my free time recently

at school, at least, has been this:

Tucson weather has been swell, and I've got a couple hours a few days a week where I'm in between classes and don't want to go all the way home and back. So, I hang out on the grass in the lovely sunlight and read. I borrowed Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar from my mom a couple weeks ago and just finished it. It's quite a heavy book, but I thought it was an excellent read. It perked my interest in Sylvia Plath and now I want to go out and find her books of poetry. Although her life was depressing and morbid at times, I think she's really brilliant at expressing raw emotion and stringing words together to create something beautiful. Now that I'm finished with this book, I'm going to start reading The Art of Racing in the Rain, another book I borrowed from my mom. Have you guys read it? I've heard spectacular things about it.

30 Day Challenge- 21

I'm saving the actual 21st prompt (one of your favorite shows) for this monday, so instead I'm jumping ahead to the 22nd prompt. which is....

Day 22 – Something you want to do before you die.

 One thing I'd really love to do before I die is write a book. I've always loved writing, and I've been told I'm pretty good at it- of course, don't judge that solely on this blog since I hardly ever proof read before posting haha.

I love literature though, and I truly enjoy writing fiction. I'd probably enjoy writing non-fiction too though, and maybe a cook book or two... If I could imagine the perfect life it would be staying at home with my family and writing books for a living. Lovely.

That might not necessarily happen, and there are plenty of other career paths that appeal to me and things that I'd like to do... but I'd like to at least write one book before I die :)

Spring semester, Here we go....

 I haven't done a update lately so I thought I'd just stop in and tell you all what's been going on these days.
The spring semester of classes started about 1.5 weeks ago, and so far is going very well! I like all of my classes, although going to french four times a week is going to wear on me I'm sure. I've been keeping up with my homework (even doing assigned readings!!) and going to all the lectures. My professors all seem great and the work load isn't going to be too intense... And best of all I'll be done with school before my birthday, May 10th :)

Last weekend stewie and I drove up to Casa Grande for my grandmother's memorial service. It was very difficult and sad, but it was also so nice to see all of my family. My sister, her boyfriend, and stewie and I stayed in a hotel room together and stayed up late playing silly riddle games. The next morning My dad, stewie, and I drove up to prescott (my mom drove up later in the day) and stew and I went to lunch and coffee with our friend marby and then stopped by my darling friend natalie's apartment and surpirsed her. We then headed over a house that some of my old work friends live in and we basically hung out with them for the rest of the night, aside from going to Maya for dinner and stopping by to see my parents. It was a really, really fun night!

The next morning stewie and i stopped by goodwill and I bought a bunch of shoes and he bought a toaster oven. I guess buying shoes from goodwill is kind of gross but they always have a ton of cute ones and theyre so cheap! I'm not made of money, people :)

Anyways, we got back to tucson late sunday night. A friend from highschool has been staying with us for the last week and a half- it's fine having him here but I'm excited for when everything will be back to normal and the living room will be a living room, not an extra bedroom haha. I also can't wait for stewie and I to move out altogether and find a place of our own- I have had it with roommates!!!!!! I just want to have a fridge that is full of just OUR food, a kitchen that only WE use and ALWAYS clean up... ugh... i just can't wait.

On a more annoying note, I'm kind of frustrated right now because a friend of mine has just recently decided to blame me for something which I had nothing to do with, and then take that opportunity to blame me for all sorts of other things that don't pertain to the issue at hand. I'm being made a scapegoat without a doubt, but it's so frustrating to me to not be able to defend myself (because my defenses mean nothing since this person has already made up his/her mind) Not only is it aggravating, it's hurtful because I don't feel I have done anything wrong but I am having all this anger and blame projected onto me. Hell, I've been out of the town, out of the state, and out of the COUNTRY for the past month... and yet somehow things that happened while I was gone are still my fault >.< Even so, I've been apologetic and polite... and yet this person still feels the need to lash out and concentrate all of his/her anger onto me.

Ugh, that was just me venting for five minutes... sorry to project all that onto you guys. I wish that I was content just knowing that I have nothing to be blamed for, but I always wish that I could make the other person realize this too haha. typical stubborn taurus... we just want people understand our point of view! I know I should just drop it and that's probably what I'm going to do, but it's always a shame to lose a friend, especially this way. What do you guys do when someone turns you into a scapegoat?

Anyways, enough of that. I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love right now- as you can see from the pic above- and it always makes me feel calm, happy, and at peace with the world. I'm about 1/3 of the way through it right now and I'm sure I will enjoy reading the rest.

It's off to french class in 10 minutes, so i'd probably go get my stuff together. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week, and I'll be back later tonight with that 30 day challenge business!

Book Review: The Time Traveler's Wife

I've been talking about this book for a couple months now- You can tell I thought it was good because a. I kept bringing it up in other posts and b. I took more than 48 hours to read it. When I think a book is decent but not great I'll usually just read in as short a time as possible to get it out of the way and move on to other, better books. When I find a book I think is going to be wonderful, I savor it. I will want to keep reading, but I will put the book down and wait a couple days so that I can be a part of the imaginary world for longer.

I finally did finish The Time Traveler's Wife over winter vacay while in Mexico. At the time, I was riding a large tour bus through the jungle from Puerto Vallarta to Chacala with about 40 middle aged hippies and my family. I only had about 20 pages to read on the hour long bus ride, but I had to keep stopping after every couple paragraphs to stare out the window and will myself not to cry, because not only was I so touched by the ending, I was devastated that only 20 pages separated me from the end of my relationship with this book.

Do you think I'm a crazy person yet? lol

Anyways, I actually did a very good job and didn't cry at all (although it took me like 45 minutes to read the end), up until the very end, when my sis turned to me and asked if I finished it, and if it was good, and a couple tears leaked out.

And then she had to ask if I was crying, and that just made me burst into tears.

So close.

Anyways, I cleaned myself up and as far as I know no one else on the bus noticed... although I felt like a spotlight was shining right on me :)

Onto the book review, though.

I really did love this book. I saw the movie first, and I loved that, so my opinions are probably biased, but whatever. Most people who read the book first and the saw the movie said that the movie wasn't very good, and didn't hold a candle to the book. Since I saw the movie first and loved it, it just made the book seem even better. I already had a relationship with the characters I was reading about. I already kind of knew what was in store for them. It made all the extra details really stand out.

I will say that this book is probably not for everyone. It is a romantic novel. The plot revolves around one star-crossed but beautiful relationship. There's a little bit of sci-fi thrown in there. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, you're better off skipping this one or just watching the movie.

Here's a quick plot synopsis:

Henry DeTamble is a 28 year old Chicago librarian who suffers from a genetic disease which causes him to involuntarily travel through time. Clare Abshire is a 20 years old artist who has known Henry since she was 6 years old, when he first materialized in the meadow where she used to play.
Henry made frequent visits to the meadow up until Clare was 18, but when Clare and Henry meet in Henry's library, it is the first time they have ever been face-to-face in the present moment. Henry has absolutely no idea who Clare is, but Clare has been in love with Henry for many years.

The novel follows their relationship as the two get married, try to have a child, and deal with Henry's unfortunate and unpredictable condition. The novel switches between Henry and Clare's perspectives, and jumps around through time to include all of Henry's journeys to the past and future as well as all the important present moments.

I loved this book because Audrey Niffenegger, the author, did a wonderful job of devolping the two main characters. They both have so much depth, to the point that when I was done with the book I felt like I was losing two close friends. I wanted to keep on living in their story.

My only issue was that I wished for a little bit more in some areas, primarily at the end of the book. The ending felt a tad rushed, and although it did bring tears to my eyes, it left me with unanswered questions. It's one of those endings that leaves a lot to one's imagination, which can often be a very good thing, but can also be frustrating. I usually want to know what the author thinks would happen next instead of making up something on my own. I understand why people elect to use these endings (like the ending to Inception), but I'm usually more satisfied when I know that all loose end have been tied up and I know everything there is to know.

Even so, the ending is still very touching and I still deeply enjoyed this book. If you like romance novels and the concept of time travel (which I really, really, do) then pick this one up. I doubt you will be disappointed.

Next up is Eat, Pray, Love. I've already read quite a bit of it and I really enjoy it. A review will be up in the next couple of months!

4th Day of Christmas

I drove home today. Stew and I stayed up too late last night doing random things like investigating steam clouds coming from college buildings and watching episodes of castle. That meant that I woke up at 11 am instead of 9 am, as I had originally planned, and ended up getting on the road around the same time I had been planning to arrive. It didn't really make a difference though. The 3.5 hour trip went by pretty quickly... I listened to my ipod and got to sing really loudly to songs I probably wouldn't play if stewart had been with me... but I still missed driving with him :)

My dad got home pretty soon after I did and we drank tea and made a fire and chatted until my mom got home. Then the three of us ordered some take out from Chi's, our fave chinese place. We all picked it up together and ate (sooo delicious...) and talked for a bit. Now they're out in the family room watching an episode of The Good Wife and I'm in my bedroom being a good blogger and posting my day of christmas post :)

Since today was a long day of travel (and I'm sure it was for some of you, or will be in the next few days), I'm planning on having a nice, cozy, warm night in. And what better to go with that idea than a good book to read? In tonight's post I'm going to recommend five different books to you that I find to be particularly enjoyable to read during the holidays or when I want to curl up inside away from the cold weather. Pick one or more of them up at the public library and bring it along to read on the airplanes/car ride, during downtime on christmas, or whenever the weather outside is particularly frightful.

1. Any Agatha Christie Book

There's nothing quite like curling up in bed with a good murder mystery novel, is there? I love getting absorbed in the intricate stories and trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle. My fam has a huge box of these because my mom and her sisters were big fans when they were younger. They're short but very good reads.

2. Rumi's Book of Love

 Poetry can be really wonderful to read on a calm, quiet night. My mom bought this book for me a couple years ago and I just love it. Rumi's poetry is so beautiful and doesn't have the excessive frills that can make some poetry difficult to understand or enjoy. His words are simple and full of wisdom.

3. The Notebook

Who doesn't like a good romance novel? Most people have only seen the film version of The Notebook, and everyone has an opinion about it that they're determined to stick to. I encourage you to forget about these opinions for a moment and go pick up the book, because, as is usually the case, it has much more to offer than the movie. I first read it when I was 14 and I absolutely loved it, but I don't think this book is restricted to adolescent girls alone (the movie on the other hand...). Anyways, it's the kind of guilty pleasure novel that anyone with a general fondness for romance can enjoy.

4. Rootabaga Stories

My Aunt gave me these books when I was younger and I loved them. They're meant for children, but they're so fun and quirky and interesting that I think adults could enjoy them too. I still do, anyways. I think reading a couple on a cold wintery night would be a very pleasant way to pass the time.

5. The Time Traveler's Wife

I just had to include this book because it's what I'm going to be curling up with tonight! I have less than a hundred pages left (it has about 550 I believe) and I'm pretty sure this is going to become my new favorite book. It's such an amazing story- the movie makes it mostly about henry and clare's love story, which is definitely present (and then some) in the book, but it's also a story about their family, their separate lives, henry's condition, their friends, chicago... so many things. It's so beautiful. It's the kind of book that makes me want to become a writer and create something just as beautiful of my own. Agh. It's just so good, and so captivating, and so enjoyable to read.

I hope out of those few books you can find one to spend some time with this season... or, maybe you already have a book you're enjoying! if you do, tell me what it is so that I can check it out :)

<3 Em

Looking For Alaska

Hey guys, so I actually finished Looking for Alaska on Wednesday but I hadn't gotten around to reviewing it until now. Like I predicted, it had the tell-tale signs of a teen fiction- the characters are all 16, they're just figuring out alcohol and sexual attraction, and the chapters (although they aren't really chapters in this book I guess) are nice and short. Unlike It's Kind of a Funny Story, though, this book had plot! and character development! and some nice, potent, teenage angst.

Looking for Alaska is divided into two parts. 133 pages of before and 84 pages after. In the middle is an event that dramatically changes the lives of the characters and (obviously) is very much central to the plot.

And while the plot is interesting, I found the beauty and intricacy of the writing and planning that went into the novel even more captivating. As with many great books, when you look at just the storyline alone, the book seems almost absurdly simple. It is the additional material- the character development, the dialogues, the thoughtful narration, the well-placed droppings of foreshadowing and symbolism that make the book a piece of art. John Green did an exceptional job with this in Looking for Alaksa, especially since it is his first novel (he has written a couple others since).

The story follows Miles Halter, a 16 year old boy who decides to follow in his father's footsteps and move to Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama. He makes friends with his roommate- a short but built boy named Chip (although he goes by The Colonel) and a sometimes moody and often reckless (but incredible) girl named Alaska. Alaska seems a bit old for her age, chain-smoking cigarettes, downing bottles of strawberry wine bought with a fake id, and reading melancholy books which question the meaning of life. Miles falls for her almost instantly, and the novel carries on from there, documenting the 3 student's activities, traumas, and adventures over the course of the year.

It's a short read, but a good one. It definitely appeals to a broader age range than It's Kind of a Funny Story did. I don't know if I would recommend it to anyone older than myself to read, but I enjoyed it and I consider myself to be more mature than a lot of my peers (at least the ones I see walking around campus discussing their latest wine cooler/frat boy/dance party debacle and wearing wildcats T-shirts cut to reveal as much skin as possible without showing enough to get arrested), so who knows. Maybe someone older could read it :)

Like I said before, it was mostly the writing that grabbed my attention. Margaret told me to highlight anything I particularly liked (several who had read this copy before me had done so as well), and while the whole 36 hours I was reading it I didn't have a highlighter on hand, I did find several passages that I enjoyed. I'll only share one, for the sake of time, and also because it's the one I first stumbled upon on the computer (it was just a blank page with this quote and the name of the author and the book at the end) which prompted me to ask Margaret if I could borrow her copy all those months ago.

"Just like that. From a hundred miles an hour to asleep in a nanosecond. I wanted so badly to lie down next to her on the couch, to wrap my arms around her and sleep. Not fuck, like in those movies. Not even have sex. Just sleep together, in the most innocent sense of the phrase. But I lacked the courage and she had a boyfriend and I was gawky and she was gorgeous and I was hopelessly boring and she was endlessly fascinating. So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane"

(sometimes I think about how writers think when they are in the process of writing a book. And while I love that last line, I can just see John Green coming up with it really early in the writing process, or maybe even before he thought of the book, and loving it and waiting for the perfect moment to slip it in. I mean, c'mon. It rhymes!)

Anyways, overall 4 stars. Maybe 4.5. I liked it a lot, but I've pretty much lost my taste for high school literature because I'm no longer in high school and I'm finding it more difficult to relate to the characters. It was the writing and some of the brilliant quotes that are spread throughout the book that really got me. I would recommend this to anyone above the age of 11 and under the age of 22, depending on reading level and maturity.

In other news, the day after I finished this I got The Time Traveler's Wife!!!

I've read 107 of its glorious 536 pages and I'm absolutely in love with it. Excellent writing, captivating story, amazing characters, and really interesting style. I already dread the day that I will finish it and at the same time I can't seem to put it down... I just want to stay in the little world it creates for hours on end.

I look forward to reviewing it for you guys in a few days! Hoping your weekend has been lovely <3

Last Week/New Book

I have a bunch of pictures that I took last week and I thought I'd just post a few bunch of them to show the different stuff Stew and I were up to :)

 Yummy fresh baked bread and goats cheese for dinner

 Making a lasagna on a Tuesday afternoon to eat for the rest of the week. The sauce is from the Prescott farmer's market and is made by an Italian chef in Phoenix- all fresh, healthy ingredients :)

 Stewbean mashing up some cream cheese and ricotta for the lasagna

 My pet fishy Zia!

 Favorite heels :)

 Stew took this picture of me blogging after we got home from working out one night

 Cinnamon Sugar toast on homemade bread is the best breakfast!

 Pretty rain cloud sunset while grocery shopping

 Stewie drew gnome faces on the food coloring we bought for the HP cupcakes

 Unbaked vegan red velvet cupcakes (with gryffindor colored papers)

 Drinking the first batch of butterbeer!

 Very yummy and realistic vegan buffalo wings

 In my room watching HP on my 15 dollar goodwill tv

Liquid Echinacea to put in my tea (still keeping that sickness at bay!)

 Me a few minutes ago, drinking tea out of my new purple camper-style ceramic mug. yummy!

My copy of The Time Traveler's Wife hasn't come yet, so I'm starting/continuing reading a different book. 

Looking For Alaska is my friend Margaret's favorite book and she let me borrow it back in May. I admit I read like the first chapter and then got swept up in all the summer excitement. What with working at mama eddas, going on salt river and california trips, and partying every day I just never picked it up again. Margaret wants it back by thanksgiving though, and I don't want to give it back without having read it, that would just be sad. So i'm going to read it now. It seems like a pretty quick and easy read (another one of those teenage fictions), so I will hopefully be done with it in a couple days. I'll let you know what I think! 

I'll be back later today with a pumpkin pie post . Tonight is Chana Masala for dinner, gym (if I feel better), Film history and geography homework, and bed at a reasonable hour I hope. I really want to start going to the gym early in the morning so that I can use the weights without being crowded by douchebaggy guys... but if I want to do that I've gotta go to bed early enough to wake up at 5!

See you later tonight lovies

It's Kind of a Funny Story

So I posted yesterday about how I had just picked up a new book, It's Kind of a Funny Story. And then I finished it at 3 am last night. I have mixed things to say about it.

Obviously it captured my attention because I finished it in two days... but it was also incredibly easy reading and had a very large font. It's quite clear to me that this book is meant for young teens, probably those who have struggled with stress or depression because it's all about a young boy who gets into a very difficult high school and then finds that it's too much for him and ends up clinically depressed. It wasn't that it was a bad book, just that it was a little below my reading maturity level.

It had some amusing parts to it and for the most part I enjoyed reading it, but I was bummed that there was pretty minimal character development and really not a whole lot of a plot line either. The climax of the book seemed just a little too high-school-drama for me. I do understand that it was based on the author's own experiences though and is supposed to send a message of hope and life, which was evident at the end. Kind of. It was no Rent, though.

Another thing was that I kept looking for the zach galifianakis character that is shown a lot in the trailer. There were a couple people that could possibly be him but no one in particular and that was a disappointment. It also gives me the feeling that the movie version is going to add in a whole lot of plot that was absent from the book. It's rare that I think this, but I'm pretty sure the movie is going to be better than the book.

[Ok, I just watched the trailer again before I put it on this post and now I know who Zach G is supposed to be. He's playing a character named Bobby, which I suspected as I read the book- but instead of Bobby being one of numerous secondary characters, they actually make him an important character in the movie. I wish the book had done that.]

That said, this is not a bad book. It's just definitely more appropriate for early teenagers who are just beginning to deal with real problems, become interested in the opposite sex, and figure out who they really are. If I read this when I was 14, I bet I would have loved it. And I still enjoyed it now, just not as much as I wanted to.

Oh, and the author threw in this 2- page weird almost-sex scene in the last 30 pages of the book that was kind of like a "wait... wtf?" moment, but I forgive because I think he's a young author and somewhat inexperienced in writing novels.

Anyways, I give this book a rating of 3 stars and an overall "meh". I wouldn't recommend it to any of my friends, but I would probably recommend it to a bunch of 9th graders.

Here's the trailer for the movie, which I now want to see even more (to see how those crafty film-makers make it better!)

The Weekend So Far

I'm am thrilled to announce that it has FINALLY cooled down here in Tucson! Highs in the low 70s may not sound too cool to the rest of the world, but it has been the most amazing thing for me down here. At long last, I get to wear outfits like this:

 

Hooraaaay for thick socks and tights  and cardigans and plaid dresses^^ I'm so thrilled about it. PLUS, stewie and I went to walmart yesterday and they were selling pie pumpkins for 50 cents- that's like the cheapest opportunity for a [delicious and homemade] pumpkin pie ever.

November has been trudging along and I'm counting down the days until I get to drive home and spend a glorious 4 day holiday weekend in Prescott. After I get back from that it's just 1.5 weeks of school and 3 finals left and then a whole month off to go to california and mexico. yay :)

As for this 4 day holiday weekend, I've been loving it. I've been taking it sooo easy, letting my muscles heal from the intense workouts I put them through. I'm pumped and ready to get back in the gym tomorrow while Stew is at work- I've found I really love going to the gym, even though it really takes it out of me and sometimes leaves me really sore. The soreness just means that what I'm doing is working though, so I don't mind... not to mention for some strange reason UA has enough money to put fricken tvs on all the elipticals, treadmills, and bikes so that you can literally watch satellite television while you work out. This concept still blows my mind and I'm not sure that I approve, but it was kind of fun to watch scrubs and hell's kitchen while I ran. 

So the harry potter marathon is a whole weekend long thing, and they've been showing the directors cut of the movies so that means 3-4 hours for each movie- I love it! stewie and i make dinner and sit down to watch at 8 or 8:30 and the movie isn't over til midnight! today it starts at 5:30 and goes till midnight, because they're showing both 3 and 4. I can't wait :)

We also made some awesome hp treats to make the experience even more fun- I made an almost vegan and alcohol free butterbeer out of cream soda, earth balance, werther's butterscotch hard candies (the non vegan bit), and vanilla soy milk. It came out really, really yummy and looked pretty authentic when we poured it back into the ibc cream soda bottles.

yummmm. I also made vegan cupcakes (like I promised I would!). I made a red velvet cupcake recipe that was supposedly from the babycakes cookbook (a vegan cupcakery), making just a couple adjustments like all purpose flour instead of spelt flour and sugar and water instead of agave nectar (I'm a broke college student people, I gotta use what I have!). I tried the batter and was worried it wasn't sweet enough... and after baking the first batch decided I was definitely right. Also, they had a weird zingy chemically taste from the baking soda/powder- no surprise because the recipe called for a total of 9 teaspoons of the stuff! I had been wary to add that much but decided to trust the recipe... a mistake, it turned out. The second batch came out much, much better though because I thinned the batter out with some extra water and added some more sugar. then i topped all the cupcakes with a vegan cream cheese frosting and decorated them with yellow lightning bolts! So, so cute^^ and very yummy in the end.

Oh, so a couple other things- I finally ordered The Time Traveler's Wife on Amazon a couple days ago. I've been wanting to read it for FOREVER and I loved the movie and books are usually better than movies (says the film student.. hmm...) so I can't wait for it to get here. I LOVE buying books on amazon because sometimes you can get them really cheap. I got a NEW paperback of TTTW for $1.85 plus $4 shipping and handling. such a good deal :)

I also picked up It's Kind of a Funny Story at Stewart's college's library yesterday and am already 100 pages in. It's definitely a book for highschool students, since the protagonist is 14 years old and the font is about 3 sizes larger than I'm used to, but so far it's still a good read. It caught my eye because they're currently making (maybe its already showing?) a movie version of it that looks really good/funny/uplifting. 

I'll let you know what I think once I finish it. I'll probably see the movie too and then compare. 

Anyways, that's my weekend so far! Tonight is date #1, vegetarian italian stuffed peppers, more butterbeer and cupcakes, and harry potter 3 and 4! oh, and maybe some work if I feel like it haha. See you tomorrow lovies!

Book Review: Still Life With Woodpecker

It's glorious outside right now. And by glorious, I mean mid 80s, cloudy, windy, and threatening thunderstorms. And what's that I see? Is that a hint of color on that singular, probably imported, university-owned deciduous tree? I think it is. Oh, and while I was walking to my media arts screening (did I mention I love my major? from 4:00-6:30 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I just go watch movies.) I saw a bunch of palm tree leaves(?) crash down onto the sidewalk about 100 feet in front of me. Awesome weather.

All of this means that when I get home in 3 hours I'm going to be doing some serious fall cooking. Regardless of the fact that a stupid STUPID cop gave me a speeding ticket on the freeway where I was going the exact same speed as everyone else and now I have to pay 210$ by the end of the month. Luckily I got my last check from working at Mama Edda's so that will be going towards that. I'm still broke though, so hopefully I can continue to make yummy things. Anyways, that was a serious digression. I was talking about how I'm going to make fall food later. Probably stuffed gourds. We'll see.

But I can't do that NOW. Right now, I'm sitting in the lounge of the McClelland Park building waiting for my class. What I can do, though, is catch up on some of the non-food related stuff this blog is supposed to cover. And since it's all rainy out, how about I tell you about a good book to read?

3 Word-Bending Novels

The first really "absolutely-freaking-weird-as-hell-but-still-pretty-darn-cool-because-I've-never-seen-anything-like-it" book I ever read was House of Leaves. That book is awesome. Of course, you kind of have to approach it with a VERY open mind and at least somewhat know what you're getting yourself into before you attempt to read it. My senior year of high school I recommended it for one of the four books we read for book club, and that turned out to be a pretty big mistake. Those 14, 15, and 16 year-old kids just weren't really prepared for the 700 page mess of wordy sentences, copious footnotes, constantly changing fonts, and the necessary flipping between appendixes, exhibits, and chapters. Very few of them managed to finish it in 9 weeks, and what they did read pretty much went right over their heads. My English teacher didn't care for it much either, probably because it's full of run-on sentences, drug abuse, and unnecessary narrative- but that's part of what makes the book what it is.

Besides, I mostly only recommended it so that I could get my own free copy.