An older gentleman at my library book group taught me to scan the copyright page first
About 3 years ago at the downtown branch, I was in a heated debate about whether a historical novel was actually accurate. This retired history professor, must have been in his late 70s, just tapped the book on the table. He said 'check the copyright date and the author's note first, you'll save yourself a lot of arguing.' I had never thought about it before. Now I always flip to those pages during the first meeting when we pick a book. It tells you right away if the author is shooting for truth or just storytelling. Saved me from recommending some poorly researched picks to our group. Has anyone else tried using publication dates or author notes to steer a debate?