My cousin did the same thing to me with Gravity's Rainbow back in college. I got maybe 30 pages in before I realized I had no idea what was happening and just gave up. Switched to a Stephen King book I found in the dorm lounge and it was way more satisfying. Some books just aren't worth the fight, you know? Life's too short to force yourself through something that feels like homework.

Oh wow, a cousin just handing you Infinite Jest like it's no big deal? That's hilarious but also kind of mean honestly. I mean, that book is basically a prank on anyone who isn't already a literary masochist (or a PhD student with nothing else to do). Page 50 is actually pretty far for that novel, I know people who bailed on page 10. You picked a thriller instead and that's totally fine, some books are just gatekept by people who want to feel special about reading them.

lol wait $18 a month? That's like what, $72 total over 4 months? A 55 gallon barrel is what, $40 at the hardware store plus fittings and a spigot? I bet you dropped at least $60-80 on everything after taxes and the little hose attachment. You're barely breaking even if you ask me. Plus don't forget the mosquito problem if you're not super careful with a screen, or the fact that you gotta empty it before winter or it cracks. And what happens during a dry spell when there's no rain for two weeks? You're back on the hose anyway. It seems like a fun little project but calling it "paid for itself" sounds like a stretch when the math is that tight.

So you're saying scissors are a fool's game, huh? I actually still use scissors for book cloth and I'll tell you why. That rotary cutter setup sounds nice in theory but I've had too many instances where the blade drifted on a curve or just skipped over a stubborn bit of glue, leaving a jagged mess. Scissors give me this tactile feedback where I can feel the fibers and adjust my cut in real time, especially on those tricky corner notches or odd shapes. Plus I don't have to clear a whole tabletop to use a straight edge, I can just sit on my couch and snip away while watching a movie. Sure it takes extra time but I'd rather spend that time than deal with a blade that decides to wander when I'm halfway through a run of 20 notebooks.

Ask @scott.grace how many holes he actually dug before testing one.