I have an unusual way of reading books. It drives my DH crazy. I read a book about 3/4 of the way through, then put it down for days – sometimes weeks. Or I’ll read a chapter or two at a time. Or, I read about halfway, make some guesses about the plot, and then read the last few pages to see if I’m right. Then I’ll put it down for awhile and later go back to read the in between stuff. I think it’s the last he objects to the most, though he can’t understand why I employ the former methods either. I don’t like it when my emotions get yanked around by a book. It feels like I’m loosing control of them, in a way. That and it often effects my mood. Suspense especially. Tonight I refused to watch Lost because the man is working third shift and I would be all alone (well, with the dog) in a little apartment on the ground floor in a complex that is usually busy until the wee hours of the morning. No thanks. 
I did that once and was awake and thoroughly creeped out until 3 A.M. An example would be the Dean Koontz book I’m (still) currently reading, the Darkest Evening of the Year. I’m over half-way now and I’m still reading it a chapter or two at a time. Maybe this particular one is harder because it involves dogs (my breed, too) as well as people, but I do this with lots of books. Another would be Wideacre, by Phillipa Gregory. I’m about 4/5 of the way finished (have been for about 4 months), and I’ve already read the ending. I still want to go back and find out how certain things ended up the way they did, but I’m much happier knowing the ending.
Looking at it from one perspective, it’s a compliment to the author. It means he or she made their characters real enough that I’m concerned about what happens to them. On the other hand, my fits and starts and sneak peaks do limit the ability of the story/author in some ways. I often miss foreshadowing when reading this way. I don’t get to know the characters quite so well. And when I sneak the back of the book, I don’t get to fully appreciate the building of the story. My husband says this is an insult to the writer, and as a writer I should never do this. He does have a point, and I’m trying to break myself of reading the ending first. I have a lot of trouble just letting random authors take my emotions/mood for a ride, though.
What do you all think? Am I being unfair to my fellow writers? Or am I not alone in this odd way of reading? If you don’t think I should read this way, tell me why. If you think it’s all fine and dandy, give me a reason for that too. I’m just interested in hearing what other writers/readers think.
Oh yeah, just for the record, I do the equivalent with RPGs and some movies. I can make it through a comedy or a chick flick, but give me an emotional ride and I just can’t quite take it. I’m currently trying to work up enough courage to finish the Patriot. After insisting someone tell me if so-and-so and so-and-so dies. *sheepish*
So I’m not the only one who reads the last page first eh? I too don’t like to get my time and emotions involved and then not be satisfied with the ending. As a writer, my goal is to have a certain level of ambiguity in the last page. I am sure it will drive many a reader crazy -wicked laugh-
Oh, and have I got a story to tell you about a Dean Koontz inspired dream…
Haha i do the same thing, but i just ask for specifics from my brother usually. Like does he die?!! or things like that. most of the time it doesnt bother me knowing the answer to specific questions i have but i think it makes me sheepish too ^_^
I agree with you in some ways and in others I strongly disagree. You say you don’t like random authors taking you on an emotional rollercoaster? Then why do you even read a book? Unless you know them personally, it’s always going to be a random writer, and unless it’s non-fiction, it’s always going to be a rollercoaster. At least one up and one down at the most boring. The point of a book is to feel it. Lots of people like “going to new places”, why don’t you want to feel new things new ways? My favorite book ever starts with a not-exactly-happy-not-exactly-sad scene, then gets bittersweet, then kind of in the middle, just existing. Then happy, then the saddest scene you have ever read, then the main character finds love, then has to go because it’s physically impossible to stay with their love. They spend a really sad year apart, only to be united again because the girl you hated the entire book turns out to be the good guy after all. Then they get married and it ends with a reference to a past she can no longer remember. That makes you go “AWW!” It’s a roller-coaster, but it all comes together in the end and it’s totally worth it. If I would’ve read the end first it would’ve spoiled the entire book and I couldn’t have felt the heartbreak (the heartbreak that made the book so good) fully. Yes, it kinda hurt because I had grown so close to these characters, and I thought about if I had been the one in that situation, but that’s life, and it’s worth it.