I can totally relate, except Snow Crash stayed on my stack for both its popularity and its brevity. The fourth time I took a stab at the first chapter I was in a much lighter mood, broke through the jarring entry to an AnCap society with an unemployed hacker working as a pizza delivery driver for the mafia, and this time I found myself simply laughing at the absurdity of it. Then I was hooked. One or two passages (the library research scene?) drag out a bit. Overall: highly recommended, mostly for the sense of humor.