​Get Real: The ending justifies the means

I blame the show, “CSI.”

It stands for Criminal Scene Investigation, and was an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran from 2000 to 2015.

My husband and I watched it religiously and were on a first-name basis with the characters. Each week, there would be a new murder to solve and they cracked the case, every time, in less than 60 minutes – even faster, if you include the time for commercials!

So, my attention span was quickly reduced to “I need to know whodunit” in less than an hour.

Which brings us to the art of reading a book. Yes, I realize it’s a quantum leap, but stick with me here.

I love reading action adventure books, mostly by James Patterson, David Baldacci, Michael Connelly, etc.

They’re exciting reads with just enough mystery that I’m forced to read ahead to find out who did what to whom. In fact, I’ve been known to read the first three chapters and race to the ending because I just couldn’t wait to find out.

It can, and does, totally destroy a book. It’s like eating dessert first – but I’ve been known to do that too!

My friends can’t believe I would read the ending before completing the book. You’re supposed to read it from front to back, without speed-reading chapters ahead, and without reading the ending – of all things – imagine! It’s like trying to drive from your home to your destination without travelling that section in between.

Okay, I get it. However, other people must have longer attention spans than I do, or they never watched “CSI.” Or they have time to sit and read three or four chapters at a time.

I don’t have that luxury. I might be lucky to get through a chapter or two and that’s usually while I’m in the washroom.

And what happens if, for some reason, I set the book down and it disappears? If I didn’t read the ending, I’m left hanging, wondering how it ended. Can there be anything more disheartening than to read three-quarters of a book and not know how it ends? No, there cannot.

Hence, the continued practice of reading the ending of a book, and then returning to the start to see how the author got there.

Now, if you don’t mind, I have to grab the remote control and fast-forward through this episode of “Midsomer Murders” to find out how it ends.

Ah, life in the fast lane!