# Bookworms: Do you do what Levar Burton does?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 10, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949 "2013-12-10T03:22:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/21 "2013-12-10T04:46:04Z")
I might read the ending if the tension gets to be too much. If I know how it ends, I can go back and enjoy the story, appreciate the writing, etc.
I’ve also done it when I lose interest in anything but the ending.
I’ll do it with movies too – go to Wiki and read the plot summary.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/22 "2013-12-10T05:03:40Z")
I’d never do such a thing . . . except now, I just read **AuntiePam** ’s post.
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### Author:  [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/23 "2013-12-10T05:26:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> I do it accidentally sometimes (like, I flip to the last page just to see exactly how many pages there are, and then my eye just naturally scans in the text), but I wish I wouldn’t. I like to be surprised by the ending.
I’ll flip to the last page to see how many pages there are, but I’ve trained myself not to look at the text. As soon as I’ve seen the page number, the book is closed.
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### Author:  [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/24 "2013-12-10T05:31:10Z")
I’ve never skipped to the end, but I have skipped paragraphs and pages.
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/25 "2013-12-10T06:15:08Z")
I’ve only done this to reassure myself that the book actually ends, and isn’t a damned cliff-hanger. I’ve been stung by those, and I detest them with the violence of fire-ant stings and poison ivy rashes!
“The story will be continued in Mr. Stinkard’s sequel, ‘You Have Just Been Shafted, Ha Ha,’ available in July of some prime-numbered year not too long from now.”
Grr…
Otherwise, no, I would never skip ahead when reading. Just doesn’t seem cricket, somehow.
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/26 "2013-12-10T06:26:52Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#):
>
> And why is it important for a book to come out well? Books that end depressingly bad can be good reads too.
Depending on taste. I hate depressing endings; the only time I skip to the end of a book is if it becomes so depressing that I suspect it’ll _end_ depressingly. And if it does I’ll stop reading it.
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/27 "2013-12-10T06:30:12Z")
> [@johnpost](#):
>
> the butler did it; each and every time.
Actually, this is [Dead Unicorn](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeadUnicornTrope), and in reality the butler hardly ever did it, or, if he did, it is usually a parody.
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/28 "2013-12-10T06:56:09Z")
If the book sucks halfway through to the point I need to see the ending before soldiering on then I’m done with it.
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### Author:  [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/29 "2013-12-10T07:36:44Z")
Hell no. That makes absolutely no sense to me. I can’t imagine why you would ever choose to spoil the end to a story before you read it. There’s something that just seems so immature about doing that, like you can’t handle reading something unless you know it ends with happy rainbows and sunshine.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/30 "2013-12-10T07:42:54Z")
> [@Wolf333](#):
>
> I’ve never skipped to the end, but I have skipped paragraphs and pages.
Oh I do that too. I hate it when the author drolls on about something that is completely unimportant to the storyline.
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/31 "2013-12-10T08:29:53Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#):
>
> Hell no. That makes absolutely no sense to me. I can’t imagine why you would ever choose to spoil the end to a story before you read it. There’s something that just seems so immature about doing that, like you can’t handle reading something unless you know it ends with happy rainbows and sunshine.
As pointed out above, a “good” ending is not the same thing as a “happy” ending. _Hamlet_ has a good ending. It does not, by any metric\*, have a happy ending.
\*Unless you’re Fortinbras, I guess.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/32 "2013-12-10T08:42:34Z")
> [@Wolf333](#):
>
> I’ve never skipped to the end, but I have skipped paragraphs and pages.
Most 19th century books would otherwise be completely unreadable; small wonder, given how many of their authors got paid by volume.
I skip long expositions when I find my attention wandering, but never to the end of the book.
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### Author:  [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/33 "2013-12-10T09:01:45Z")
Never. That would ruin it for me.
If I’m not liking a book, I don’t care what the ending is. It ends when I throw it across the room.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/34 "2013-12-10T09:13:40Z")
98% of the kind of books I read have upbeat endings. I can’t see it would benefit me any to already know where it ends\*. I like to be surprised, where possible.
\*Though I do enjoy re-reading books on occasion
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### Author:  [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/35 "2013-12-10T10:45:37Z")
I’ve been known to read the ending early.
I read a lot of romance. The ending of many romance novels is never in any doubt-- the details may vary, but whether the couple featured fall in love despite whatever artificial obstacles appear is not a concern. However, in many romance novels, there comes a point midway through, where the amount of angst the characters are suffering drives me a little nutty, and it’s nice to be reassured that they will eventually figure out that hot sex isn’t the only thing they’ve got going for them.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/36 "2013-12-10T10:59:11Z")
I may have done it at some point when I was younger, but I don’t think I ever thought about it as a general way to read books.
I do know that there are books and movies where knowing what’s going to happen at the end ruins the story, as the suspense is the only thing going for it, and the whole thing is rather boring otherwise. But I guess that wouldn’t have to be everything.
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### Author:  [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/37 "2013-12-10T13:03:50Z")
I don’t believe I’ve ever done that. I do re-read books all the time though so on subsequent readings I know how they’re going to end.
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### Author:  [@Swamp\_Adder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swamp_Adder)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/38 "2013-12-10T13:43:03Z")
Never; I hate spoilers. I often avoid reading even back cover blurbs because they give too much away.
> [@Hail\_Ants](#):
>
> I literally held an index card over the page and slid it down line by line so as to not spoil even a single sentence!!
I also do this occasionally, when I’m in the middle of a really suspenseful part. What else are bookmarks for? 😉
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/39 "2013-12-10T14:04:33Z")
Not with any regularity but I sometimes peek to the end. Or ahead. I’ve been known to read books occasionally out of order (although it’s more common for me to read entire series out of order. For example, the Potter series I read something like 4-2-1-3-5-6).
And, yeah, it’s about the journey not the destination, so that doesn’t bother me, and spoilers don’t bug me either for the same reason.
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### Author:  [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bookworms-do-you-do-what-levar-burton-does/675949/40 "2013-12-10T14:06:06Z")
I used to read the last paragraph. I don’t now, less because of any purist notions and more because reading the last paragraph was rarely instructive.
I have been known, when someone “dies” to flip around the back half of the book a little and see if their name starts popping back up again.
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