Booking Through Thursday (Cheating)

 

From Booking Through Thursday:

Do you cheat and peek at the ends of books? (Come on, be honest.)

           Always. Especially if the book isn't going fast enough or is part of a series (see: "I'll Take 'Books in a Series' for 400, Alex"). That's the short answer.
          The long answer...

          I hate waiting, I also hate suspense, most books make you wait suspensefully for the ending.  If I'm really into a character, I want to know what happens to them. Spoilers for the rest of the paragraph. I don't like it when my favorite character commits suicide (The Sound and the Fury), dies unexpectantly and for no reason (Message in a Bottle) or ends up being the bad guy, I mean the really bad guy, not the bad guy that you love to hate (American Psycho), but the "OMG! you're the killer, really!?" bad guy (In the Cut).

         Frankly, for the most part I don't mind knowing the ending of books. It makes me read the book for the book and not because I have to know the ending. I don't mind knowing the outcome of a lot of things before I do them. I plan whole units in advance and from the test to the front. I don't ride the rides at amusement parks until somebody has gone first and has told me all about every hill and curve. I don't travel to the unknown (which means I do tons of research before going anywhere) and I don't read books without knowing where they are going. I don't have a fear of the unknown, I just don't like it.

         I remember once asking a former principal (my favorite boss in my life so far) why he didn't read the Harry Potter books, his kids had read them, they were easy reads and well, the whole world was reading them and he said, "Why would I waste even an hour of my precious time reading a book I know I'm not going to like?" And, I think that's it...I am very self-aware, I know what I like and don't like, if I've picked a book I know I'm going to like, I'll like it no matter what...if a book has tricked me into liking it, I like to know as soon as possible so I can a) put it down--I will NEVER finish The Sound and the Fury nor will I ever read another Nicholas Sparks or b) finish the journey so I can see if it was worth the ride And, if I'm finishing the journey, it was worth the ride.