Don't psyche yourself out over it. GR is more challenging and has less of a clear plot than The Crying of Lot 49, but it's still just a book. For a first read,

Don't psyche yourself out over it. GR is more challenging and has less of a clear plot than The Crying of Lot 49, but it's still just a book. For a first read, you probably want a very light guide for each section (you can read it before or after each section so you never feel like you've completely lost the plot - I found this one helpful personally) http://people.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/links/culture/rainbow.bell.html http://people.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/links/culture/rainbow.be...