Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Burning Question

Picture courtesy of Pamela Villars website
Last night I had a blook club meeting.  We didn't have a reading selection we just met to discuss our summer reading.  I brought a huge stack to share.  Somewhere in the middle of everyone sharing their book love someone brought up this crazy idea of reading the last page, sentence or word of a book.  The thought was that if you are enjoying the book why not take just a tiny peek at the ending...

There was an audible gasp from some of us there.  and then the fence came up.  It seems some people really do read the last little bit, whether its the last word, sentence or page.  Several of our book club members owned up to peeking on purpose!!  And they weren't ashamed to admit it.  The reasons ranged from wanting to see if the book was worth finishing, or to see if a character makes it to the end to even one answer (I read just the last word-it reflects the rest of the book). 

So I have to ask...how many of you take a little peek at the last page of a book??  Do you read the ending often or just once in awhile?  I'm so curious about this as I don't read ahead or look at the ending.  Which side of the fence are you on??

13 comments:

Barb said...

I peek only rarely... sometimes I am not really enjoying a book and want to just put it down; but I am enough involved in the plot that I want to know how it "ends." I never peek if I intend to finish the book. Well, one confession:

I actually read (deep breath here) the epilogue of the last Harry Potter book first. :( I had to wait my turn to read the book (daughters and grandchildren get the family copies first) but, with all the rumors flying around, I couldn't stand not knowing the "long-term" ending. They let me borrow one for about 15 minutes - just long enough to read that final chapter! After that, I was able to wait patiently for my chance to read the whole book.

Amber Stults said...

I very rarely peek. If I ever do, it's because I'm counting how many pages I have left and accidently see something I'm not supposed to which kind of ruins the fun of finding out what happens.

Unknown said...

I peek when I'm reading a mystery and I think I've figured out whodunit - I'm usually right. =]

I also just about always read anything extra in the back (author's notes or acknowledgments) before I read the actual book - I just like to read that stuff first (and I usually read it again after I finish).

Janssen said...

NO! Never!!!!

Anonymous said...

I peek more often than I'm really willing to admit. I just can't stand the suspense sometimes and other times, I want to see if I'm right. My husband and I have talked about this numerous times. He says that I am so wrong, wrong, wrong! LOL

So, I'm a peeker - I confess!

Anonymous said...

No. I gasped too when I read your post! Funny, I never really thought about it.

Elaine said...

I would NEVER peek at the ending of a book. That is just wrong! (My mom peeks all the time, though. She often reads the whole ending first, then goes back and reads the rest of the book - wierd!)

Shelley said...

I have talked to quite a few people who read the end first, but for me it would ruin the experience. People can obviously do whatever floats their boats, but I just don't understand how the book could still be enjoyable?

Tina's Blog said...

I rarely peek. Up until a few years ago, I could say I never peeked. However, there have been a few times when I was worried I was going to be totally devastated by how things ended up and just had to know if at the end things were OK for me to keep on reading. My mother almost always peeks - often just skimming almost all of the book after she reads the ends. That totally drives me crazy.

jkw said...

I used to when I was a kid, but I never do it now! I've been working on disciplining myself to finish books I don't really enjoy!

janice

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I have only jumped to the final page when I am NOT liking a book, and want to end the pain...LOL

I can see how this topic would stir some healthy discussion though!

Tif Sweeney said...

I do not read the last page any longer, but I will admit in my younger years, I did do it a few times. Never again!!!! :)

whatmorebooks said...

I peek at the ending of the book and then sometimes i do not. I would say that it is 50/50 for me. depending what i am reading, even though I peek it rarely ruins the books for me. but sometimes I peek at the ending, especially if I am reading an final book of the series that I am following. I just want to make sure that my favourite character is still standing at the end of it.
For some books I read them so fast that I did not even have a chance to look at the ending.