Quote:
Originally Posted by alecE
Always, even if it's a crap preface.I take the view that the author has taken the trouble to write it, so I should take the trouble to read it.
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This made me chuckle, because I have to be pretty economical with my reading time and I don't feel like I owe the author a wooden nickle. Still, it's a nice attitude.
I read prefaces if it's an older book that has gone through several editions - I recently read the preface to the B&N "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" and found it very interesting and instructive.
But a recent release? Never, never, never. Prefaces are, in my experience, either completely spoilery (in which case they would ruin my reading experience), or totally non-relevant / navel-gazing (in which case why would I care to read this?).
I will read afterwords, though. If they captured my attention enough to get me to the end of the book, I'll read the afterword.
