Beyond the Story...

Prologue, Forward, Appendix...

These are all things that are in addition to the main story of the book. (There's also footnotes, indexes, etc. but I'm not going there right now.)

Lynnette at Chatterbox Chit Chat posted about prologues on Wednesday. (If you don't follow her, read her Post and the ensuing conversation.)

But it got me to thinking about prologues, forwards, and appendixes. Authors will include them, but do they matter and do we read them?

I usually read prologues. I figure they're there for a reason. Once in a while I come across one that appears to have no bearing on the novel itself, but most seem to matter.

Forwards - okay, I never read these... I think they are boring. Maybe that's just me.

Appendixes I tend to refer to at least once during the course of the story. Often these appear in science fiction or fantasy - genres that tend to include a lot of 'odd' names and devices. Sometimes they help with pronunciation, too.

So what does everyone else think? So you read these things or skip?

And for the record, there is a prologue in my upcoming novel. I wrote it at the suggestion of my publisher. Now that it's in place, I can see how it really enhances the story. So hopefully people read it!