I'm finding it difficult to separate my theological leanings from my literary judgment with this. Inferno is fascinating and horrifying; Purgatorio is frustrating and infuriating; Paradiso is dull and academic. I really don't want to spend any time at all in any of these three places, thank you very much.

This was my second reading of Inferno. The first, I can't remember the edition, attempted an English translation of the original structure (terza rima) and was impressive but awkward. This edition scraps that rhyming scheme and shifts the whole into quatrains that just reads so much more naturally to me. It's probably some sort of (literary) sacrilege, but I enjoyed reading it. It's accessible and I'd recommend it to first time Dante readers.

I'd also recommend using some companion material (I used wikipedia and an old lit text a lot) to help with some context for some of the old Florentines and miscellaneous popes. It takes some extra time, but will help make it more than just a book you check off of a list.