She assumes her audience will have basic awareness of one of the most well known stories ever written.

The idea of spoiling the Iliad lmao. Should she basically not write of any written/spoken work of art in case she spoils it for the audience?

Really think about it for a minute OP.

I should have double checked because I did think maybe I missed something in the book too, but had hate-read it so fast (and obviously a while ago) and was so excited about an opportunity to vent that I just ignored the instinct to double check.

Usually no, unless I've already read the book or particularly love the author. It's never acceptable to skip an introduction by Ursula Le Guin.

Never, I've been spoiled by them enough times to know to avoid them.

I wasn’t sure if you were mixed up or kind of trolling people or what. I actually went and looked it up and thought to myself “did I read so fast over some small mention that I missed that information?”

OMGGGG I mixed up my books!! Haha! What did I read... Oh shit, It's Edie Richter is Not Alone; I had to check my goodreads. Thanks for setting me right on that! Apologies to everyone.

I tried it out and it seems to have worked? It just said, 'done', didn't ask me to sign in to Kindle though, so not exactly sure how it synced 😅 maybe because I have the Kindle app on my phone already? Who knows. My next hold should be available soon so I'll see if it works!

Amen. That series is chefs kiss

I don’t think this is the same book I read. The book never mentions her father and the house sitting thing isn’t in the Eleanor Oliphant version I read.

I recently bought a copy of Pride and Prejudice - Penguin Annotated Edition, and the author of the forward/introduction had the decency to indicate a few paragraphs in that subsequent discussion would include plot spoilers and recommended first-time readers return to read the rest of the essay after finishing the book so as to not be spoiled. I thought that was a great move.

I have the copy of F451 that you mentioned. I think there's a supposition (not a good one!) that the reader has already read the book, so the introductions are written more as an analysis/response to the story as opposed to a "let's get you oriented with the place/time/era in which this text resides."

I'm sorry you were spoiled, I hope you read the book anyway and enjoy it. It's a good one!

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I’m reading it for the second time in a row, the first time I just read it without notes. My second and slower read I’m reading the notes for a canto or two and then reading the cantos.

I could go either way with reading them or not. I find having read Homer and Virgil and knowing a good amount of history to be of more informational value than the notes anyways. I don’t mind breaking immersion with the text possibly because I don’t find it all that immersive. I do enjoy it though.

Note: Mine has endnotes, without notations in the text of what has an endnotes. The endnotes refer back to the line. So no chance I would read them as I go lol.

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I read the lines til a stopping point, or the entire verse, then go back and read the notes. They provide cool background info, or why a word choice was made because translators have to fudge the language sometimes. Dont try to stop in the middle of a sentence for the notations, itll screw up your ability to understand the story

‘Fear And Loathing on The Campaign Trail’ should be required reading in America.

At the end of the day it’s about how the 1968 and 1972 presidential elections destroyed America as we knew it and created what we’ve ended up with.

The last time that I was in the same situation, I a) started going to them after the chapter or Canto. And then b) just flipped through and looked for the long ones and ended up just reading them. That is how I learned about the Harrowing of Hell.

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So sad about the news, love him!

Since you asked for a starting point I'll say Rum Diary. Followed by Curse of Lono. After that you could really go anywhere. Hell's Angels, Great Shark Hunt, Campaign Trail... There's nothing that isn't worth the time.

We all take different impressions of the books we read. You are allowed to dislike it!

Some of the weird advertising refers to the book as hilarious. ????

No way, it's about a woman who is probably not neurotypical, dealing with an awful past trauma.

Her behavior is not so good, e.g., stalking the musician. I can still sympathize with her. I would say that the past trauma does not explain all, I think she was autistic.

At the end, she is healing, so that explains the title.

The story comes from the early iron age ~2800 years ago and is set at the end of the Bronze age ~3200 years ago.

I was spoiled by one once and then never read them again! If it's a book I got really invested in, I'll go back at the end and read it, but otherwise I don't bother

If the introduction is by the author, I'll read it before I read the book. Even if there are spoilers, I trust the author knows best.

If the introduction is by someone else, I'll only read it if it's a name I already recognize and trust.

For books where I already know most of the story (especially the ending) I read the intro before. If I don't major events in the story then I read it afterwards. I find that most of the time it is worth to read it though.