This is How We (I) Do....

So there's this "thing" I do that drives a lot of people nuts: I like to read the ending to movies before I go see them and, to a lesser extent, I do the same thing with books. I don't always do this with books because I do like the feeling of "oooh what's going to happen next?!?" but sometimes I do. 

It's something I've always liked to do, being the kind of person who doesn't pay very much attention to detail. Dave likes to tell the story about how we drove down the road side by side for about a mile before he had to beep the horn for me to realize he was next to me. This was when he drove a big red truck, too. 

Anyway, most of the time, this works in my favor. I'm able to understand what the heck is going on in complicated movies like Inception, or I'm able to pick up on the little details that lead to plot twists or clues that I would normally miss. It helps me enjoy what I'm seeing more. 

There have been a few instances however where I've ruined it for myself. Gone Girl being one of them. I won't give away the plot twist but suffice to say that one day I happened to wikipedia (we can make that a verb now too, like "google it", right?) the plot summary before picking up the book to see what the big hubbub was all about, and then when I read the book I couldn't appreciate the twist. 

The book is set up in the beginning to make you feel one way, you see little things that make you go "ah ha! I know you're the bad guy" and then half way through, you see you're wrong and then you go through the complicated emotions of un-hating the person you hated and hating the person you thought you were rooting for. I didn't get to experience that because I already knew what was coming. It didn't make the book any less of a good read for me, but I missed the experience. Imagine riding a roller coaster but missing the part where you go up a big hill and then stop at the top only to come rushing down again. Sure, the ride was probably still a little fun, but the exhilaration wasn't there. 

Is it going to make me change what I do? Yes and no. I'll probably avoid reading the ending/twists to books, but not the movies. I get more involved in a book, feel more emotional towards what I'm reading, but movies not so much. I'd still rather know how a movie ends before I see it.

How about you? Are you cringing at the thought of me reading the endings to movies and books or are you nodding your head in agreement?