I tend not to read introductions to novels written by other writers. They often contain spoilers and spoon feed you the reasons why what you're about to read is important. I can see it being something an English major might have some use for, however, for the casual reader - or even the avid one - these small essays are quite pointless. Life is too short. Just move on to the next book and appreciate that individual piece of art as it was intended to be, on its own merits. I think we become too fixated on knowing why something is important and miss the point of why it was created in the first place - to be enjoyed and digested the way a good piece of art ought to be. I understand that these introductions provide context for certain outdated or obscure works, but I have read many older texts without any assistance and have appreciated them more so, and for different reasons than those mentioned by some intro's. Also, I know marketing has a lot to do with it, which makes me even more reluctant to read them.
Introductions to novels...who needs em?