I rarely read ahead. The book decides for me. If I absolutely love it, I don't. If I don't care or if I'm entirely confused, I might, just to see if it's worth continuing. Sometimes I need the ending as motivation to continue.
I'm not as spoiler-phobic as some-- I have a friend who doesn't want to analyze the structure of series books until the series is done, for fear of seeing what the author is setting up for later volumes, whereas for me that's half the fun-- but I am pretty obsessive about reading in order. When I was a teen, I used to read the last chapters of books with an index card over the page, so I couldn't accidentally spoil myself for the next paragraph.
(In college, to help my retention, I had to train myself to actually read individual words instead of taking in whole sentences at a glance, and since then I've been able to keep my eyes where they belong without help. At the cost of cutting my reading speed in half, but devouring a book in ninety minutes isn't much fun if I've forgotten most of it ninety minutes after that.)
That's so true about the gulpy version of reading--one can inadvertently see words ahead, and splinter one's attention. (I had this problem with tests, not so much with books.)
I gulp books, and the more I'm enjoying the plot and characters the faster I often gulp them, because I want so badly to see how it all turns out! And then, if I truly love them, I will go back and read them again, taking it more slowly and paying more attention each time. (I've read Catherine Fisher's INCARCERON three times now, the latest time out loud to my son. Don't even ask me how many times I've read the NARNIA books or LotR, I couldn't tell you.)
But I almost never look at the end of a new book before I get there, because I do like being surprised even if the surprise is somewhat unpleasant. The only exception is when I'm getting so bored with the book that I've decided not to finish it anyway, and just want to check to make sure the author didn't throw in some brilliant twist that will change my mind (and inevitably, they haven't, so I can then put the book down without regret).
I have read endings before, but since my love of mysteries has developed, I don't do that so much with them. Now if I am struggling with a book for whatever reason and think maybe one or two the characters are interesting enough to care how it ends, I might peek to see if they are still there. Then start reading again. Or not {G}
I mostly read mysteries, and in that context spoilers can be pretty serious business. (I've never forgiven an Internet reviewer who accidentally gave away the killer in a book I'd been looking forward to for months.) I don't know why I mind, since I reread favourite mysteries as often as anything else. And since the solution to the mystery is usually followed by a few pages of wrapup, I frequently turn carefully to the very last page to see if one or another favourite character survives/is innocent. That eliminates some of the suspects, but I don't care. Like you, if I am too anxious about something in the plot it ruins my pleasure anyway
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Great post! And the reasoning makes a lot of sense, even though it's not for me. Although I thought about it and I realized something interesting:
When it comes to fiction novels I have maybe read the ending a handful of times in all the years I've been reading. I want the story to unfold as I live though it. When I'm really on a roll, I have to actually use a bookmark/piece of paper to reveal line by line so my eyes don't inadvertently skip ahead. (Just did this last night as I finished the rest of Joan Hess's Closely Akin to Murder.)
However, reading fanfiction is another matter. I want clear warnings available and if it's a long story and I'm reading a lot of hardship, I need to look ahead and find out if there's a happy ending. I need a hopeful/happy ending at the end of the day for fanfiction and it's rare I'll hang in there if it turns out things are an utter mess at the end.
I'm not sure why there's that difference for me... but it was interesting to realize. :)
That is interesting! Do you think it might be that the ending of the fic has to match the tone of canon? (I suppose that theory would only hold water if the canon also has a happy ending, which I know isn't guaranteed.)
I'm tempted to say something along the lines about predictability... But maybe it has more to do with the fact that fanfiction is to a certain degree about "wish fulfillment" and the characters I'm reading for, I really want to see have a happy ending. (Thinking of the "unhappy" canons - heh, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles comes to mind - hopeful endings certainly appeal since it's heartbreaking to have continual hardships.) There's also the whole genre of "fix-it" stories, so that's another level!
I guess another way to look at it is that I'm a little more willing to put myself in the author's hands when s/he's created an entire world of their own populated with characters only s/he previously knew. (Doesn't quite work with my love of Perry's Resident Evil novels, but...)
Anyway, on a side note: I finally ordered A Stranger to Command! Very excited about it, though it will be interesting to switch over to reading it after so many months of immersing myself in modern mystery novels.
Hope you like it! (The writer in me can't help but point out the ebook version is cheaper and also has the typos corrected)
Anyway, aside from that, a good point about fanfic. I was just thinking about that. Several have pointed out a really good Bujold fic that is Ivancentric, which has a sequel, but when I began it, I discovered Miles is dead, and wham! Interest shut off totally. I am not the least interested in a Bujoldverse without Miles.
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(In college, to help my retention, I had to train myself to actually read individual words instead of taking in whole sentences at a glance, and since then I've been able to keep my eyes where they belong without help. At the cost of cutting my reading speed in half, but devouring a book in ninety minutes isn't much fun if I've forgotten most of it ninety minutes after that.)
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But I almost never look at the end of a new book before I get there, because I do like being surprised even if the surprise is somewhat unpleasant. The only exception is when I'm getting so bored with the book that I've decided not to finish it anyway, and just want to check to make sure the author didn't throw in some brilliant twist that will change my mind (and inevitably, they haven't, so I can then put the book down without regret).
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When it comes to fiction novels I have maybe read the ending a handful of times in all the years I've been reading. I want the story to unfold as I live though it. When I'm really on a roll, I have to actually use a bookmark/piece of paper to reveal line by line so my eyes don't inadvertently skip ahead. (Just did this last night as I finished the rest of Joan Hess's Closely Akin to Murder.)
However, reading fanfiction is another matter. I want clear warnings available and if it's a long story and I'm reading a lot of hardship, I need to look ahead and find out if there's a happy ending. I need a hopeful/happy ending at the end of the day for fanfiction and it's rare I'll hang in there if it turns out things are an utter mess at the end.
I'm not sure why there's that difference for me... but it was interesting to realize. :)
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I guess another way to look at it is that I'm a little more willing to put myself in the author's hands when s/he's created an entire world of their own populated with characters only s/he previously knew. (Doesn't quite work with my love of Perry's Resident Evil novels, but...)
Anyway, on a side note: I finally ordered A Stranger to Command! Very excited about it, though it will be interesting to switch over to reading it after so many months of immersing myself in modern mystery novels.
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Anyway, aside from that, a good point about fanfic. I was just thinking about that. Several have pointed out a really good Bujold fic that is Ivancentric, which has a sequel, but when I began it, I discovered Miles is dead, and wham! Interest shut off totally. I am not the least interested in a Bujoldverse without Miles.
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