Endings and Spoilers

http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/feb/10/some-conclusions-about-endings

I have a confession to make…I read the endings of books before I finish the book -ducks out of the way of flying books-. Sometimes I even open up to a random page in a book and read a couple sentences. Never more than a page, but always a line or two. It’s not because the story is boring me. It’s probably the opposite. The books I love are the ones that I want to read faster and slower at the same time. 

I was just reading The Offering, which is the third book in The Pledge Series by Kimberly Derting. (I would recommend this series to anyone who has a love of dystopias with a sprinkle of magic involved). I’m 75 pages into the book and I have every intention in finishing the book. I swear I do. And just as I close the book to go do some homework, I find myself flipping to the back of the book. Specifically the last page. Then I’m reading the last page or two.

The ending is, theoretically, the best part—where all the subplots and main plots are wrapped up nicely with a fancy schmancy bow on top of it. It’s where we find out if it’s a happily ever after or a horrible cliffhanger that leaves you groaning. I shouldn’t read the ending, yet it’s a temptation I cannot resist. It’s a habit of mine that I can’t seem to break. (I was doing well until The Offering, honestly. An four book record of not reading the ending or looking ahead.)

But actually thinking about this little “quirk” of mine, I realize it makes sense why I read the ending once I’m about 100 pages into a book. It’s like a safety net to catch you as you’re walking across the tightrope. I guess reading a book isn’t as dangerous as walking across a tightrope, but it put a pretty picture in your head, didn’t it? Or it made you roll your eyes seeing as how it’s a hot mess of a cliche. I’m getting off point. Either way, if I read the end of the book, I know what’s going to happen. I know that everything ends up okay (or maybe not). I know that it’s worth it to read the book and take my time doing it. And most of all, it helps me to keep reading. 

The only time I don’t read the ending of a book is when I read a book in one sitting. It happens a lot more than you would think. I’m pretty much a binge-reader meaning that I used to only read during breaks and summer when I didn’t have homework to interfere with it. But now that I’m writing and reading during the school year, I realize I still have binge-reading tendencies (i.e. reading a book in one sitting). All or nothing like an action potential, baby. Because I read so many books straight through, in one sitting. The ones that I actually have to read chapter by chapter are the ones that inevitably end up in my “to-be-finished-eventually” shelf on Goodreads. But if I know the ending or have an inkling of what’s to come, I’ll be more motivated to pick the book up and actually get to that point. 

Maybe I’m just validating my actions, but it’s what I do -shrugs- What are you going to do about it? And don’t worry, I promise I won’t blurt out any spoilers. I have a lot of practice, one of my closest friends absolutely loathes spoilers.

Does anyone else read the ending before finishing the entire book? Or do you hate all spoilers like reading a single line near the end that reveals little to nothing about the book? Comment below!