time to confess: do you skip ahead when you read

[jlai]

I must admit I skip to the end in, like, every book. I feel for being such a bad reader but resistance is futile.

[Satellitegirl]

Yes, sometimes if I feel like the ending is heading towards an eyerolling ending. I'm glad I skipped to the end of the Time Traveler's Wife. Stopped reading it after I read the ending

[CynicElle]

I do too. (I also read spoilers for TV shows and movies. Self-control: I do not have it.) I tend to reread books I really like anyhow, so knowing the ending isn't a dealbreaker for me.

[PDilemma]

Yes, sometimes if I feel like the ending is heading towards an eyerolling ending. I'm glad I skipped to the end of the Time Traveler's Wife. Stopped reading it after I read the ending

I'm so happy someone else is saying they put that book down. I did the same thing. What I did get through, I found creepy. I felt like he was manipulating a child then teenager and the relationship was wrong on many levels. Not romantic.

What I have learned is if I am wanting to skip ahead, it's not a very good book and I might as well just give up reading it. This is new. I used to be the person who finished any book I started no matter how dreary and boring I found it to be. I have only liberated myself from that in the last few years and it is refreshing.

[Nekatiivi]

Yes, especially if the book is bad. Most of the time I never pick it up again... But I do read my favorite books many times.

[Veronika]

Yes, I almost always look at the end of the book. I can't help it.

[Allen]

I definitely did in graduate school. When I had to get through a 500 page book in a night, I would have to skim and skip quite a bit.

[professordeb]

Sometimes I do early on in the book, sometimes I check when much later just to see if my predicted ending is likely. Most often than not, I don't check endings but the fact that I do some of the time is something that has developed in my reading in say, about the last 5 or so years. I never used to check endings prior to that.
Good question.

[genevieve]

nope! as any followers of reality competition threads know, I hate being spoiled

I do occasionally flip forward to see how many pages until the end of a chapter (I often read before falling asleep) but I try to not read even a single word while doing it

[Nomad]

...
I do occasionally flip forward to see how many pages until the end of a chapter (I often read before falling asleep) but I try to not read even a single word while doing it

Same here. I don't often reread books (I have way too many for that) so I don't care for spoilers.

[Wyliefan]

I would typically skip all over a book when I was a kid. Finally made myself break the habit. Although at times, if I hit a boring patch, I'll flip just a little ahead to see if things are going to liven up again.

[Garden Kitty]

I don't read ahead, but I love to be spoiled when it comes to movies, tv or sports.

[BelleBway]

Never. I used to as a pre-teen/teen... back when I went through a tragic period during which school made reading not enjoyable for me. (Loved reading when I was young... but then being forced to read and take stupid multiple choice tests came close to killing that love)

Sometimes I don't even read the back of the book because I want to be surprised. (I usually read it when I originally decide to read the book, but by the time I actually read it, I've usually forgotten some of the details )

I do occasionally flip forward to see how many pages until the end of a chapter (I often read before falling asleep) but I try to not read even a single word while doing it

Same here- I read a lot in bed at night, but at other times I may have something to do and need to decide if I have enough time to finish the chapter.

[IceAlisa]

I frequently sneak a peak ahead because I love being spoiled but rarely skip altogether.

[genevieve]

Same here. I don't often reread books (I have way too many for that) so I don't care for spoilers.

I do re-read books sometimes - even whodunnits! - but the first time I don't want to know where the story is heading. There are books I've been interested in and decided not to read because someone told me the ending - same thing with movies.

[rfisher]

I always skip ahead. Mostly to see if I'd figured the plot correctly. Sadly, I usually do as plotting has given way to character development in fiction. It seems very few writers can actually do both.

[musicgurl]

I always skip ahead. I've done it since I started reading Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys novels when I was around 6 or 7. I never got out of the habit. I'm also very fond of spoilers. In movies, tv shows, and figure skating. I find I actually enjoy skating more when I know the results. Less stressing about how my favourites are doing lol.

[rjblue]

I only skip ahead occasionally. If it's very late in the evening (1-2 am), I'll skip to the back in an attempt to make myself stop reading. If it's a bad book, I'll read the ending and skip the middle.

I read 3/4 of A Fine Balance, but then when it seemed like all the characters I'd grown to care about were about to have very bad things happen to them, I read the last few chapters and put the book aside because I couldn't bear to read it anymore.

[Tinami Amori]

I must admit I skip to the end in, like, every book. I feel for being such a bad reader but resistance is futile.

If you mean any king of writing, then yes, I skip if it contains the information I already know (in news articles or tech materials).

In creative literature, or opinions, or commentary – NEVER! Whatever is written there has a purpose and intends to create an effect. You can’t get a full picture if you don’t read it all.

It’s not about “the ending”.

Writing is an art form, and every word is a brush-stroke and an element of that art work.

[ChelleC]

All the time. I read the beginning of a book, then I skip to the end, and if it's a book I'm enjoying I go back and read the middle.