I’ve got six different books started right now and between them, I’ve encountered a preface, a foreword, and introduction and a prologue. Two of the books had a preface AND a foreword. The foreword to one of these books was really grinding on me – basically laying out each short story ahead of time. (I was listening on Libby in the car so couldn’t mess with fast forwarding.) It occurred to me that I don’t really know the difference between all these “can we hurry up and get to the book” blockades. So I looked them up:
Preface. An introduction to a book, typically stating its subject, scope, or aims. Written by the author, a preface is about the book: the history of the inspiration, what inspired it and how the writing of the book transpired. Much more common in non-fiction books and usually includes acknowledgements.
Foreword. The foreword, which logically come before the book is normally written by someone other than the author – another author, a friend, mentor or a subject expert. A foreword might contain a short biography of the author, and salient points about the book. Apparently getting a well-known author to write your foreword is a real score.
Introduction. This is the playground of the author and is normally all about the book: a clue to what the author thinks the reader needs to know ahead of time, anything from character introduction to emphasis on themes… you name it.
Prologue. This is part of the book, almost exclusively fiction, that takes place before the main action of the book. A good prologue sets the scene for the rest of the book, I guess since this is actually part of the story, these don’t bug me too much.
Knowing the difference doesn’t really change my mind about their status but it made me feel a bit better knowing.
Do you read all the prefaces/forewords/introductions in a book? What about the acknowledgements at the end?
If the book is non-fiction, for some subjects I also read the notes and bibliography as well.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Don’t forget the inside of the paper cover on some books.
LikeLiked by 3 people
…and the list of the author’s previous books.
LikeLike
Like you, VS, I always read a Prologue. Though in one murder mystery it had enough violence in it that I decided not to continue reading the book!
I’ll plow though the others if they seem interesting, but will often skip right to the book if they’re too lengthy.
I’ll skip the Acknowledgements, but I usually enjoy the special Notes at the end that some authors use. And I appreciate, in historical fiction, when an author explains in the Notes which events were real and which were fiction.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Agreed. In “The Frozen River”, (Ariel Lawhon–a favorite book) fiction about a puritan midwife, there was a lot of info about how she imagined life at that time. It also made me enjoy our luxurious life now.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Just looked this up (and others by her) – looks very interesting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a great read!
LikeLike
Meant to say I scan the Acknowledgements; sometimes there’s an interesting tidbit..
LikeLiked by 2 people
I almost never read acknowledgments, but I did read the acknowledgment on Patricia Hampl a few years back, the memoir about her father. And what a surprise to find that she gave a great acknowledgment to her editor, who happens to be a friend of mine. That was fun.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Usually. However, I recently started reading a book with a 27-page introduction. The prose was dense and rather technical and esoteric. After wading through that section, I pressed on with the body of the book, but it was just as dense and technical as the intro, so I gave up after 50 pages.
Not my style to DNF a book, but I’m starting to do it more thanks to my ever-advancing age and ever-expanding TBR list. So many books, so little time!
Chris in Owatonna
LikeLiked by 4 people
A friend of mine and I had lunch on Monday and we got onto the topic of DNF. I started earlier than some because I remember reading someplace (maybe Publishers Weekly) many years ago that more books are printed each year than you could read in your lifetime — that said to me that I will never be without a book to read, even if I abandoned half of them.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Rise and Read It All, Baboons,
The answer to all of them is sometimes. If the info is useful or interesting, yes. If someone is bloviating, then no thanks. There is too much bloviation in the world at this time to tolerate it if it is not necessary. If it is non-fiction I will often refer to the information (notes, credits, etc). Weirdly, I love footnotes. I often read footnotes because they have all kinds of minutae that I must know! And then in my Jacque style, I might stop the book and read, re-read, or study any of the parts mentioned if I think there is something there I must know to enjoy the book.
Sort of OT: My sister was over the moon after William Kent Krueger wrote a very complimentary blurb for one of her mysteries. It appeared that he really did read the book. I did read that.
LikeLiked by 4 people
I almost never use audio books but I assume one loses the footnotes, etc. when the book is consumed in that way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No, they read the notes, but I get a hardcopy so I can study the notes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t used to read those. I was too eager to get to whatever came on page 1 of the “text”. I have realized, though, that a book, whatever it might be, makes more sense to me when I’ve allowed the author to lead me to the on ramp.
As for forewords by someone else, I can take it or leave it.
Acknowledgements, when they are more than name-dropping, can be fun.
LikeLiked by 5 people
In which case, you might enjoy Autumn In The Heavenly Kingdom: China, The West, and the Epic Story Of The Taiping Civil War.
Format as follows.
Dramatis Personae, Chronology, Preface, Maps, Prologue, Text, Epilogue, Acknowledgements, Notes, Selected Bibliography, Index, Illustration Credits. Whew!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll read everything; even the index if there is one.
LikeLiked by 2 people
yep i am a reader of what they put in there. sometimes it adds sometimes it strike one in the do i finish it process
LikeLiked by 3 people
Today I was encouraged to read everything in a book by a little note on the library check out receipt.
It might have been on previous receipts but I never noticed them.
“By using the library today, you have saved:
$100.02 today.
$3,765.23 this year.
$17,836.58 in a lifetime.”
It must mean the retail value of all the books I’ve checked out from this library. Rather nice to know.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I am immediately dividing 17,000 x 3 in my brain to find out how many years they think you’re gonna live that’s kind of an insult
LikeLiked by 3 people
I got a real kick out of the book Prairie home companion by Garrison that had probably 100 pages of footnotes
LikeLiked by 5 people
I remember that. Half the book was footnotes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
whoops, I mean Lake Wobegon days
LikeLiked by 2 people
I try to read the intro and preface. Sometimes it’s just dull.
God research you did VS!
LikeLiked by 3 people
If you don’t read prologues, you might miss the prologue of Restaurant at the End of the Universe:
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another which states that this has already happened.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Yes, I read it all.
LikeLike