Nicola answers “Does anyone have a preferred order to read...”

Cat asked this question about Pale Fire:

Does anyone have a preferred order to read this in? I plan on reading the sections in order, but I did wonder how the experience would change if you read in the order Kinbote suggests - intro, commentary, and then the poem. Or flipped from poem to commentary as you go. Thoughts?

Nicola I disobeyed Kinbote and read it in order - intro, poem commentary. Though I did initially flip from the commentary back to the poem, I soon got bored …moreI disobeyed Kinbote and read it in order - intro, poem commentary. Though I did initially flip from the commentary back to the poem, I soon got bored of the hassle and simply went on reading as if it was a whole separate part and I really don't think I missed out on some tremendous reading experience. However, whenever the annotations were connected to another one, I flipped between those which definitely improved the experience to an extent because it's just too easy to forget crucial details otherwise.(less)

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