Welcome to Bookish Blatherings, a Bad Bird Reads feature where I ramble about bookish or bloggerish things and hopefully you will join in on the discussion.
So, I have this dirty little secret when it comes to reading books or watching movies. It’s a secret that I have hinted at before. It’s a secret I can almost guarantee no one will agree with me on. I have never met another book blogger that feels the same way as me when it comes to this topic. I use to feel bad about feeling this way but I have come to terms that this is just the kind of person I am. Ready to hear what it is?
I love spoilers! Sometimes when I’m reading a book and it gets tense or nerve-wracking, I just want to skip to the end and see what’s going to happen so I can stop stressing. Even before I start reading a book I like to see if I can find spoilers in reviews on Goodreads. I do the same thing with movies. I search the internet to see if anyone reveals what happens in the end or if someone has written a detailed plot outline. Wikipedia is great with that.
Now, I don’t do this very often. It’s only for those really intense or suspenseful books and movies. I think this stems from me not being able to handle the stress of not knowing something. I can only handle the suspense for so long before I am a ball of nerves and then I don’t enjoy myself anymore because all I do is worry instead of focus on the story. I want to relax and have fun while reading. If I know it’s going to end badly then at least I can accept it more easily as I continue reading. If I know its going to end good, then I get to read all the stressful parts knowing it’s all going to be okay in the end.
I don’t always need a full on spoiler, just knowing the ending is going to be bad, sad, good, or a cliffhanger makes me feel better. If I am super shocked by a sad ending, I can tell you right now I will be upset and not give the book as many stars. Warn a girl, please.
I totally understand this is not normal. You’re thinking: but doesn’t this ruin the book/movie for you? Nope, I enjoy the book/movie just as much. Sometimes I even enjoy them more. For example, I would not watch The Purge movies until I knew what happened at the end. That shit is too stressful for me. I had a perfect example of a book and I totally can’t think of the title right now. Everyone recommended it to me but it was about sexual assault and a girl setting herself up to be sexual assaulted so she can bring down the bad guys who hurt her friend the same way. I just had to know if she went through with it in the end before I continued reading the story. Once I knew, I felt like I could handle whatever was to come.
FYI, I only look up spoilers for like 5% of the books I read or movies I watch. I am not that obsessed with spoilers, just for those few intense books and movies that will stress me out too much. I just wanna have fun, people!
Personally, I am not one to share spoilers very often when it comes to my reviews, and if I do I warn everyone and they aren’t huge spoilers. I do, however, say if the ending made me happy, sad, mad, or if there is a cliffhanger. I feel like that’s okay in the reviewing world. Even though I am not a spoiler kind of reviewer, I obviously love when a few bloggers write detailed reviewers with spoilers. I know that’s not very popular because most people want to be surprised by what their reading, but for me I just wanted to say I am cool with you girls. You have helped me stay sane with those few books that would have overwhelmed me.
What do you think of spoilers?
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Rachel Lightwood @ Isytria
I wish I could agree with you, Jennifer, but I am completely the opposite and it makes me want to start hyperventilating just thinking about getting spoiled on purpose! There’s almost nothing I hate more than spoilers. I hate people even telling me that the ending is heartbreaking or the book made them cry etc. before I pick up a book/watch the movie. It takes away the excitement. I now know that the book is sad or someone dies at the end, and why bother reading something that I know what’s going to happen? I rarely even watch book-to-movie adaptions because I am spoiled for the movie by reading the book. I think we’ll have to agree to disagree with this topic!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
OMG, you are like the extreme opposite of me, lol. But I get it, most people don’t want their books spoiled for me.
melliane
lol I don’t do that but sometimes I can read the end of the book before the whole thing
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I know, I’m weird. lol
anna (herding cats & burning soup)
LOL yeah no that’s not me. I don’t mind knowing if the ending is, like you said happy or sad or has a cliffy. That kind of thing is okay with me. But oh man it sucks (to me) if you’re reading a mystery and someone is all oh X did it. Well…thanks. Or so in so is his brother! I totally would have wanted to find that out on my own.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Most of the time I feel that way, but sometimes the stress of not knowing is too much for me. I know, I have a problem.
Nessa Luna
If it’s something I’m not really that much into, I don’t mind reading spoilers about it (sometimes I even deliberately look up how the story is going to end XD). But if it’s a thing that I really love, then I can get really pissed if I see a spoiler. It’s the problem with being on Tumblr and not being American – most TV shows air when I’m asleep and I have to avoid spoilers like it’s lava every time. It’s very annoying.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Yeah, for my fav series, I don’t like spoilers for those.
Lekeisha
I’m not one to go looking for spoilers, but I have been spoiled a few times with books and movies. I know that sometimes I will spoil a book with my review, but I make sure to forewarn. If the reader keeps reading, then that’s not my problem. It’s hard not to get spoiled nowadays with everything being on the internet.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
True, avoiding some spoilers is hard now-a-days.
Anna
I have to agree with you. If a sad ending comes my way, I’d be grateful for some warning to prepare me. I’m not the kind of person who likes to cry. Smile sure, but not cry. 🙂
Anna from Elements of Writing
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Ugh, crying sucks. It’s not my fault if it rains on my face! lol
kindlemom1
I admit I have been known to do this too when it is a series ender and I have to know that they end up with who I want them to or to you know, make sure they don’t die LOL! So I’m with you on that totally! I hardly admit it to anyone though but I tell you, sometimes you just have to know! I get stressed out if I worry too much over a book ending. 😉
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Yes, like with the last book of the Divergent Series. Once I found out how that ended I was all like “No, thank you.”
Kristin
While I don’t want to know what is going to happen, I do agree in wanting to know how the book ends as far as cliffhangers are concerned. I hate investing a lot of time into a book only to be duped into having to read the next book because of it being an incomplete story. So with that I totally agree with you on. 😉
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Ugh, the incomplete stories are the worst. I hate that play to read the next book.
Nathan
Personally, I don’t like spoilers that tell how the whole story ends. However, if the chapter of a book is stressful I will sometimes read ahead the end of the chapter or later to see if the character survives. I try not to do this often, though. So, I understand sometimes spoiling a stressful book.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
LOL I do that to with just the chapters.
Lily B
haah honestly I have done that. If something feels nerve wracking for me I will read the ending, I have done that several times 😀
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
yay, I am not the only one!
Braine Talk Supe
You are not alone! When I read Vicki Pettersen’s Swerve, I skimmed the last 20% because I can’t take the suspense! Like you, I want to relax, I don’t want to get too intense hence I avoid NA.
Two peas, J!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
OMG, really? I never would have guessed it with you! I no longer feel alone. hehe.
Aarati
Yeah, I love doing that… I go spoiler hunting even when I’m just looking for new books to read. My hunt is basically to know if the hero or heroine cheat on each other, or if there is a love triangle.
I regularly check for series spoilers too and unless it’s a just released movie, I always make sure to read the synopsis and try to fi nd spoilers.
My friends call me a spoiler queen… sometimes I even like to tell others the spoilers, it’s this unstoppable tendency… I try my best not to, because my friends don’t like it.. but sometimes I just blurt it out…
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
OMG, you are awesome. You might even go farther than I do, and I like it!
Aarati
😀
Renee (@Addictofromance)
I can definitely understand where movies are concerned….at least for me I need a good ending and if its not I like to know beforehand. When it comes to books….there is a reason I stick with romance novels hehe 99% of the time I am guaranteed a happy ending. But if I am unsure about it….I read the last couple pages just to make sure it ends good. Although I will say that I don’t like to know the full story spoiled before I read it.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
True, romance is a good way to go for a good ending.
Red Iza
Lol, I thought your secret would be dirtier ^^ Well… I don’t really like spoilers in books, but knowing what happens won’t prevent me from reading a good book. When it comes to movies or tv-shows, I usually watch them after everybody has, so I learn about spoilers whether I like it or not ! Like somebody who recently told me *that* character from Game of Thrones was dead while I haven’t watched the previous season yet 😉 And I have such a bad memory, I usually forget everything by the time I read the book/watch the show or movie, so…
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
LOL, that’s what I wanted you to think! bwahaha. Wellllll, I did say spoiler ahead, silly, so that is your own dang fault. hehe
Christy
I don’t look them up for books, but I don’t spaz if I see one. However, I spoil the shit out of TV shows and movies sometimes. One of the websites I have bookmarked is The Spoiling Dead for Walking Dead fans. I purposely go on twitter to read spoilers for shows when they won’t air for another hour here. lol. For most shows like Doctor Who and stuff, I don’t search for details, but I’m cool if I find out someone dies before I get a chance to watch. In fact, certain spoilers are what kept me interested in a certain book series.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I will seriously look for spoilers in shows that I am currently watching, lol. I did that a lot with The Leftovers this season.
Jaclyn Canada
Hahaha! I’ve been known to read the last page of a book before I start. Also, if someone I love dies in the first couple of chapters, I will flip to the end to make sure they are still alive, unless I already suspect the of coming back. I also wiki some movies to find out what characters will be involved and what happens. I also always read the teaser chapters that authors release before books come out. I’m with you…only about 5% of the time, but spoilers do not bother me a bit.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Hell yeah for wiki’ing movies! So happy you are with me on this one. I felt so alone!