I actually read them after I read the book. I find it more satisfying that way, because I can think about my own thoughts on the book as well. And no spoilers that way.

If it’s intended to be part of the novel, yes. If it’s a dedication or a literary analysis, probably not.

I always read 'em. Usually I find spoilers manageable, even if I don't know squat about the story beforehand.

They're usually only a couple pages, so I figure I'm not out much if I read them, but I might miss something if I don't.

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.

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!

Depends on length, whether written by the author or an academic, and the purpose for which they were written. Those long academic essays at the beginnings of classics, absolutely not, they’re often pretentious and irrelevant and also spoil things I’d rather discover organically. A short piece by the author at the beginning, yeah I’ll read that first because that’s as the author intended.

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

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.

I got burnt hard af by Larry McMurtry in his introduction to Lonesome Dove, so now I avoid the intros like the plague until I've finished the book.

Yes, I usually read them at the beginning.

I used to never read them except on a reread. I care a lot less about plot now so I’ll typically read them. Some are better than others so I end up flipping through the ones that don’t appeal to me.

I do but I don't particularly enjoy them.

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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.

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

Introductions, especially of great novels, have grown into a kind of bloatware. They seem to exist primarily for the writer of said intro to demonstrate their cleverness in analyzing the text I'm about to read. My pet peeve is reprints of great books that add lengthy prefaces and/or introductions, often running 20+ pages. If I want to dive into literary criticism, I look for it separately.

If they're by the author, yes.

I usually skip 😕. I do read intros to short stories-- Neil Gaiman once hid an extra and now I'm in the habit. Plus curated anthologies usually have a good essay at the beginning or helpful background info. And I'll read intros to old af epics because there's good context for translation choice, etc. But novels- I skip bc they generally assume reader is already familiar with the tale and spoilers abound. Sometimes I go back later but usually I forget

I do, I don’t want to miss anything tbh, and I don’t mind spoilers. Plus, I feel like if I were to write an introduction for a work I’d really want people to read it haha.

Half the time when I see there are forewords or introductions I get super excited to read the book. They're often a key part of my enjoyment of classics and other well regarded works.

This is the only book I've like read thrice from back when I was a child until now and still forget what the ending was. Although, I remember how it felt reading it.

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I never read them. I haven't come across one that added enough that I was happy I read it instead of just starting the book.

I used to enjoy reading the introductions - I found them especially helpful on Kafka translations - but then I took out a Scarlet Letter ebook on Libby and the introduction was a 5 minute summary of the entire book. It wasn’t even a literary analysis, which I would’ve been fine with because the social context of an old America may have been helpful to me as a UK reader, but it was literally just a Spark Notes synopsis. I knew nothing about the book at all before going in so it ruined it entirely and I gave up because I didn’t really see what else I had to learn from it…

I’ll probably avoid them on classics going forward after that, or only bother with introductions on physical or ebooks so I can just drop it and get reading the book proper if it gets too exposition-y.