Don't be in such a hurry

I am currently nearing the ends of two books, Sanctus by Simon Toyne, and The Power of Words which is the life of Winston Churchill as told by his public speeches. Although they are both good books and worth reading, I am not going to make any other comments on the books themselves. I'm more interested in what happens 'towards the end of a book.'

Hands up if you rush through the end of a book. Does anyone else do that? Whereas through the majority of Sanctus, for example, I was reading it how you are supposed to read a book - savouring the words, allowing them to permeate the mind and create images and arouse feelings - I now find myself skimming a little in a pointless race to the end where the only prize is the opportunity to commence a new book. (That's good but you know what I mean.) I have to force myself to slow down. Not to be in such a hurry. The end deserves just as much respectful and interested attention as the beginning and the middle.

I've realized that I write my novels in the same fashion. I've occasionally been criticised for finishing my stories too quickly. I am now also aware, courtesy of this blog post, that I live my life in exactly the same way I read books. Hmmmm...Can anybody else relate the way they read to the way they live?