This question came up in one of the Facebook groups I’m a member of.
Do you ever skip to the end of a book and read the final pages?
Some readers in the Facebook discussion were happy to admit they did. Others consider even the thought to be anathema.
I think I’m somewhere in the middle.
Many genres are designed for dipping and skipping. Non-fiction is one–many non-fiction books are designed to be dipped in to, depending on what topic you’re interested in. We often read poetry one poem at a time, and not necessarily in the order they appear in the book—even though that was (presumably) the in which order the poet intended us to read them.
And the Bible—even if we are using a sequential Bible reading plan, we probably dip in and out of other books as we look for guidance on specific subjects, or as we listen to Sunday’s preacher.
But novels are written to be read from beginning to end. It can feel like cheating to jump ahead.
But I have done it on occasion. Have you?
Sometimes I’ll skip to the end when I’m worried the story won’t end like I want it to. For instance, the hero and heroine have to end up together in a romance novel. We know that when we begin. We’re not reading for the ending, but for the journey. But there have been times when the author has got me worried and I want to be reassured the characters will get their happy ever after.
Other times I’ll check the ending when I’m not enjoying the novel. Then I’m skipping because I want to know the end, to decide if I’m going to make the effort to finish the book.
I do skip less often since getting my Kindle—perhaps because it makes a conscious effort to tell the machine to go to the last page. It’s not a simple flick the way it is with a paperback.
