Maps, appendices, cast lists and so on

[Hex]

I'll glance at a map -- I dislike the square ones that appear to have been drawn in a spare five minutes with 'Swamp of Despair' and 'Mountains of Doom' or equivalent. I quite like the intricate ones, but only as pictures. I don't use them because I don't think very visually and I'm not really worried about how things connect up, just about what happens to the characters while things do and I'll happily trust the author on that.

Character lists etc. I won't read. I'd rather read the first book in a series again than look at a character list (is that a bit extreme? I blame Russian novels with their multiple, confusing characters with seven names each). The same with other extras -- the only ones I've ever read are Tolkien's.

The only harm I can see in them, though, is that in a printed book they can make you think there's a lot more story left than there is. That's also true of including the first chapter of the next book -- I get quite disappointed when I realise that the lesiurely tying up of ends I was anticipating with the characters I like is actually half a page and the rest of the book is a whole lot of different stuff.

[Icyphoenix]

Originally Posted by Hex

The only harm I can see in them, though, is that in a printed book they can make you think there's a lot more story left than there is.

I kinda like that aspect of the extras, it allows you to visualise the other side of the story. Might just be me though because I like imagining my own character in the story world.

[HareBrain]

I assume Hex was thinking in terms of number of pages, such as when you can see you have a hundred pages left, and pace your expectations accordingly, but then the last seventy turn out to be family trees or next-book previews and whatnot. I've experienced that disappointment myself.

[Icyphoenix]

Oh! I suppose so. It is pretty depressing getting to the end of the story and still expecting more.

[deaconllq]

Earlier I stated I was all for them as long as the reader chose to use them.

A caveat: Once I read a somewhat complicated book (title escapes me now probably due to the fact I was not impressed). In the glossary, which I was required to reference due to the strangely similar naming of completely disparate characters, the author included facts concerning the characters that had not yet been revealed.

Ex: Bob: A druid from Magicland. Bob was killed by Fred the traitor in the 3rd Magicland war.

In this case, Bob was not dead yet in my reading. We had no clue Fred existed, nor did we know he would be so darn treacherous. Additionally, the reader was currently witnessing the 2nd Magicland war.

Glossaries are tricky things. What they reveal can damage the suspense and drama of the works they are supposed to support.

[Anne Lyle]

As mentioned earlier, here's the blog post about ereaders:

http://a-fantastical-librarian.blogs...tatistics.html

[leonsdaughter]

If you pace yourself or find you have expectations due to what seems like a lot of pages left there's a simple solution. Before settling into a book just check and see what extras are available at the back. Doesn't mean you have to read them first.

The lesson I learned last year about unpleasant surprises: it helps to know that the book you are reading is the first in a planned series. When I read Justin Cronin's The Passage I had absolutely no idea that just about every story line in the book was going to end up a cliffhanger. I had to make a pretty serious adjustment upon reaching the last page. I assume I was the last person to know this about The Passage, despite the fact that I read it shortly after it came out.

[pyan]

Originally Posted by Hex

That's also true of including the first chapter of the next book -- I get quite disappointed when I realise that the lesiurely tying up of ends I was anticipating with the characters I like is actually half a page and the rest of the book is a whole lot of different stuff.

I agree, I hate that - especially when the characters set off on something entirely unrelated to the story that I'm just finishing.

I try to remember to take a quick flick at the end and put a bookmark or a slip of paper at the real end of the book, then adjust my expectations of the length to that instead of the back cover. The problem with that is if I forget - then it's doubly annoying when the story ends thirty pages in...

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by HareBrain

t then the last seventy turn out to be family trees or next-book previews and whatnot. I've experienced that disappointment myself.

Worst of all is when the "whatnot" turns out to be previews for a string of unrelated books by other writers -- books I have no interest in at all. Then I feel really cheated.

[Boneman]

I never look at cast lists - in fact if the book starts with a very long one, it puts me off buying it. I rely on the writer to introduce them in such a way that they stay with me, without needing a reference tool. Don't mind maps, but I like a good artistic one, if you must. A lot of them nowadays seem to be 'caricature' maps, if you know what I mean.

[Gumboot]

Originally Posted by Boneman

I never look at cast lists - in fact if the book starts with a very long one, it puts me off buying it. I rely on the writer to introduce them in such a way that they stay with me, without needing a reference tool. Don't mind maps, but I like a good artistic one, if you must. A lot of them nowadays seem to be 'caricature' maps, if you know what I mean.

To be fair, really decent maps are pretty hard to make legible in a paperback due to the small size, and the rough texture of the paper.

Russell Kirkpatrick does amazing maps (he's a professional cartographer) but in his books the continental ones are all but impossible to read and have to be stripped of all but the most basic landmarks.