El prólogo me pareció interesante, pero la contraportada me dio más ganas de leer el libro.

Me pareció interesante means it seemed interesting to me or I found it interesting. It expresses a personal impression.

• El prólogo fue interesante = The prologue was interesting
  This sounds more like a direct statement about the prologue.
• El prólogo me pareció interesante = The prologue seemed interesting to me / I found the prologue interesting
  This highlights your reaction to it.

So parecer is often used when talking about how something comes across to someone.

Me means to me here.

• me pareció interesante = it seemed interesting to me
• me dio más ganas = it gave me more desire / it made me want to... more

Spanish often uses indirect object pronouns like me, te, le, nos, os, les where English might use to me, to you, and so on.

They are in the preterite because the sentence describes two completed reactions:

• the prologue struck the speaker as interesting
• the back cover gave the speaker more desire to read the book

The preterite presents these as whole events or impressions.

If you used the imperfect, it would suggest a more ongoing or background feeling:

• me parecía interesante = it seemed interesting to me in a more continuous or descriptive sense
• me daba ganas = it made me want to... repeatedly or habitually, depending on context

Interesante is an adjective with the same form for both masculine and feminine singular nouns.

So you say:

• un libro interesante
• una historia interesante
• el prólogo interesante
• la contraportada interesante

What changes is usually the article or noun, not the adjective itself.

La contraportada is the back cover of a book, especially the part where you often find a summary or promotional text.

That is why it makes sense in this sentence: the speaker is saying the text on the back cover made them want to read the book even more.

Dar ganas de + infinitive is a very common Spanish structure meaning:

• to make someone feel like doing something
• to give someone the urge/desire to do something

So:

• me dio ganas de leer = it made me want to read
• me dio más ganas de leer = it made me want to read even more

Very common examples:

• Me dan ganas de dormir. = They make me feel like sleeping / I feel like sleeping.
• Esta canción me da ganas de bailar. = This song makes me want to dance.

Más ganas means more desire or more urge.

The idea is comparative:

• the prologue was interesting,
• but the back cover made the speaker want to read the book even more.

Without más, the sentence would simply say the back cover made them want to read it. With más, it compares that feeling to the reaction to the prologue.

All three are possible, but they sound slightly different.

• leer el libro = read the book
  Clear and explicit.
• leerlo = read it
  Also correct, once the book is already understood.
• leer = to read
  More general; it may sound a bit less specific.

The original sentence keeps the noun explicit: el libro.

Because dio does not take a written accent in modern standard Spanish.

This is something learners often notice because many past-tense verb forms do have accents, such as:

• pareció
• leyó
• comió

But dio and fue are standard forms without accent marks.

That changes the meaning.

• me dio más ganas de leer el libro = it made me want to read the book more
• me dio ganas de leer más el libro sounds like it made me want to read the book more extensively / read more of the book, or it can sound awkward depending on context

In the original sentence, más modifies ganas, not leer. That is important.

Yes. Spanish allows more flexibility in word order than English.

For example, you could also say:

• Me pareció interesante el prólogo, pero la contraportada me dio más ganas de leer el libro.

This still means basically the same thing. The original version is very natural and straightforward because it starts with the subject:

• El prólogo...
• la contraportada...

They are similar, but not always the same.

• Prólogo usually means prologue or foreword, often a section before the main text
• Introducción usually means introduction, often more directly connected to explaining the content of the book

In many books, these are different sections. In casual use, learners should just know that prólogo is a specific book-related term and is correctly used here.

It is plural: ganas.

In this expression, Spanish normally uses ganas in the plural:

• tener ganas de
• dar ganas de

Examples:

• Tengo ganas de comer. = I feel like eating.
• Me da ganas de reír. / Me dan ganas de reír.

In Spain, many speakers strongly prefer plural agreement with plural nouns, so you will often hear:

• me dan ganas

But me dio ganas is also widely used in many Spanish-speaking areas, and learners will encounter it often. In your sentence, me dio más ganas de leer el libro is natural and understandable.

Pero means but, and here it introduces a contrast between two reactions:

• the prologue was interesting,
• but the back cover created a stronger desire to read the book.

It is not an extreme contradiction. It is more like:

The prologue was interesting, but the back cover was even more effective at making me want to read it.