I usually skip 😕. I do read intros to short stories-- Neil Gaiman once hid an extra and now I'm in the habit. Plus curated anthologies usually have a good essay at the beginning or helpful background info. And I'll read intros to old af epics because there's good context for translation choice, etc. But novels- I skip bc they generally assume reader is already familiar with the tale and spoilers abound. Sometimes I go back later but usually I forget