On Spoilers

This will likely be the most controversial subject ever talked about on my blog: my reading process. Yes that's right. While most people read the traditional way (you know, following the story from the first page to the last page), I prefer to know the ending while I'm reading. Basically, I read as much as I can before I HAVE to know the ending, read the ending, then maybe go a bit futher back if I can't understand the ending, then go back to where I had stopped originally and finish the book. Unless I just don't finish the book because I'm either OK with knowing how it ended or didn't like how it ended. There are, of course, exceptions to this method, which include the last Harry Potter, and other books of such importance that I force myself to finish without spoiling them for myself.

Now, this is controversial to many people, Nathan included, who believe I ruin books for myself by knowing the ending. But lately, I've learned that there are other people out there who read like I do, or jump around even more than I do. (To which most of you are probably thinking, maybe you all need to find a support group for such a problem.) However, check out this article I found via on facebook today, on spoilers. Spoiler alert: Here's the end of the article, that sums it up quite nicely:

"So this means that a spoiler is not really a spoiler at all. It takes a complex story and simplifies it, allowing you to process it easier. The ability to process it easier allows you to be more engaged in the story and understand it to a deeper level. And think, just maybe, if that "spoiled" story is good enough, it can last for thousands of years, exposing it to future generations of readers."

Maybe this just goes to show I'm not so crazy after all . . .