My preferred genre is literary or historic fiction. You don’t always absorb some ideas or plot points on the first read and the books are sometimes difficult. If there is something I didn’t quite get then I will check out the analysis on Spark’s Notes.
What I dislike is that it will give away spoilers or plot points in advance. For example, in Tender is the Night >!when Dick was at the bank there was an awkward interaction with the teller which I did not understand. Dick was in fact withdrawing Nicole’s money which lets the reader know he was having money troubles, which was helpful. We are also told however that later in the book they actually divorce due to problems in their relationship. Now from a strictly educational perspective it makes sense because it shows foreshadowing, but nobody reading for enjoyment wants to have the book spoiled. !<There are other examples I can use too, but this works just fine.
If there is something that you as reader do not understand, is there a reference that you use?
by jcoffin1981