I don't read the last chapter first. But I read a lot of historical fiction and tend to read the author's notes, which at times spoil the ending.
I read the end page first sometimes, or at least early on. I like a glimpse of where the story is going, but the ending lacks context, so I don't feel particularly spoiled. The fun for me is in seeing how the characters end up where they do. I also re-read books despite knowing how everything ends. Do people who don't like spoilers not re-read books?
I know this is true for me. The only books that I have read twice were the Harry Potter books, because there was just so much to take in and the second time around I read it with someone else who hadn't read it before. But besides that, I never re-read books, it just feels pointless since I already know what happens. I also rarely re-watch movies or TV shows. Saves on buying DVDs!
I have re-read quite a few books. Sometimes they are books that I love (Alive, War of the World, Earth Abides, Mythago Wood) and I re-read for enjoyment/inspiration. There are other that I read many years ago and I have forgotten how they turn out, this is especially true of some of the Agatha Christie books which I read as a teenager and return to about 30 years later.
I almost never reread a fictional book no matter how much I enjoyed it. While I'm sure I'd get more out of a reread, I figure I'll get even more out of reading a new book. In other words, the marginal utility of a new book is greater than the marginal utility of rereading a book. Mr Awe
I don't like spoilers but I do reread books -- rereading a book is a totally different experience to the first time. If a book is worth rereading then it had more going for it than a surprise ending.
Read the last chapter first? Never done it, never thought of it, can't imagine why I'd do it, and never heard of anyone doing it before this thread.
I re-read books because I read fairly quickly, so it doesn't cut into my first-time reading. Also, when I'm in the mood for a particular genre, I would rather read a book that I know is good than to gamble on a book that may not meet my expectations or wait for a book to be released that will.
^ It would have to even if you're a fast reader. You've only got a finite amount of time to read so any time you spend rereading a book can't be spent towards reading a new book. Not suggesting that you shouldn't reread (sounds like you have good reasons to), but it does in fact cut into your time to to read new books.
^Meh...I'll miss out on a few new stories to return to familiar loves, and that's fine with me. I've read my favorite book over 100 times..I could have read 99 new books, sure, but that wasn't the experience I was looking for when I picked up my favorite once again.
^I couldn't live in a world where I couldn't reread books! I've read many of my favorites at least twice, often ten or fifteen times, and, as I said, in the case of my favorite, over a hundred!
Wow, I can't even fathom reading the same thing 100 times! But, that's cool. I couldn't live in world I had to reread books that many time! I don't generally rewatch movies or TV series either. Or, at least not until a decade or more later when it's almost new again. (And the time commitment to watch something is shorter than rereading something.) I did read the Scarlet Pimpernel twice. I love that book. And, I made exception because it's one of my favorites, I didn't fully understand the historical context the first time I read in Junior High, and lots of time passed! But, that's about it!
Last chapter thing? I did it with DS9. Kinda ruined my enjoyment of it. Not with books or anything else, though.
Everything cuts into my time to read. Sleeping, eating, showering, etc., are all non-reading time. It's unbearable! On the whole, I read more new books than I re-read old ones. In 2012, I read twenty new books, and re-read only two. I've got a stack of fifty or so unread books in my pile to get through before my wife will allow me to purchase new books for light reading; I figure I'll get through them in a couple of years. Sometimes, when browsing in a bookstore, I'll pick up a book and read the last pages in front my wife, just because it perplexes her. I recently did it with the last Wheel of Time book, which I won't pick up until it's in paperback. Not only have I not read the last book of WoT yet, I've not read the two before it, either. So now I know how it ends, but have no real idea of how things ended up that way. Basically, it's the journey, not the destination, that's important for me. Is a road trip less fun for knowing where you're going to end up?
^ Definitely a valid way to look at it. As for trips, I'm the same way that I'm with books. I travel A LOT, particularly internationally. I'd generally rather go to a new place than revisit an old place. However, I make more exceptions for travel because even if you revisit the same city in a particular country, you're bound to see new sights. So, for me, that's how it differs from books. (But, I do understand that rereading can give you and others great pleasure so again, it's just a personal preference.) Mr Awe
I wasn't comparing new books to visiting new cities. I was comparing knowing the ending of a book to knowing where you're going on a trip. If I set out to drive to LA, I know where I'm going to end up, therefore I'm spoiled on the ending, but the trip is still worth taking.
That's what can be so rewarding. Re-reading a great book can really change your perspective and make you remember what you used to be like and how you have changed. Reading The Grapes of Wrath in school at 17 was a completely different experience than when I read it with a wife, family and 20 years of working behind me. There are a number of books I've revisited over the years and each time it is a very interesting and revealing experience.
Same thing. You know where you going to end up, but in a city as vast as LA, you'll be able to see very different things. So, in that case, the ending is what you see/do in LA, and that can be extremely different each time you go. It's as if the ending of the book changed! Mr Awe
I don't think it's a particularly good analogy. I mean, it works for one kind of adventure, sure, but what about the adventure of sailing in the direction you've never gone before with no idea what cities or people may be in your future path, or how you or your fellow travelers might change during the journey? They're both worthwhile experiences, but you're comparing apples to oranges.