A while back when I was actually working Nemski had a bunch of you list some books that I should read.
I have read quite a few so far or when they aren’t available at the library I have read the books by the authors you suggested. I recommend you all taking a look at the list and picking some of them up as we approach beautiful reading outside weather.
Cassandra recommended I read Infinite Jest. The author David Foster Wallace recently committed suicide after struggling with depression for the better part of 20 some years. It is really a shame too, just reading this you can tell he had had first hand insight into the deep, black world that is addiction and depression.
I had reserved it from the Library a while ago and it had come in back in January. When I went to the library to pick it up I saw the lady lug it off the shelf and I just stared at it. OH MY GOD! The book has to weigh about 5 lbs. It is a 1079 page monster with the print about a 9 pitch.
It is by far, BY FAR the best book I have ever read. Cassandra had told me that you will either love it or hate it and there is no in between. I agree 100%. The book took me a solid 5 weeks to read and there are times when 1 single paragraph can go on for 6 pages. Your mind needs a break just to digest the amazing amount of detail Mr. Wallace describes to you. Sentences can go on for 20 lines. He creates his own words, he makes up his own acronyms and he even creates footnotes that have entire separate footnotes themselves. There is dialogue within the foot notes too. The type on the footnotes is even smaller.
The title was apparently taken from Hamlet, however in Wikipedia it says that it might also have to do with the length of the book and what goes on between the cover. I agree. Wallace admits that he created the footnotes so as to break up the flow of the book. It works. You are reading along and there is footnote 274. You flip to the back of the book and it is 10 pages of dialog not germane to the paragraph you are reading, but pertinent to the entire story. I suggest getting 2 book markers. One for the footnote section one for the book. It will help the constant flipping you will do.
Reading the book was an experience. It was different, and I think I “get” what Wallace was trying to accomplish writing it the way he did. Which made it that much more enjoyable and clever.
I tried to describe it to a friend of mine recently and the only way I can describe it (which wont do it justice) is:
If you took Tolstoy, Hunter S. Thompson, Orwell perhaps even Taibbi, had them take an incredible amount of LSD, sat them in a room together, told them to each write a book about what was going on in their brains without stopping or sleeping. Then you mashed each of their books into one book without abridging any of what they wrote I think you would maybe, maybe have something close to Infinite Jest.
This book isn’t for the faint of heart. I even suggest reading something else while you read this book. There are going to be times where it will take you a half hour to read 7 pages. It is that good.
Just as an FYI if you don’t believe me on how good this book is.
Time magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005 list.[1]
Here was their review
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