Gentoo handbook method is a lot friendlier than following LFS, yet you stil have to deal somewhat with linux internals. IMO the main advantage over LFS is that

Gentoo handbook method is a lot friendlier than following LFS, yet you stil have to deal somewhat with linux internals. IMO the main advantage over LFS is that is close enough to day to day linux administration that it serves more as a real experience than LFS which seems more like an academic experiment. OTOH, watching stuff compile is the worst part. I would complement the experience with using something like arch for a few weeks as main driver. Quicker than watch compilation logs, still you have to deal enough with linux internals.