there's also a couple of reader's guides, some short, with a thematic focus (http://amzn.com/082641477X http://amzn.com/082641477X), some longer and more exhaus

there's also a couple of reader's guides, some short, with a thematic focus (http://amzn.com/082641477X http://amzn.com/082641477X), some longer and more exhaustive (http://amzn.com/0976146533/ http://amzn.com/0976146533/) that can help. when I was first reading infinite jest, there was a section about fifty pages in that stopped me cold a number of times. it was written using a black vernacular, and was about wardine and roy tony and whatnot. for whatever reason, I re-read the first fifty pages until I got to that part, couldn't get through it and put the book down. it turns out that that section has no real bearing on the plot and can be safely ignored, especially if it's obstructing one's first read.