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/lit/ - Literature

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13428696 No.13428696 [Reply] [Original]

So, do you read forewords and introductions?

>> No.13428802

Depends on my anxiety and the book

>> No.13428812

If it's author context only, yes. Otherwise no. I don't want them to bias my interpretation.

>> No.13428831

Had the ending to Roadside Picnic spoiled by my copy’s foreword, so not anymore.

>> No.13429846

>>13428696
I read the book first and, if I liked it, read the foreword afterward. A lot of them are just some semi-famous chump rambling about the book, but some of them are written by genuine fans and are insightful.

>> No.13429871

If it’s by the author, yes. Otherwise only on re-reads or after finishing the book.

>> No.13429891

>>13428696
Only if it’s non-fiction
/thread

>> No.13430406

>>13428696
Of course I do, I can't read backwards!

>> No.13430509

Im nonfiction the introduction is literally the first chapter of the book, it's quite interesting how this has developed.

>> No.13431619

>do you read the first chapter?

idiot.

>> No.13432312

>>13428696
I tend to skip past them. Most of the time they contribute nothing, and every now and then they outright spoil the events of the book.

>> No.13432459

>>13428696
Only if it's written by the author. Otherwise I don't need some hanger-on lurking at the entrance to the book like some sort of eggheaded bridge troll.

>> No.13432468
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13432468

No and I don't read appendixes, indexes, bibliographies, references or any of that gay shit either.

>> No.13432471

>>13432312
Don't forget the attempts to "contextualize" the "problematic aspects" od the text i.e. try to tell you what to think about what you're about to read.

>> No.13434114

>>13428696
I love that codex! :D

>> No.13434386

Forewords and introductions of treatises and really old diaries tend to improve the read giving background and historical context, those from different countries and cultures will discuss the differences with ours. Unless it's from the author himself, what comes before a military diary tend to be just a paperwork captain (I don't know the term in English, but it's a person in the army who does nothing but sit in a desk and deal with paper) rambling about the current situation of the armed forces and praising the soldiers. I never saw a foreword or intro from a fictional book that hurts the main text, can you name a few examples?

>> No.13434433
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13434433

>>13428696
I read the entirety of a book save for those parts which are clearly reference material. An introduction is there in order to enhance your reading of a text in some way or other. I give the benefit of the doubt to the editors when I assume that the introduction will fulfill its purpose. It is preferable to be wrong and read a bad introduction than it is to miss out on something that could benefit my comprehension of either the text or its context.