Who else does this?

How odd ?

Nooooo never! Why would you do that.

I'm afraid I take a peek if I'm concerned about a character but it's just a peek!

I read a wonderful Margaret Forster book and all the way through thought it was a true story. I was devastated to read at the end that it wasn't! I had even made plans to write to the authoress and ask her further details about the person in the book.
What a marvellous story teller she was.
I haven't put the title in this post in case others haven't read it!!

I always flick through the pages of any book l'm considering reading, reading snippets as I go. I frequently read the final two or three pages, and always read the last page. My favourite genre is crime/thriller and I just have to know the outcome so that I can follow the twists, turns and significant moments of the story.
Of course I do exactly the same with every book I read, regardless of genre, which seems to negate my 'alibi' and confirms that I am a woman of little patience!

That would spoil a book for me but I do read magazines from back to front, don't ask me why I just always have.

I don't think I'd ever do that - in any case, the last page of a complex story wouldn't necessarily help much. I do sometimes let me eyes stray to the end of a page or chapter, and then relax and enjoy how the narrative takes me there.

I do re-read novels very occasionally, so it's not essential not to know how it ends. It gives you more chance to see why and how the story turns out the way it does, and a good novel will still hold your interest.

As for films, plenty of people see films numerous times. I have enjoyed The Shawshank Redemption several times, although the first time was probably the best because it has such a splendid and satisfying resolution.

Recently my granddaughter was watching Titanic for the nth time, and I nudged her and whispered, "It sinks, you know!"

Wikipedia is good if you want to know the end... (Providing there is an entry in the first place)

No, I prefer the suspense. However, I take a peek to ensure that the last page really is the last page - nowadays at the back there's often a preview of the next book by the same author. I see how many pages there and work out when I reach halfway - daft I know.
Late FIL used to get MIL's library books for her - he had to check the back pages to ensure that they had a happy ending - or she'd refuse to read it. Childish or what?

Never a book but always newspapers/magazines. I'm Irish ...

Why would anyone do that minimo. I can't see the point of reading a book if you know how it's going to end. It would certainly not occur to me to do so.

Interesting. People must have different reasons for reading a book.

It depends - if it's a whodunit or not.
If it is I like to guess who it is and check to find out.
And NanKate - I also read the newspaper back to front ( to see the obituaries)

Reading the ending first is just wrong!

I read magazines from back to front simply because I'm right-handed. It's easier to turn the pages that way. It's not as if a newspaper is telling a continuous story from page 1, so surely the order you read it in doesn't matter.

I wouldn't read the last page of a book till I got to it though, but I have heard of those who do.

Oh dear!! this is a habit which so annoys my children. I enjoy reading historical detective stories. Usually read the first two or three chapters, then turn to the read the last one so that I know 'who did it'. Then turn back to where I was and can continue to read happily. This way does stop me reading for far too long at night (the only time I do read). My children think it is a sign of me getting old, but have always done it.
With regard to sad endings, whenever I watch a performance of Romeo and Juliet, I always turn it off/ leave -before the final scenes when Juliet awakes to find Romeo dead beside her.

DH is watching QI, and I have just heard Sandi Toksvig mention: the "spoiler paradox", where you are more likely to enjoy something when you know how it ends.

I instantly thought of this thread