Yes I Said Yes I Will Yes

So I finally finished reading The Iluminatus! Trilogy, (it's a long book).  It's clear to me that the two writers, Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson are very clever and well-read individuals, and that they are good writers, without ever really approaching the level of great writers, even by the standards of "genre fiction"  (The book is classified as sci-fi, but that's not really appropriate.  It's more like "slightly psychedelic conspiracy metafiction", but most bookstores are still stubbornly refusing to include that section).  The ideas in the book are fascinating, and the range of allusions and references are impressive, but when I see that the cover boasts "0ver 100,00 copies sold" over thirty or so years, I think that's about right.  It's kind of like an article Chuck Klosterman wrote where he argued that My Bloody Valentine is one of the most perfectly rated groups in music history (as opposed to being overrated or underrated).  It's hard to imagine more than 100 thousand or so people enjoying the book, but of the 100 thousand who do read the book, most of them probably love it.  

Now I'm embarking on something I've been meaning to do for some time- re-reading Ulysses.   I started it last night, and I just finished the first section (the three prologue sections, following Stephen Dedalus around).  The first time around, I didn't actually finish the book (I suppose after I finish this, I should go back and actually finish reading Gravity's Rainbow) but I have confidence that this time I'll get through the whole thing.  I'll let anyone who accidentally arrived here know how it goes.