWII and so characters dying is commonplace. Since history cannot be changed, most of the time I know what's going to happen anyway. Still, there are a lot of very well written books set during WWII that I have read & re-read several times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 You're all going to yell at me, but I cheated with the last Harry Potter book. I read a few scenes near the end that completely spoiled the climaxes for me! Of course, I didn't stop reading then, but I wish I'd left well enough alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 You're all going to yell at me, but I cheated with the last Harry Potter book. I read a few scenes near the end that completely spoiled the climaxes for me! Of course, I didn't stop reading then, but I wish I'd left well enough alone. Would we shout?! I just couldn't do it. I think if I'd read the end, I wouldn't have wanted to continue reading it! Do you think you'll do the same on Saturday?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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