Just realized how many book clubs skip the author's intro notes

I was at my neighborhood book club last Tuesday and noticed nobody read the author's forward in the hardcover of the novel we picked. Turns out that section explained why the main character was so quiet, which everyone argued about for 20 minutes. Has your group ever missed a key detail because people skipped the front matter?

3 comments

3 Comments

abbyg1415d ago

Forward matter is usually boring filler that the publisher forces in, letting you discover the story naturally makes discussions way more interesting. Honestly those 20 minutes of arguing were probably the best part of your meeting.

adam_thompson5314d ago

Okay so I gotta push back on "forward matter is usually boring filler." Some of the best stuff in a book is in the forward or introduction, especially when the author explains why they wrote it or drops hints about what to look for. If you skip that you might miss out on context that makes the story hit harder later. I remember reading a classic where the forward pointed out a hidden theme I never would have caught on my own. Skimming that stuff feels like reading a map wrong and then blaming the map for being boring.

rubyschmidt15d ago

Fair point, @abbyg14. I once spent a whole meeting defending my take on a book's prologue, only to realize the rest of the group barely remembered it existed. My bad arguments are probably the most memorable part of any discussion, honestly.