Honestly, I read it because I was curious. But I got tired of its experiments after a few chapters and before long it felt more like a chore than something I chose to read. I get the reasoning behind the typography and such (getting lost in the maze like the characters were etc) but it really did turn out to be as gimmicky as I had heard about. And some of the footnotes just drove me crazy. I've read David Foster Wallace and experienced using footnotes to really supplement the story (not just note down a reference to a book), but where I liked DFW's footnotes, these were not fun.

By the end, I really didn't care at all for any of the sections with Johnny Truant. If it had just been The Navidson Record, I think I would have enjoyed it more. There was an interesting story there. But when it kept getting interrupted to talk about Johnny Truant, I got frustrated. I think they should have been two books (and hell, he turned the letters from Truant's mom found in the appendix of this book into a stand-alone book, so...).

All in all, I give the writer a lot of credit for the research and the time that must have gone into this book. It is clear he has a vast knowledge of the subjects he discusses (my favorite part of the book was the chapter on echoes--very thought provoking). The characters were interesting and fleshed out, and the mystery of The Navidson Record portion of the book's story line was intriguing. Sadly, the gimmicks and the disruptions ultimately made this book too annoying to be able to enjoy.