Advice for Reading GR for the First Time

[Brian Kempf]

After reading V. and CoL49 twice, I feel that it is time for me to start reading GR. Any advice for a first time reader? Should I read it alongside a companion book or character list? Or read it without help and then re-read it critically? I'm a bit OCD so part of me would like to read it for understanding the first time, but for a work on this size and scale I'm not sure if that's plausible.

Cheers,
B