time to confess: do you skip ahead when you read

[Japanfan]

I skip ahead when there are multiple story lines and the author switches from one to the other at a critical moment. Then I flip the pages to find where the storyline is picked up and see what happened next.

[FiveRinger]

I must admit that for just about every book I read I do read the last couple of pages first. My Kindle has kept me from doing that--go figure. But I hate being spoiled in my reality shows.

[Cloudy_Gumdrops]

It depends on how interesting the book is. If the book manages to draw me in right from the beginning, than I keep reading straight through. If it starts out a little meh, I'll skip ahead to see if it gets better and is worth continuing to read.

Or, if there are multiple storylines going on, I'll skip ahead and read about just the ones that interested me. I find when there is more than one main character, the story for at least one of them tends to be a little dull.

[talldrink]

I NEVER do. Not because I feel it's wrong or anything, but it just doesn't occur to me. I like the process of reading and uncovering the story!

[mkats]

Only once, ever, when I was reading "My Sister's Keeper"

I don't like being spoiled with books/stories/movies... I do however read all spoilers for TV shows and skating events.

[KatieC]

I've never read the end before I got there. But I find lately I'm much more prone to giving up part way through if I'm bored or irritated. When I was young I plowed through to the bitter end. Reread books all the time, even sometimes going back to children's books. If they improve my mood, or take me away from cares or worries, why not?

[John 3 17]

Only if a book starts to go badly. Then, I skip to the end to see if it's worth slogging through the middle. Thankfully, this hardly ever happens to me.

-Bridget

[MarieM]

Since I re read all my books several time (mainly because there's the new book coming out and I need to re read the 12 volumes before), I sometimes jump to the end to see how it's ending

[Anita18]

I ALWAYS skip to the end! Well my method is, I read the beginning, then read the end, then read the middle in random pieces. It's rather Memento-like. I like the mental exercise of piecing everything together.

Discovering Catch-22 in middle school was fantastic, because the book did the jumping for me, while my classmates were absolutely dumbfounded.

[Japanfan]

Since I re read all my books several time (mainly because there's the new book coming out and I need to re read the 12 volumes before), I sometimes jump to the end to see how it's ending

Do you refer to Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson's "Wheel of Time" series?

I don't know if I could do all 12 again, or if it would be different reading them continuously as opposed to waiting two years between books.

[MarieM]

Japanfan : Wheel of time is one of them, but I usually reread all the series before I read the new one. I just finished the book just released. I wish we wouldn't have to wait at least one year for the last book of the series !!!!!!!!!!!!

You do have to remind yourself of the story anyway, so re reading all of the book is one way of doing so

And I am still WAITING for the Game of Thrones latest books. He is way too occupied with the show and I am getting MAD at him !

[emason]

And I am still WAITING for the Game of Thrones latest books. He is way too occupied with the show and I am getting MAD at him !

Agreed. Also have a problem with Janny Wurtz and her Curse of the Mistwraith series; she is really dragging this out and once she had her main characters drink a longevity potion that meant they would both live to be at least 500 years old, I figured I might never see the end of the saga.

As for the original question, sometimes I peek ahead at the very end to see how things come out, especially if I fear the worst for some character I'm fond of, but if I'm seriously reading a book, I read the whole thing. I will, however, give up on a book fairly quickly if it isn't pulling me in, keeping my interest, etc.

[John 3 17]

... I will, however, give up on a book fairly quickly if it isn't pulling me in, keeping my interest, etc.

ITA. As the tee shirt in the "Wireless" catalog said, "Too many books, too little time". We can't waste time when there are other books calling us!

-Bridget

[FigureSpins]

I only read ahead if the book is boring. Inkheart was a difficult book to read in English (translated from German), so I read part of the last chapter just before giving up on the novel entirely. Glad I did - I ended up struggling through that book and the sequels were much better. Love the story itself.

[Squibble]

I haven't read the entire thread, just the last two posts. Sorry. What's the subject again?

[numbers123]

I almost always read the ending of a book or skip around. I get bored reading books because there are rarely any new concepts for a book.

Who-done-it: someone killed, 3-7 potential killers, 1-10 investigators, 2-10 potential next victims, plot line focused on why someone would kill the person. Discover the motive and murderer at the end of the story.
Romance: young innocent woman caught in the confines of what society deems appropriate, and one who has intelligence/skills to do a "man's job" not wanting to be rescued but in the end finds her true love. Insert villian who is trying to come between princess and her prince

etc. So I will fast forward to the end to see if I like the ending and if so, then I will put the effort into reading. Rare exception: J.D. Robb series of "Death by...." Or Nora Epfron books

[Japanfan]

Japanfan : Wheel of time is one of them, but I usually reread all the series before I read the new one. I just finished the book just released. I wish we wouldn't have to wait at least one year for the last book of the series !!!!!!!!!!!!

You do have to remind yourself of the story anyway, so re reading all of the book is one way of doing so

It seemed to me that the story-lines got lost in the last half of the series. We learned in something like Book 4 that Matt was to marry the Daughter of the Nine Moons, and then he finally met her in Book 9. I felt that Jorden had lost control of his multiple storylines and that the wheels within wheels were careening out of control.

Would it be different if I re-read the whole series consecutively?

And I am still WAITING for the Game of Thrones latest books. He is way too occupied with the show and I am getting MAD at him !

I'm waiting on that one too - am wondering in fact if Martin will ever finish it. IIRC he said he was depressed and begged his audience's understanding.

That one I'll happily re-read in entirety, should it ever be finished.

[MarieM]

He's depressed. OH COME ON.
The guy has spent ALL LAST YEAR and all this year preparing the Game Of Thrones TV Show. And the books ? No of course he had no time to do so ....
I am so mad at him !!!!!!!!!!!

As for WHEEL OF TIME, I kind of disagree. He maybe lost control of the pace of his telling of the story, wasting too much times on Rand, Elayne and the Aes Sedai in a big way, but it all kinds of fall into pieces with the last Sanderson books.

Is there any other cycle you can think of I should read ? I already have all the Eddings, McCaffrey, Zimmer Bradley, Hobbs, Herbert, Assimov, Tolkien, Silverberg, Van voigt etc.

[Japanfan]

Is there any other cycle you can think of I should read ? I already have all the Eddings, McCaffrey, Zimmer Bradley, Hobbs, Herbert, Assimov, Tolkien, Silverberg, Van voigt etc.

You've probably read Goodkind's series? Unsatisfactory ending IMO, leaving major issues unresolved.

I also enjoy Melanie Rawn's two dragon trilogies: Dragon Prince, The Star Scroll, Sunrunner's Fire and Stronghold, The Dragon Token, and Skybowl. And Rawn has written two of another trilogy, Exiles, and I've been waiting at least five years for that. . .

And have you read Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant Series? It's one of the best I've ever read, there are two trilogies (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and The Second Chronicles of Thomas Convent) and a final four-set work (The Last Chronicles) is in progress, two have been published. These series are so good that they merit a reread once every few years.

Also, I'd recommend the books of Juliet Marrilier if you like fantasy/historical fiction. Her books are all set around roughly around the time of Christ's birth in the UK. She has a rare gift as a storyteller and her books are just amazing reads.

[rjblue]

Yay!The Wheel of Time series discussion.

Would it be different if I re-read the whole series consecutively?

Yes, Jordan has so many details that read differently when you know how the character is going to develop in later books.

Spoiler

Verin!, for example.

And it's really fun to reread them along with Leigh Butler's reread blog. I did some major skipping around to follow story threads- especially Matt's- the first time I read the books. I liked the series the first time I read it, but I loved it the second time.

As for WHEEL OF TIME, I kind of disagree. He maybe lost control of the pace of his telling of the story, wasting too much times on Rand, Elayne and the Aes Sedai in a big way, but it all kinds of fall into pieces with the last Sanderson books.

It really does. Brandon is doing a magnificent job.

And have you read Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant Series?

That is what came to my mind first. I'd also recommend Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series. Most of them are more like stand-alone books written in the same world, but the main characters are people I never tire of reading about.