Here's a good example of how they get around the "Madoka not present" scenes. In chapter 7 of the anime, Kyouko invites Sayaka to the ruined church to explain her past. Obviously, Madoka wasn't there. In the novel, this story is shifted to chapter 8 where Kyouko and Madoka are searching for Sayaka's "barrier," so they can try to bring her back. In the anime, Sayaka notices them immediately after Madoka asks Kyouko how she came to be a Magical Girl, so Kyouko never has the chance to explain it to Madoka. But in the novel, Kyouko explains the whole thing to Madoka using telepathy. So pretty much everything that was in chapter 7 of the anime is in chapter 8 of the novel.
Chapter 10 is an exception because it is told from Homura's point of view. This, of course, makes sense, because it is the same in the anime.
Overall, I learned a lot more about the world of Madoka Magica. There're lots of little details that I never thought about, some of which could've been obtained by watching the anime more carefully, but most of them not.
