Saturday 18 October 2014

Bookish Musings - Amanda's a Naughty Reader.. She Cheats

Bookish Musings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk and discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related issue we have. Today, Amanda is talking about her reading methods a little more. Of course, she reads like any other normal person does, except, she does something other people might do. She's a little weird, you may begin to dislike her. For this, she apologises.


I'm a naughty reader. Sometimes, I do the one thing most readers punish people for doing. It's a shocking confession, something that may cause you all to dislike or even hate me for me, but sometimes, just sometimes, I do an awful thing, the dreaded thing, a shocking thing.. I read the last few pages of a book before I've finished it..


Please don't try and kill me, I'm sorry, I just can't help it. I'm inpatient, I can't wait, I need to know whether thing will be better or worse and sometimes, the ending actually encourages me to read a book I may have dismissed otherwise, but it's a shocking confession none the less. Now, I guess the big questions is, why do I do it? Erm, well, actually, there's a number of reasons why I like to read the last page or two of a novel before I finish it and while some of these reason may be excusable, you will no doubt still dislike me for it, but here goes.
  1. I Need To Know Whether To Continue: This is possibly the biggest reason why I will read the last few pages of a book before I've finished it, because lets be honest, how many times have you read a book only to find that the ending stinks and that it didn't get better? Probably a handful right? I don't tend to make that mistake often because of this weird crazy habit. If the last few pages sound rubbish, chances are, the book didn't improve, it really just carried on it's spiral, but sometimes, for example, the most recent of reads to fall victim to this habit, Noughts and Crosses, it actually encourages me to continue the book, (I will at some point, promise) because I wonder 'how the hell does that end up happening?', 'really, that's how she ends it, why?' and sometimes even 'woah there, woah..' and this can result in me finishing books that prove to be worthwhile. I don't do this with all books, I definitely didn't do it with We Were Liars or The Hunger Games, neither have I done it with Percy Jackson or Skulduggery, but I do use the habit when I'm a little, unsure continuing or not and 9 times out 10, it helps.


  2. I Need A Positive Ending: This kind of compliments, if you could call it that, my bad habit of searching for spoilers because sometimes, I just need to know that everything will be fine, then I can read these books, and enjoy the reading and not feel all the negative emotions like 'OMG are they going to die?' or 'I can't finish it, it's too sad' because I know things will be good, I know it'll end well and all that pain will be worth it. I think some good recent examples of this were Into the Still Blue and Shadow Kiss. When it came down to Into the Still Blue, I was struggling to get into it, so it was both a mixture of reason one and this one, but after I read those last pages, I was pleased that I would get my happy ending, or at least, most of one, and it gave me the encouragement I needed to continue. I didn't spoil myself, not really, but it helped. Same goes for Shadow Kiss, things were looking doom and gloom and I wasn't enjoying much, and I already knew about Dimitri anyway, I mean, come on, how could I NOT know?, so I read the last few pages and let me tell you, that line - '..of the kill the man I love..', it had me sold, I pushed through and continued the series. Damn, that series..


  3. I Lack Patience: This is one of the worst reasons for this terrible habit, but honestly, I'm so impatient it's scary. I can't read through 500+ pages for you tell me something I can skip to and read in five minutes, you can't, it's unfair, it's illogical, it's- probably very normal for all of you, but once again, this is part of my spoiler issue. This happened with Dark Days and Darquese; I mean, I'd guessed it as much, but I read the final pages of that book before reaching half way, merely because I was impatient, I didn't need to know the ending for happiness, I was certain I would continuing, I just couldn't wait. I think I've done this a few times.. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was another one, I just- how can you expect me wait for the ending of that, really?! Funny fact, when I read Deathly Hallows, I actually read the final third, then the first third, then second and then third again, just because I couldn't wait. Yes, it made it a little confusing but man was I happy with that ending, all the points to Rowling!


  4. Because It's Just There: Tell me something, have you ever not been tempted to just flip to the back and read the ending you've finally been waiting for, have you? Because I have, of course you have, hence the post Amanda, jeez.., and it's really hard to resist. It's literally there, right there, in your hands, you literally just have to move your hands a little and read, it's that easy, it's there, how do you resist? I struggle, honestly, it's just so tempting! I did manage to resist reading the end of Dying of the Light, jesus, that series killed me, but generally, like Sweet Reckoning, or The Night Circus, I just couldn't and I read it and yes, it did change the ending, but it didn't change my feelings. I still read the book, I just, cheated a little..

Soooo, I'm confessing a lot these day, how do you feel about that one? Scary right, like, the ending is the most important part.. meh, it's what I do, but how do you feel about this? Have you ever sneaked a peak at the end before you've read, did it change your feelings? Do you hate me and think I'm utterly bonkers? Leave me your thoughts..

34 comments:

  1. YES YOU ARE REALLY WEIRD. But we won't hate you. No, no...but I admit, YOU CHEATER. ;-) Hehe. Okay....actually I have done this once or twice. I swore I never would. But my mum does it ALL the time and I just sort of accidentally did at one stage (hey, I was looking to see how many pages it was <--- legit excuse, right?! ;-) and I accidentally saw something about someone dying. It was kind of sad. I think I prefer NOT to know, but it doesn't make me hate a book or anything. x)

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    1. Aww thank Cait, it's nice to still be accepted for my weirdness!
      The number of pages excuse, I use that one ALL the time.. very legit, good reasoning, glad to not be alone ;)

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  2. omg lol i somtimes do this as well so you're not alone! i rarely do it, but mainly for books that i am not enjoying/ are too slow. i mean, ITS JUST THERE I MUST FIND OUT HOW IT ENDS BECAUSE I HAVE NO PATIENCE. we can be hated by others together, heheh!

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    1. So selfishly pleased to know I'm not alone on this, it's a legit thing that we do, we can be disliked together for sure!

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  3. WE ARE THE SAME PERSON. LITERALLY. I DO THIS ALL THE TIME AND SEARCH OUT THOSE SPOILERS OMG

    I have no regrets when it comes to reading forward. I don't find it spoilery at all. In fact, I get reassured. I kind of have this obsessive rule though. For books I thoroughly enjoy, I have to get to the EXACT half way mark. Like I do the whole crazy split the page number, round it up to the nearest whole number, make it past that point BEFORE I start happily flipping to the back. It's...weird :D But if it's a book that I just KNOW will be a 1 star then I make an exception and skip to the end straight away because what other piece of salvation will the book have for it (that's my justification :P) That being said, nowadays, for books I enjoy, I've just been flipping ahead about two to three chapters, holding them there to see what the future holds so I won't be shocked so much that my heart stops or something. And sometimes I flip the page and I know you're meant to read left to right but may eye strays and I read the right hand side at the bottom just so I have a gist as to how those two pages will be for me. Alright. That does sound a tad weird O_O But, like I say, no regrets.

    I'M WITH YOU ON THIS, AMANDA! x

    Jess @ My Reading Dress

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    1. WE MUST BE, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN FOREVER?!
      I think making a rule is a good idea, I tend to do it when it's not feeling right to me, so I flip, or when I feel scared for the series and the characters, it's a I MUST KNOW thing for sure. Thank you Jess, good to have support on these weird habits!

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  4. CHEATER. Hahaha. I can't say I've ever done this, but I have had the URGE to, because I'm pretty much dying of curiosity. My nanna apparently did this all the time, so much that my mum would staple the last ten pages together, and tell her that if she saw them unstapled there would be DIRE CONSEQUENCES. I've no idea what those dire consequences would be though...

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    1. I'm so sorry Emily, I just can't help it! She'd staple the pages together, what?! The poor book!

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  5. #3 all the way! Sometimes I JUST NEED to know. I rarely do this on purpose, but if I get a bad feeling for a certain character, I get the urge to skim the last few pages, not for content, but just to see if they are there. Usually my spoilers come from checking the page count. I have to know how many pages something is. If goodreads tells me on the app, then I'm good. But if not, I have to check.

    Dreams @ Once Upon A Dream Books

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    1. Oh there's always a problem of checking page amounts and then BAM, end of books spoiled!
      There should be a notice at the front of books, were they have the release year and such, with the page count.

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  6. Hey, I look for spoilers all the time, so this isn't that shocking to me. I've done it before too! Sometimes you just have to know if it'll turn out well or not!

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    1. Oh I completely agree Anne, sometimes you just NEED to.

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  7. I used to do this all the time Amanda, it wasn't with the ending though, it was like a couple of chapters ahead, to see if my favourite character would return, or whether there would be another kissing scene coming up soon! I haven't done this in a while though, and I don't usually like spoiling myself with the ending, but I have to admit a lot the times I have been super curious! Great discussion post Amanda! :)

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    1. I think the checking a few chapters ahead is really understandable, I sometimes flick a few pages ahead just to see too!
      Thank you Jasprit, it's quite daunting admitting these things! :)

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  8. I wish I could say that I don't do this but... I do. Sort of. Every now and then, when I have a paper book in hand, I just have this compulsion to read the last page. No, not even the last page, the last two or three lines. Sometimes, I'll read those /before/ starting on the book. I have no idea why, but I still berate myself for it. That's a good thing about ebooks. It'll take me loads of time to find the place I left off, so I won't even try to read the last lines. The impulse is still there though!

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    1. It's kind of nice to not be alone on this really. When I get my Kindle, I definitely won't be doing tricks like this!

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  9. Haha, Amanda, that's okay. I do this, too. Mostly I do this when I get scared. Like, I need to know things will be okay. I need to know my favorite character won't die, and that I'll get a semblance of a happy ending. That's why I often read spoilers, too. I sometimes hate myself for reading the spoilers, but sometimes I just can't resist the urge to know EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT!
    I've used the first reason - to help me decide whether to continue, once or twice, and both times convinced me the novel was a waste of my time.
    Impatient is not a problem for me, mostly. I'm okay for waiting for the end. I often think of peeking at the final pages, but more often than not I don't do it at the end.

    So, anyway, it's quite normal Amanda! And no one is going to think you're weird for it :)

    PS. what kind of nicknames do you use? I want to call you using a nickname, cause I feel like we talk enough to deserve it, you know?

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    1. Thank god I'm not alone in this like I thought I was! It's good to have the support of fellow readers on this :)

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  10. I do not condone such behaviour :P

    I totally get why you would want to actually but I get readers guilt if I so much as peek at the end so it kinda ruins it for me. Sometimes I skip ahead a few lines because I'm impatient (usually if I can see italic text or a letter or something) but I always feel bad for it afterwards and of course I never miss anything out entirely. Some books don't even end in the last few pages so you might think they are rubbish when actually they are all sorts of awesome!

    Do you do it with films too? Or like read spoilers for TV shows? I try and avoid knowing what is happening in anything! I like the excitement of not knowing.

    x

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    1. I'm sorry Charlotte, I'm just a terrible reader!
      Sometimes I do this with TV series, say if I'm wondering whether to carry on watching, but if I'm considering not watching it anymore, I usually just leave because it wasn't keeping my attention in the first place. It's more just books really :)

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  11. I do this all the time. I thought it was normal???? Hahaha, but really, I do this every.friggin,time. I can't explain it, there's a part of me that has to know what will happen NOW. I understand that it might ruin the whole experience for me, but I really can't help it. Maybe we should undergo therapy to figure it out? Lol. I remember reading a crime/mystery novel and I "accidentally" found out who the killer was. I had to pause for a couple of days (okay,it was weeks) before I can pick the book up and pretend to not remember how the story ended. It was weird but I enjoyed it somehow :)

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    1. Apparently not, but it's normal for me Ana, you're safe!
      I think therapy might be a good thing, at least we'll have eachother! ;)

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  12. I sometimes read the last page too. I rarely have print books lately though, so it isn't as easy to do on ebook or audio.

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    1. I think that's a good and bad thing about ebooks, no peaking, no spoiling!

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  13. Firstly... WHAT?!? WHY?!?!? NOOOOOO!!!! I like getting to the end and being surprised. I'd hate for things to be spoiled for me, like the Noughts & Crosses ending. I did not see that coming and it shocked me so much. I really hope you end up finishing the book because it's a great ending and I enjoyed the direction the series goes in after that.

    This post got me to try it though, on a book I had no intention of ever reading. It was a chick lit that I was shelving at work that had a lovely cover. The premise sounded intriguing, with a sliding doors style story and I was curious how the author wrapped that story up. The ending was really shit. I feel bad for anyone who read the whole book just to get to that bit, haha

    I guess I have felt the temptation before, like with the last HP book. I so wanted to know if the ending was happy. I needed to know if Ron, Hermione and Harry survived. But I resisted because I didn't want to ruin the story for myself. And I was also scared of what I would find there.

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    1. Aww I'm sorry, I'm crazy like that! :D
      Noughts and Crosses, I will one day for sure, it does have me intrigued, I just haven't gotten there!
      Hey, at least you can the advantages to it and that's it's not too crazy ;)

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  14. I do this too!! And the more I do it, the more I feel the need to do it... if that makes any sense. Sometimes I don't read the end and just skip ahead a few chapters so that I know everything is going to be okay and I can go to sleep... because otherwise I'll be up all night reading and trying to get to a point where I can calm down. It seems like from the comments ^ a lot of people do this, which surprises me. I thought other people shunned people like me :)

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    1. I can understand that, sometimes chapters can really help! Oh no, you're not alone Michelle, we all have weird habits ;)

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  15. I can understand why people do this, but I could NEVER EVER do it. Haha. Knowing how it all ends spoils the book for me, so I'm always very careful to avoid any spoilers about the ending. I only skip ahead to the end if I DNF the book, because I'm still curious how the story ends.

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    1. Never ever Mel? ;)
      I think skipping when you DNF is allowed, but I never do then, I think if I've left it, it's because I'm happy not knowing..

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  16. I do see your point but for me reading the ending is definitely a no no.

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    1. That's completely understandable, I can see why it's a no :)

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  17. How funny! No, I definitely can't read the ending before I get there. But I do think I heard about a study once that showed that spoilers actually increase people's enjoyment (I think it was for TV shows, but I would imagine this would be the same for books). So maybe you're on to something!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I'm definitely a little odd for this habit, whoops! I do think that sometimes by reading them it encourages, sometimes ;)

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