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The Confession of an Impatient Reader

In the most recent episode of "Doctor Who," the Doctor turns the back of the book he is reading and tears out the final page, setting it aside. He hates endings, you see, and, this way, the story never has to end. I, on the other hand, need to know what's going to happen. I am an impatient reader.

I have often paused in my reading of a book to flip ahead randomly and see if a current conflict resolves happily, if a flirting couple get together, if a plot point that is boring me comes to an end anytime soon. It's dangerous when I do this while reading a mystery book, because I can inadvertantly find out whodunit before I want to. But, more often than not, I just don't care because I need to know.

Last night I was reading "Silence," the third book in Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, hush series. I liked the first two books, but was also frustrated by them. I wanted more of the main characters together. They were supposed to be the star couple of the series and they spent more time apart than together. In the beginning of "Silence," Nora, the female lead character, has no memory of Patch, the male lead character. I nearly screamed in frustration. Enter my impatient reader habit. I flipped ahead thirty, then forty pages. "Just show me when they get back together," I muttered to myself. Once I found sufficient evidence that they would reunite sooner rather than later, I turned back to the current page and continued reading. (And, I'm pleased to report that this book was easily my favorite book in the series thus far!)

So, what's your reading secret? Do you flip ahead like me? Do you read the last page first? Do you only read the first sentence of every paragraph until you get to dialogue? 

Justa Comment

6:44 am on Sunday, October 7, 2012

Oh, you are so spoiling it for yourself! When I'm reading a book I am really enjoying, I hate for it to even end. I'd never flip ahead to see what was going to happen. On the other hand, if I'm bored after a chapter or two, I just don't read the book. "So many books, so little time."

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Randy1949

1:26 pm on Sunday, October 7, 2012

Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. I'm one of those people who really don't mind spoilers. It's a rare book or movie that is really spoiled by them, because with a good book the real fun is in the journey. If you know how the story ends you can better appreciate the little clues writers throw out to you along the way.

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Heather Asiyanbi

2:20 pm on Sunday, October 7, 2012

I'm with Randy on this one - I often turn to the last page to see what happens and I am an unabashed spoiler lover when it comes to favorite TV shows. I was horrible when "Lost" was still on TV. I just finished "Left Neglected" which was a really good read, but the end left me ... it was a little too pat, I guess. And a pretty significant development was just kind of brushed under the rug. But I still turned to the end!

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Randy1949

2:51 pm on Sunday, October 7, 2012

I find myself turning to the end a lot less now that i have an e-reader. It's more difficult to do than just sticking your finger in the page and flipping to the back.

There are only a few books/movies where I really appreciated being kept in suspense. The Sixth Sense was one, but then I had to get it on video as soon as possible to re-watch key scenes to study M. Knight Icantspellit's sleight of hand in misdirecting us. In other cases, there are a few instances I would have appreciated a warning of what's ahead so that I could prepare myself -- a scene in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, for one.

Because I have great respect for Stephen King and his views on the subject, I almost never check the ending of his books ahead of time. But I find re-reading them to be just as enjoyable, even when I know what will happen.

Nuitari

4:38 pm on Sunday, October 7, 2012

I read a book cover-to-cover. Patch articles, not so much.

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