I know, I know, it's probably weird and I'm probably the only one who does this but I actually peek at a book's ending. Usually I peek before I start to read because it's absolutely necessary for me to know how it ends. If it's not a happy ending I usually don't read it anymore. Or if I'm in at the climax of a book and I really wanted to know how it turns out, I usually skip a few pages to see what happens.
I usually do this when I'm reading a love story. When I was a teenager I have all these pocket books about love stories and I look at the ending to see if the characters end up together. Yes, I'm a spoilsport but I'm really a sucker for happy endings. LOL.
[question posted by natalie1981]
responses and comments:
no can't say I have ever done that. I don't see the point really, why bother to read the story if you know how it ends? I'd rather have the ending be a surprise, and don't really care either way if it's happy or not. I think it kinda defeats the purpose of actually reading the book. Why not just get someone who has read the book to give you a summary of what happens and then you wouldn't even need to read it :) lol [juicemilk]
LOL. Well, I just really want to find out what happens because I really don't like to be left hanging. I hate to be kept on the edge of my seat. [natalie1981]
I do that - usually if I am really curious about how something is going to turn out - if a character lives or dies or something like that. I will check out the epilogue if there is one or the last few pages of the last chapter. I consider it a symptom of not having any patience whatsoever. I try not to read too far back from the end so I don't ruin the entire story for myself. [blondbat]
Glad to know I'm not the only one. [natalie1981]
I do but not very often. My curiosity just peaks at one point of time if the content of the book really suits my taste.I'd rather not skip but pace up my reading speed.Everybody apprreciates happy endings i guesss. I also do the follow ups(going back to some happier incidents of the book). [rekhum]
Yeah, I sometimes read fast to get to the good part but sometimes I tend to skip some details when reading too fast. [natalie1981]
No never. I hate to know the ending. My grandmother was terrible about that she would read just enough to know who all the characters were and then turn to the end. I never could understand why she bothered reading the whole book but she did page by page. I also hate it when anyone tells me the end of a movie that they know I want to see!! [whiteheather39]
LOL. Maybe she's like me, she just wants to know if the story will end happily coz I wouldn't bother reading it if like, the main characters don't end up together. I guess I'm just a killjoy. But I do hate it when someone tells me the end of the movie. [natalie1981]
I like to read the whole story without peaking at the end of the book. All though there have been a couple of stories that I have been tempted to. I decided not to because for me that would have ruined the story. But each person is different and that makes this big world so wonderful. [sunshinelady]
Thanks, but I think I have to add that I did the whole peeking/skipping pages part ages ago. Now, I think I have a lot more patience and I could even tolerate if the book didn't end up happily. [natalie1981]
oh no no no! lol. I never do this, I want to read a book in order =P And be surprised by the ending. I like reading the stuff leading up to the end before I actually get there =P But it's okay that you choose to read ahead. I don't think there is anything wrong with you doing it if that is what you wish! :) [LilyoftheThorns]
Thanks, but like I said, I only did that like, when I was a teenager. I have a lot more patience now, and besides, I've learned how to speed read so if I really want to get to the good part, I just speed read ahead. [natalie1981]
no its not weird and i think a lot of people also do that. i do that too escpecially when i become excited with the story. i skip pages with narrations so i could go faster, and if i really cant help it anymore, i would really read the ending. [kuting]
i try my very best not to do this. i have to fight myself to control myself from reading the last page or the last paragraph of the book. i have done this a couple of times, feel happy that i read it, but then as i am getting into the story, i wish i didnt know how it was going to end. so in the end, i regret cheating. [happy2bmommy]
Well, for me, even though I've read how it will end, I still like how the whole story would turn out. Kinda like, hearing the love story of your grandparents, you know that they ended up together but you still want to know all the juicy parts. [natalie1981]
I never do that. I love waiting for the end. If I skipped to the end why read the whole book? [CaroleeKaufold]
LOL. Well, how can I put it? It's like me knowing that you ended up with a great husband and have a nice, happy family. I mean, I already know you ended up with a great guy but that doesn't stop me from wanting to know how you ended up together, what were your ups and downs, how did it end up like that...something like that. [natalie1981]
yes i always do that haha..when i'm in the midst of reading a book, i always tend to read a paragraph (or more?) of the upcoming chapters to find out what's going to happen. [kevsgirlalways]
I never read the ending of a book while reading it. What I do instead is flip forward a few pages when I start a new chapter. I just like to know what direction the story is going and whether or not I want to commit to reading the whole chapter or just get started on it. That is silly, I know. I feel like I am constantly thinking about when I need to stop reading or put the book down for a bit. I like to be at a good spot for stopping. [makingpots]
No, I've never done that. I feel it ruins the story and that if I want to know that I need to read it. I've heard that people read the first few pages and the last few to get the "gist" of the story. I don't think it should work that way because you're missing out on what's inbetween. [silently_screaming]
I think that's only for speed reading. But for my part, I read the end so that I guess I wouldn't be disappointed if the ending wasn't good and I wouldn't bother to read the whole book. [natalie1981]
Peek at the ending? No, I don't do that. But sometimes I do peek a few pages forward, just to see what happens on certain troubling scenes. I lose interest fast, that's why I prefer the story to remain a mystery. But yeah, I also love happy endings. Whenever I read a bad ending, I feel down for days. I would rather drop the book if I knew it would be bad ending than feel gloomy a long time later on. [RookRocks]
See, that's exactly why I want to read the endings. So that if it has a terrible ending, I wouldn't feel down for days and I wouldn't read the book in the first place. LOL. [natalie1981]
I do that with love stories too. I had a roommate who read the last page of every book that she read. [2blessings]
Ya really i also do same as you. When I prepare to read a book I firstly I read the end pages of the book. however it is i will read after then. [ganeshkalki]
No you're not the only one. Very often, I am tempted to peek at the last few pages to see how the story ends. Lo, if the ending's not happy, I don't usually finish reading it. [inday312saylon]
I have been known to skip to the ending a couple of times. I always try to finish every book that I start to read but sometimes there are a few that just don't hold my interest so I will skip to the end so that I atleast know how it ends. Otherwise I just read the book straight through to see how the story ends. [KissThis]
I've never done that but have been very tempted to on more than one occasion. Sometimes a book is so good that I get impatient to get to the end to see how it's all going to play out but so far I have fought the urge to do so as I feel it would completely spoil it. [inked4life]
yeah, i often do that. i want to read the last page so i can predict the ending because I'm not good at it. i love reading books but i love more the humor book and romantic or mystery crime type of story. but i don't skip a page, i think i will miss a lot like a new character introduced in the story or a nice scene or place. i have learned many things from different country of course through imagination only. [queenie_sum]
i knw dat most of the ppl do these kanida thing peepin to the last pages of books when they read..... but it jst loose the lack of interest in reading...by doin dis u already knw the secret...behind....writting the book.....or novel whatever u read...... but when reading a love story.....the ending is always a emotional one so its better to read the last page ..:D.... sory this time m agree with u yaar.... [vermaekansh]
always lol...i read the end and it really doesnt ruin the book cause you have to see how the characters end up together or meet etc... i am a writer, so i find it interesting to see how the author weaves the plot :-) [cher913]
YES! Finally, someone who I can see eye to eye with. LOL. [natalie1981]
I only peak at the end when i am not interested in the book anymore, so I look at the end, so I can find out what happens and then I stop reading the book. [lovelyladydancing]
I am also curious like you, in fact I always do the same while reading the novels, just to conclude fast what the story is all about. [bhuvahsya]
I use speed reader techniques, then I "jump" parts of the text. However, skip few pages are not usually. To get a correct and perfect interpretation, you will have read all. I think. [gp2sbeta]
I never do this. It would ruint he whole thing for me. [Whisp1976]
Haha, nope! I just wait til I get to the end, and I have been disappointed before by endings, but I stick it out and just read it through. I have never looked at the ending!! That is funny that you do that though! I am afraid if I did, I wouldn't want to read the book through since I already know the ending! [4cuteboys]
Yeah, I guess I'm weird this way but I actually found another poster who has the same reasons as me for reading the end of the book. LOL. That made me feel much better knowing I'm not alone. :) [natalie1981]
I sometimes do that. If it's a habit of mine to read a page or two at the beginning, a page or two in the middle, and a page or two at the end to see if it really is a good book. If I know the author then I know the book's going to be good anyway. [k1tten]
Oh, that's new, reading a few pages to know the author. That's nice. [natalie1981]
When I was younger, I was really really bad at skipping ahead to the ending to see what the book was like. I used to read as far as I could until I couldn't take it anymore and read the last page. Now, I can actually contain myself and wait until I read the entire book to see how it ends. My excitement is just so much easier to control now. I really have to control myself however when I'm reading Harry Potter, that's a hard task all on it's own though. [highflyingxangel]
OH, I know what you mean about Harry Potter. It takes all of my self control not to skip a few pages but whenever I'm in the climax of the story and I really want to know what happens next, I just speed up my reading, which is hard since I tend to skip a few sentences and sometimes I get lost in the story because I actually skipped an important sentence. LOL. [natalie1981]
That's interesting because I have just written a book which begins with the ending. It's a tragic romance and because I have started with the ending, the reader will know at the beginning that the love is doomed. Do you think that this is a good idea? I'm still trying to find a publisher for it... [jwfarrimond]
Not the case with mine, they both get killed, though not at the same time.. [jwfarrimond]
haha yes i'm doing that ,,because i'm excited on what its ending ,. [eipril]
No, I couldn't do that. If I know the ending, I won't finish the book. I like the build up to the end. [OURDEW]
it depends on the book. if it's really boring i will skip sections and speed/scan through it and get to the ending faster. if it's a book that deeply engages my interests, i normally will want to savour the whole experience. [theonlooker]
If after reading few chapters, when i find the book is quite interesting, i don't skip pages, to find how it ends, rather i'll call on my friends over phone and ask him/her to tell the story. Good story telling isn't it.LOL.Only then i'll be relived of the tension QUICKLY.. The tension i wud have at these moments will be greater than those,found in the climax of the story.LOLZ. [saivenkaat802003]
LOL, I also do that. If a friend already knows the story, I try to ask them about what I want to know too. [natalie1981]
Yeah, i do but not often. Sometimes when i'm tired reading especially if its a long story like that of a novel. I just skim and skip through the pages and get through the ending ... [chase07]