Made the mistake of reading the Introduction (by Karl Shapiro) and Preface (by Anais Nin) or at least skimming through it before I realized what I was doing.
I don’t like to read someone else’s notion of what a book is about, but rather take it on its own and then, if curious enough, will seek out reviews and essays to see what I may have missed in the reading. Or, to find what type of mind created such ideas.
So today I jump right in where Henry Miller wanted me to: the beginning of his story.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
Didn’t he date someone famous?
Yeah that blonde–Jayne Mansfield.
When a novel has a preface by someone other than the book’s author, I wait until after I’ve finished the book until I read it. That way, my preconceived notions are minimized, and having already read the book, I can study the preface in context.
I’m learning that even the intro and preface are to be avoided, like you say, unless written by the author.