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Reading books backwards

Chloe

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Do you do it ?


I mean, not informational books (they can be read randomely even if they are written linearly), but for example.. novels... [auto]biographies..


many times I caught myself reading books backwards... like book has 300 pages, and i open at 280 and read 5 pages, then go to 200 and read 5, and then 100 read 5, then 150 and read 5. it's not in the skimming period, i mean i am doing this when i really am reading the book..


:unsure:
 

Qlip

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lol.. nope. I kind of like the idea of experiencing something the way it was intended, at least the first time through. I do this with magazines that I've already read, though.
 

Such Irony

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I've never done this but I did download and audiobook once to an iPOD and then listened to the tracks on shuffle. It was fun to listen to random parts and try to piece together the whole story.
 

Chloe

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I actually think that could masohism, maybe. :happy2:
Torturing your brain... like.. I ADORED Ana Karenina, but I read it in that way and now I have no clue .. i mean, i heard she jumped under the train...
 
N

NPcomplete

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Nope, never done it. I have in the past though glanced at the last page(s) just to check if my favourite characters were still alive. When I was a kid, that used to matter a lot. :p
 

gromit

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When I was younger I would start reading and want to know how it would end and then cheat and read the very ending. :doh: But now I'm realizing it's also fun to discover as you go and try to figure it out or at least let it unfold and entertain you.
 

KDude

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I often do this. At least at first, I might skim like this sometimes.. and then get to reading from the beginning.

Lets blame it on Ni. Everything is type related, right?
 

Stanton Moore

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I tend to flip through magazines from back to front, but that's because I'm a lefty. I've never read a book in that way.
 

bluestripes

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i do this all the time. i open a book at a random page and read a small section. after that i return and read the preceding several pages, then read a few pages further. then i open the book at another random place and repeat the whole process. if one of these parts feels particularly moving, i will re-read it several times over. it might seem chaotic, and it is, but eventually, the book starts to become more and more of a coherent whole and falls into place, like to a jigsaw puzzle.

by the time i am done with the book, i am usually able to recite whole passages by rote because i have read them all too often, and many of my books are noticeably worn down with overuse.

it might be shameful to admit but i read jung's "memories, dreams, reflections" this way, and it is one of my most favorite books ever.
 

Haight

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I read the Torah backward all the time.
 

stalemate

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Hmmm... no... but I used to always take the first sentence of a book and the last sentence of a book and try to imagine a story of just those two sentences.
 

stalemate

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Also, I've read essays and stuff backward by the word (like last word, then next to last word, etc) looking for typos because it is the only way to shut off my built in mental auto correct.
 

Daemon Corax

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I have to admit I've never done it before, but it sounds like an interesting idea. I'd only try it once or twice and not if I really want to read a book thoroughly.
What about spoilers you may encounter? Also, I guess putting the pieces together is a bit challenging, but does it always give the best results?
I'd love to read a philosophy book backwards. Just for the fun of it!
 

sculpting

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Not backwards, but for any book, I do just pick them up in the middle and start reading. I will read a few pages, put them down, then read a few pages from another book. I especially dot his with nonfiction.

I only skip around in fiction books I have already read or if the fiction book really sucks and I just want to see how it ends-then I read a few pages from each chapter.
 
G

garbage

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Am I the only person who does this besides the OP!?

I just.. want to get to the point..
 

Firelie

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Why on earth would you want to read a book backwards? Of course, I like to know the "why" of everything, so it's unthinkable to me to skip past that... But seriously, though. Why would you want to read a book backwards?
 
G

Ginkgo

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I skip around if the book is academic or non-fiction, but I wouldn't read a novel from last page to first linearly. :shock:
 

Daemon Corax

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Why on earth would you want to read a book backwards? Of course, I like to know the "why" of everything, so it's unthinkable to me to skip past that... But seriously, though. Why would you want to read a book backwards?

To challenge your attention skills and your ability to reconstruct the plot, I suppose. It may be similar to solving a puzzle. (Of course, linear reading can also get you into making predictions, but it's a slightly different situation.)
For those who actually read books backwards: correct me if I'm wrong.
 
G

garbage

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Wait. I mean, I often read the beginning, then the end, then skip around a lot in the middle. I guess I like to start at the ends of problems and let the middle emerge.
 
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