How do you read …

• Posted in About Books

Note: I posted this over at Magical Musings last week and wanted to share it here as well.

How do you read?

Do you start at the beginning and read straight through a book, with no skipping ahead at all? Do you flip through a book, stopping here and there to skim a few pages before you start reading in earnest? Or do you immediately go to the very last page to see how the book ends?

Me? Well, I admit that I tend to fall into that last category. I like a little sneak peak at the end of the book for a variety of reasons.

Snow Like AshesMost of the time, I just want to see how many pages a book is, so I can estimate what kind of time commitment I’m making. I especially tend to do this with epic fantasy books, simply because they tend to be longer than books in other genres.

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch and The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch are some of the many fantasy books where I have looked to see how long they were. Don’t get me wrong. Epic fantasy is one of my favorite things to read, but sometimes I just don’t have time to read several hundred pages over a weekend. I tend to read fantasy books when I have a lighter schedule and can really immerse myself in the book, story, and world building.

Other times, I will flip to the back of the book to see if there is a cliffhanger, especially if I know that the book is the first in a trilogy. I don’t mind story threads continuing on into the next book, but I’m not a fan of huge, epic cliffhangers where every single character is in mortal danger, especially if I have to wait months or even years for the next book in the series. If I see that a book does have a massive cliffhanger, then I am likely to put it back on the shelf and wait until the next book is out before I read the first one in the series.

While I’m looking at the back of the book for page counts and cliffhangers, I usually find myself reading a paragraph or two … or three or four …

And sometimes, I end up spoiling the whole book for myself. Um … whoops … my bad …

It’s happened more than once, especially when it comes to mysteries and thrillers where the killer is revealed on the very last page. That’s happened enough times now that I have been cutting down on my sneak peaks. Just a quick glance at the page count, and I am back to the beginning to start reading straight through.

What about you guys? Do you look at the end of a book before you get there? Why or why not?

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8 Responses to “How do you read …”

  1. Melissa (Books and Things) says:

    I mostly read straight through. I only skip if the lulls are way too long. I skip to the end if there is an animal in danger and I HAVE to know if the animal survives. 🙂 I do tend to check the number of pages just out of curiosity. Pages otherwise don’t really make an impact on me.

    • Jennifer+Estep says:

      I like knowing the page count too. And yeah, if there is a character (animal or human) that I really like who is in danger, them sometimes I will also skip to the back to see if they make or not.

  2. Terri @ Alexia's Books and Such... says:

    Yes! I get so much grief from my husband for peeking at the end of the book, but sometimes I’m so worried about whether or not my favorite character will survive that I just HAVE to know! Then I can go back and read the rest of the story without driving myself crazy with worry. And every now and again I need to peek to see if I guessed correctly about whodunnit. Guess that’s cheating, isn’t it? Oops!

    • Jennifer+Estep says:

      I know what you mean. I sometimes look at the back to see if I have figured out the mystery too. It’s cool when I’m right, but when I’m wrong, it does spoil the book for me. LOL.

  3. JenLT says:

    I never read the last page! Oh, I get so mad if I even accidently see the end of the book. Lol. I don’t like any spoilers past the first 45 pages. For the most part, I read the book straight through but sometimes I skip ahead a few pages during really suspenseful moments to make sure the heroine is going to be okay (and not get caught.)

    • Jennifer+Estep says:

      I try to read straight through, but sometimes it works out better than others. LOL. But wanting to know what happens next is the sign of a good book, right?

  4. Tyhitia says:

    I never read the last page first. I just read the book from beginning to end. I want to be surprised even though I usually guess what will happen.

    • Jennifer+Estep says:

      Sometimes, I will read the end first, but most of the time, I like to follow the story from beginning to end too.

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