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Infinite Summer 2016- GAF reads Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (Summer ends)

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C

Cyan

Banned
Infinite Summer

Infinite_jest_cover.jpg


Why read a 1000 page (+ endnotes!) non-chronological digressionary postmodern melancholic-comedic book that everyone says is for hipsters and is named for the skull from Hamlet? Because it's there.

If you've wanted to read this but never gotten around to it. Or if you've read it before and would like to go again, and encourage some noobs. Or if you've missed the book club threads. Or if you just think it'd be fun to take on something a little challenging for the summer. Then jump in.

We're going to be following the original Infinite Summer schedule, which can be found here: http://infinitesummer.org/index This gives about ten pages of reading a day, making the book easily doable if you keep up with it. You might notice that things don't (officially) start until June 21. You've got plenty of time to get your hands on the book, finish up whatever you're in the middle of reading, and get hype.

Find the book on Amazon here. Paperback or Kindle are recommended. Audio probably not.


Resources:
From Dr.Acula:
I also recommend this Wiki with its page-by-page annotations:

http://infinitejest.wallacewiki.com/david-foster-wallace/index.php?title=Infinite_Jest_Page_by_Page

Super-useful resource. An example:

Page 16:

incisionish
a neologism meaning "of or like an incision"

hypophalangial
Wallace neologism describing a smallness or absence of fingers or hands
Click to expand...
 
D

Dandy Crocodile

Member
Yay, had this in my Kindle for quite some time now. Made it a good 100 pages in last time before being distracted by other stuff so hopefully I can stick with it!
 
K

KodaRuss

Member
Oh wow, I read the first 200 or so pages and stopped about year ago before my son was born. Not sure if I have the time or patience for it right now.
 
C

Cyan

Banned
ngower said:
Sure, why not?


[EDIT] lol at the Kindle edition being more expensive than the print edition.
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Yeah, that's especially weird given how big the damn thing is.

KodaRuss said:
Oh wow, I read the first 200 or so pages and stopped about year ago before my son was born. Not sure if I have the time or patience for it right now.
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The Illiterati said:
I read a hundred pages or so a month ago, but I got distracted by moving. I might be able to get back in again...
Click to expand...

10 pages a day! Think about it. ;)
 
C

Cade

Member
I'm in. That schedule is pretty lenient. Are we permabanned if we go over? I need to be sure.

;)
 
T

TTG

Member
David Foster Wallace wrote for various magazines over the years. A good way to get a sense of his voice without committing to a giant book is to check out some of those:

Here is a video of him reading a bit from an article covering a state fair. More specifically, it's a baton twirling competition. It's got nothing to do with Infinite Jest, but this is his brand of comedy. The second part is him reviewing a cruise ship thing.

Many of the articles compiled in Consider the Lobster are still available from original publications: Consider the Lobster and Big Red Son. Again, it's DFW on assignment.





ryseing said:
Screw it, I'm in. Now I have to debate between paperback and Kindle.
Click to expand...

I would recommend the Kindle edition because X-ray is enabled. For those that don't know/remember what that is, it's essentially an internal wiki and because the whole book is searchable there is no difficulty recalling names or how minor characters fit in.
 
F

Fhtagn

Member
I read this once just after losing my job in 2002, then read half of it just before the first "Infinite Summer" group started up, so I started over then and read it again.

I don't think I'm ready for a 3rd full read but I'll be happy to follow the thread and chime in where I can.
 
C

Cyan

Banned
Fhtagn said:
I read this once just after losing my job in 2002, then read half of it just before the first "Infinite Summer" group started up, so I started over then and read it again.

I don't think I'm ready for a 3rd full read but I'll be happy to follow the thread and chime in where I can.
Click to expand...

Right on, I'd be happy to get some input from vets along the way.
 
P

platakul

Banned
ryseing said:
Screw it, I'm in. Now I have to debate between paperback and Kindle.
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I normally prefer ebook but like House of Leaves I would definitely recommend the paperback of Jest. Too much flipping back and forth.
I suppose you could highlight passages easier in the ebook that you want to return to, but I think the sheer amount of connections made while reading benefit from a physical book.
 
N

Number45

Member
I'm in for this - the book is ready and waiting on my Kindle.

What are the post/post category links on the schedule?

Also happy to see this actually starts when summer starts. The news here has been going on about yesterday being the first day of summer. Meteorological summer? Heathens.
 
N

Necrovex

Member
Screw it, I'm in. I'll be mostly studying for the GRE during this school break, so I can easily manage 10 pages a day. This has been on my list for years, so Gaf will motivate me to start this behemoth!
 
N

Nezumi

Member
My Kindle has been ready for over month. Now let's see if I can finish up The Book of the new Sun before the 21st (probably not).
 
E

Emarv

Member
I'm joining. I was planning on finding a summer schedule but the first half of June is stacked for me. June 21st sounds perfect.
 
P

PassiveObserver

Member
I'm 270 pages in and have hit a bit of a wall. Haven't felt like pulling it out of my bag on my commutes. There are rare sections I've enjoyed, but mostly it's been taxing to read. Hopefully my head start will allow me to stay on pace with you guys.
 
O

OniBarubary

Banned
Amusing, I'm actually reading Girl With the Curious Hair right now. I decided between it and Infinite Jest because they had a used copy of GWTCH but not IJ.
 
D

Dr.Acula

Banned
I did this several years ago. Takes at least an hour a day.

That 17+ page endnote reeeeaaaally fucked me up. So read ahead, because when you hit page 311, you're gonna spend a looong time getting through #110.
 
O

Orbis Tabula

Member
Huh. I missed the chance to try the 50 books challenge this year. Maybe this is a good way to make up for it. I'll think about it, thanks!
 
N

Nola

Member
Cyan said:
We're going to be following the original Infinite Summer schedule, which can be found here: http://infinitesummer.org/index This gives about ten pages of reading a day, making the book easily doable if you keep up with it. You might notice that things don't (officially) start until June 21. You've got plenty of time to get your hands on the book, finish up whatever you're in the middle of reading, and get hype.
Click to expand...

I think I can swing 10 pages a day, so I'll give this a shot! :)
 
B

BotchPoppaPump

Member
Currently doing my Masters thesis on Wallace so I will be cheating due to the fact that I'm pretty much ALWAYS reading Jest. Looking forward to everyone's thoughts!
 
T

TTG

Member
OniBarubary said:
Amusing, I'm actually reading Girl With the Curious Hair right now. I decided between it and Infinite Jest because they had a used copy of GWTCH but not IJ.
Click to expand...

Girl With Curious Hair is fun, the first scene is especially brilliant, but I think he got carried away with the meta/Wittgenstein elements. It's what he would later avoid and call a "clever metafictional titty-pincher." It's very much a first novel, something I would probably only recommend to an avid fan. Infinite Jest is... well, you'll see. Ooooh, I also loved the all dialogue scenes, they make a return in The Pale King, but I don't think I remember any in IJ.



BotchPoppaPump said:
Currently doing my Masters thesis on Wallace so I will be cheating due to the fact that I'm pretty much ALWAYS reading Jest. Looking forward to everyone's thoughts!
Click to expand...

Cool, please stay active in this thread.
 
D

Dr.Acula

Banned
mu cephei said:
10 pages = 1 hour?! What kind of monster is this.
(I just bought it).
Click to expand...

Type is small, pages are large, you're gonna have to look up a lot of words (DFW's vocabulary is pretty eclectic, plus random French), plus a hundred pages of end-notes, and those take time to read too, and lots of flipping around and rereading old passages.

It can be hard determining what's just fluff, and what's integral to the plot, sometimes it doesn't reveal itself until a hundred pages later, and you're trying to recall some small detail from last week so you're flipping around looking for it.

But maybe I'm just a slow reader.
 
E

EverythingShiny

Member
One of my favorite people in high school gave me this book as a graduation present. I haven't made it past the second chapter (started/stopped many a time over the years), so I'm in.

I love DFW so much. Girl with the Curious Hair and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men were two of my favorite books in high school. Missing his commencement speech at my alma mater is one of the biggest regrets in my life.
 
N

Number45

Member
Nola said:
Can I start early, or do I need to stick to the schedule??
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You will be publicly vilified and stripped of all GAF gold benefits if you start early.

Of course you can start early, but I would assume people would prefer to keep daily discussions to the passages that are scheduled to be read that day.
 
C

Cyan

Banned
Nola said:
Can I start early, or do I need to stick to the schedule??
Click to expand...

I mean, you can totally start early, but you might not have too many people to talk to. :p

Trying to finish up Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in time to get started here.
 
N

Nola

Member
Number45 said:
You will be publicly vilified and stripped of all GAF gold benefits if you start early.

Of course you can start early, but I would assume people would prefer to keep daily discussions to the passages that are scheduled to be read that day.
Click to expand...

For a second this scared me...lol

Cyan said:
I mean, you can totally start early, but you might not have too many people to talk to. :p

Trying to finish up Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in time to get started here.
Click to expand...

Point taken. I did start a couple of days ago, but only made it to about page 33 so far. Will stop reading ahead so I can keep track with everyone! ;)

Also, watched "The End of the Tour" this weekend to kick off "Infinite Summer." I really enjoyed it!
 
Maiden Voyage

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
I've wanted to read this for a while. I am going to attempt this, but I am pretty busy during the summer. Bookmarking this thread to help keep me on track.
 
F

FnordChan

Member
I'm not up for a reread at the moment myself, but the original Infinite Summer got me to finally get back to reading the trade paperback I'd picked up in 1997 and stalled out on 100 pages in. It's a powerful, amazing book and everyone participating has some great reading and discussion ahead of you.

Protip: If you're reading a print copy, you'll want to bookmarks, one for the regular text and another for the end notes.

FnordChan
 
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