Good Book/Bad Book Test

When I was a kid, I had a simple test to see if a book was good or bad.

I would flip to the last page and read the last sentence. 

If that sentence answered the question "How does the book end?", I could put that book away. 

If that sentence made no sense and was not a spoiler, it was a sign of a good book.

Simplistic? Yes. Did this always work? Of course not.

But think about it: when you are immersed in a good book, you travel with the characters, you learn and grow with them. If you skip all that and simply jump to the last sentence - of course it wouldn't make sense, because you haven't put in the work required to "get it".

I don't do this much anymore. For the most part, I read books that have been recommended by friends (or by you, dear fellow bloggers) and/or that had good reviews on Kirkus. Also, for many fun-read genre books, the last page with all the answers is part of the game.

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I'm reading "Piranesi" right now. After I got about a third into the book, I flipped to the last page and read that last sentence.

Nope, did not make much sense. 

I'm sticking with reading the book and taking it one sentence at a time.

Do you have a method for "screening" books?