It does kind of shame me, as a literary type, to admit that I’ve never read Infinite Jest. Of all of David Foster Wallace’s great (I hear) writing, all I’ve read is “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again” which is kind of like saying you went to Paris and spent the whole week at the Eiffel Tower.
“A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again” is the one thing that everyone’s read, because it’s short and it’s easy to get through and it’s funny. I loved it.
Infinite Jest is not short, nor is it easy to get through. In fact, it’s over 1,000 pages, and it’s notoriously difficult to get through. It’s also rumoured to be fabulously rewarding for those who do persevere.
This is the summer to finally read it all the way through. Why not? Everyone else is. Like Colin Meloy, lead singer of The Decemberists.
No, I’m serious — it’s “Infinite Summer”. There’s a blog and everything.
Pitched as “an endurance reading event,” the online book club plans to read through the whole book, starting tomorrow (Sunday). They’ve set a pace to 75 pages per week, meaning you can finish it this summer.
Of course, after having trekked to every damn bookstore in the city, I can’t find a copy of Infinite Jest anywhere, so I’m probably going to have to buy it on Amazon and then catch up, but I’m going to do it!
And I’m going to make Amy do it with me.
Surprise! Don’t you like finding things out on the blog, Amy?
Grant Hamilton
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Stumpy
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Stumpy