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AIBU?

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Original poster

To ask if you read the acknowledgements at the end of a book

58 replies

saveforthat · 04/05/2022 20:25

Just finished a book on kindle. Only 59% of the book was complete. I thought something had gone wrong but no...the rest of the pages are acknowledgements nearly half the book! I never read these, does anyone?

OP posts:
NalPolishRemover · 04/05/2022 20:27

Yes I mostly do!
I don't have a kindle but in actual books I love reading them. I also browse through the bibliographies (I read lots of history/ biographies) & dedications

RunningFromInsanity · 04/05/2022 20:29

Nope. Never

DramaAlpaca · 04/05/2022 20:30

Always!

DeliaOwens · 04/05/2022 20:30

Yes, always read them.

Rogue1001MNer · 04/05/2022 20:31

I can't not.

Never seen my name come up so far.

But surely just a matter of time 😂

PicaK · 04/05/2022 20:31

Always. For insight about the author

Antarcticant · 04/05/2022 20:31

I glance at them - I find it amusing if they are particularly nauseating and gushing. The trend for authors to blether on for several pages thanking dozens of random people, bonus points for some 'in jokes' and an oh-so-quirkily named 'crew' or 'gang' is getting ridiculous.

If ever I publish a book my acknowledgements won't exceed a couple of names and will be a simple 'I would like to thank the following people:'

OneCup · 04/05/2022 20:31

No. I hate them!

olympicsrock · 04/05/2022 20:31

Sometimes

TarpaulinEyes · 04/05/2022 20:32

Of course. Been mentioned and thanked in several books now and it never fails to please me seeing my name in print

OrangeVelour · 04/05/2022 20:32

It depends on how much I've enjoyed the book.

Rewis · 04/05/2022 20:33

In autobiographies to give more insight to the person I'm reading about. In novels, nope.

Ragwort · 04/05/2022 20:34

I tend to but they are so cringey sometimes and I wonder if this many people have 'helped' you write your book how much is your own actual work? I've just finished Richard Osman's second book (which I loved) but there are just so many acknowledgments and gushing thanks ....

LemonRedwood · 04/05/2022 20:37

I tend to but definitely wouldn't bother if they made up 41% of the book 😯

RightOnTheEdge · 04/05/2022 20:37

Not really, sometimes I skim them because some are funny or interesting but mostly they aren't.

MermaidEyes · 04/05/2022 20:37

Rogue1001MNer · 04/05/2022 20:31

I can't not.

Never seen my name come up so far.

But surely just a matter of time 😂

I read them sometimes. Someone I know was actually thanked at the back of one book!

PinkWisteria · 04/05/2022 20:38

Very rarely unless the research to inform the book is interesting. Had a similar experience this week with a book where the (boring) forward was a long chapter - almost put me off reading the book at all.

JaneJeffer · 04/05/2022 20:39

I've just given up on The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. After almost 300 pages I couldn't take any more but I skipped to the end to read his acknowledgments and boy does he think it's so much better than it is Hmm

PinkWisteria · 04/05/2022 20:41

Foreword, not forward!

MermaidEyes · 04/05/2022 20:50

Antarcticant · 04/05/2022 20:31

I glance at them - I find it amusing if they are particularly nauseating and gushing. The trend for authors to blether on for several pages thanking dozens of random people, bonus points for some 'in jokes' and an oh-so-quirkily named 'crew' or 'gang' is getting ridiculous.

If ever I publish a book my acknowledgements won't exceed a couple of names and will be a simple 'I would like to thank the following people:'

Yes, there's definitely a lot of samey-samey about a lot of them. The wonderful 'crew' who provide wine and laughs when needed, the wonderful and understanding husband who provides coffee at 3am, the wonderful kids who provide cuddles when mum/dad have been locked in the shed writing for 24 hours straight, the wonderful parents who always led you to believe you can achieve anything....

I think that's why I read them, just to see if there's one that actually is different, 3 lines of thanks and they're done.

DowntonCrabby · 04/05/2022 20:54

I’ll read them if they’re the usual couple of pages.

chatterbug22 · 04/05/2022 21:01

Never!! Move onto the next book too quickly that’s probably why

LubaLuca · 04/05/2022 21:01

Nope, they're like the end credits of a film - nice for the folk mentioned in them but very boring to me and not the way I like to end something I've enjoyed.

teezletangler · 04/05/2022 21:06

I always read them, sometimes before I've finished the book! They can be quite interesting if it's non-fiction (I rarely see them in novels) to see who the author has consulted and in what capacity.

Soul11Soul · 04/05/2022 21:07

I always do. I kind of feel like it's only polite. I have a family member who has a crew type job in film so my family are those weirdos who sit and watch all the credits until the very end because it's still quite exciting to see their name on the screen. 😁