Sorry, but if you need a paragraph of text to explain to your users how to navigate, you're doing it wrong. The "individual tiny pages, turned one by one so each has no context" metaphor, while a necessary evil for printed books, is pointless and broken on the web.

Most Web users, especially those drinking from firehoses like HN, don't actually read pages end to end, they skim them looking for interesting bits worth reading. This is why they're skipping page 1 without reading it, and since your navigation system doesn't allow "skimming", you're seeing people giving up in frustration.

Another way of looking at it: I still have no idea what pen.fm is trying to do, and the only thing I'll remember about it is the broken navigation system. This is probably not the first impression you want to give people.