A friend told me to stop skipping the author's notes in nonfiction books

I used to jump right into chapter one and ignore all that intro stuff. Then a buddy from my old book club said the author's notes often explain why they wrote the book or what their research process was. Last month I read a history book and actually read the notes first. Turns out the author spent 10 years digging through archives in Boston and it made the whole book click for me. Has anyone else found gold in those front pages?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_miles29d ago

Have you ever tried flipping to the acknowledgements section first? It's a quick way to see who the author leaned on for research, which tells you a lot about their biases and where they might've cut corners. Honestly, that 5 minute skim upfront saves me from wasted time on books that aren't what they claim to be.

lucasschmidt29d ago

So you're basically reading the credits before the movie starts? That's not a bad idea honestly. I'm usually the guy who buys a book based on the cover and then spends the first three chapters wondering what I got myself into. At least your way you find out early if the author's buddies are all hacks, saves you from pounding through 300 pages of garbage. I might have to steal that trick, my nightstand is full of half-read books I should have never picked up.