/lit/ has another Infinite Jest summer reading book group, and it starts JUNE 3rd!
If you have an interest in this book -- whether you have read it or not -- please consider joining us!
We will be reading Infinite Jest from June 3rd (this Friday) – August 11th with an average pace of around 15 to 20 pages a day.
Discussions will take place right here on /lit/ maybe every weekend, though a thread will probably float around throughout the week.
Our first proper discussion will take place around the 3rd or 4th of June.
*Infinite Jest is widely available in bookstores and in free ebooks formats online
**Schedule open to change if necessary!!!
SIGN IN SO WE KNOW HOW MANY ARE INTERESTED
http://www.strawpoll.me/10356218
OVERALL SCHEDULE:
>pic related
SCENE BY SCENE GUIDE:
>http://faculty (dot) sunydutchess (dot) edu/oneill/Infinite (dot) htm (useful!)
REFERENCE SITE:
>http://infinitesummer.org/
>>8103237
Terrible waste of time.
>>8103237
nah fuck off, no one wants to read your meme book.
>>8103237
I read it last summer, but didn't follow along with the threads because I was afraid of spoilers. I'd be interested in reading through it a second time.
>>8103256
You will be surprised at how much is blatantly revealed to the rereader within the book's first pages.
WHY IS THIS THREAD ALLOWED?
THIS IS NOT GOODREADS.
WHY IS THIS THREAD ALLOWED?
THIS IS NOT GOODREADS.
WHY IS THIS THREAD ALLOWED?
THIS IS NOT GOODREADS.
WHY IS THIS THREAD ALLOWED?
THIS IS NOT GOODREADS.
WHY IS THIS THREAD ALLOWED?
THIS IS NOT GOODREADS.
WHY IS THIS THREAD ALLOWED?
THIS IS NOT GOODREADS.
WHY IS THIS THREAD ALLOWED?
THIS IS NOT GOODREADS.
>>8103295
/lit/ has always had reading groups. Thanks for outing yourself, though.
I'd LOVE to do something like this, especially if we open up some sort of IRC chat to discuss it like an actual book club.
Would prefer to move it back a couple of weeks because of school, but I can join late I guess.
Sounds interesting. Count me in
>>8103323
I second the IRC idea.
>>8103237
I'm like 120 pages in it already. I wouldn't mind discussing it.
I just got to page 30 this morning! This is perfect.
Is the story in this book actually entertaining or is this just some book made for nerds to try and analyze? I'd hate to read 1000 pages of some author trying to make some insipid point while the story is not even entertaining.
Why should I piss away my summer reading such a dreadful book
>>8103423
I'm 270 in, what d'ya think? I was a bit muddled on what Maria meant when he said "the chance to play" What did you think?
769 pages in, though I'd still love to join because I'm sure I've missed a lot.
>>8103571
not even one of the people you're replying to but I am genuinely confused as to what you're talking about
or if it is just so stupid that I probably shouldn't care
>>8103605
I'm opining that reading groups are much better when people arren't rushing with the page count
(arguably just to show-off, otherwise why would they not have compassion for those who read slower/have understanding that spending time contemplating what you've read is an equally important concept as the one of just having read the pages)
methinks a point should be made that such people be ignored on principle, which currently often doesn't happen and instead they see themselves fit to take over as the "moderators", thus inclining the (I opine) wiser people to drop out one by one because they cannot/ wish not to keep up with the pointless exercise.
>>8103626
telling people what page your on and hearing what page they're on so you can work out which page of the books to discuss isn't showing off u tard
>>8103536
I like the stuff about the Incandenza family. I haven't been paying much attention to the footnotes, because there's like three there at this point. Some parts I've read were when I was high, and in my opinion it is underestimated. DFW's prose is seemingly going off tangent with details. And talking with more details. But it's still relevant.
>>8103676
maybe true for this thread and discussions in general, but definitely not true in the setting of a reading group, that's all I was trying to say.
>>8103626
>opining
>methinks
>which currently often doesn't
>thus incling the
>(I opine)
>wiser
>pointless exercise
Nice try, but adding """intellectual""" language to your works doesn't make them """intellectual""".
Ideas with value have value whether they're presented as valuable or not, and worthless ideas are worthless no matter how they're presented.
I'm not saying this to be rude, I'm saying it to help you get better at shitposting.
That said, I pretty much agree, so let's give that a rewrite.
>I'm saying that reading groups are much better when people aren't rushing to keep up on the page count. Those who are more concerned with the page number than the content of what they're reading are just shallow memers whose only reason to read is to look the part of the nerd they want the world to think they are.
>Frankly, we should just ignore these people on principle. Unfortunately, however, this rarely happens because they feel they've somehow earned the right to take over as the, "moderators," of these reading groups. This causes those genuinely interested in a discussion of the work to drop out because they either can't keep up with the speed-readers, or they don't care enough to deal with the surface-reading plebs that they're around.
Admittedly there's a lot of my own voice in there now, but let's go over the major changes:
>no more archaic """"intellectual"""" language
This is a must go, sorry. Unless it serves a purpose that I didn't get, it's just superficial fluff.
>no more parentheses
This is more of a pet peeve of mine than a set in stone rule, but I really hate parentheses pretty much everywhere outside of mathematics. Sometimes they can be okay as a clarification or a quick footnote, but in general, they're useless. If you've got something to say, say it.
>stronger language
This is something you want to stick to in opinion pieces, and this goes double for anything you post on 4chan. It's obvious that it's your opinion from the fact that you're writing it, so there's no need to state that explicitly in the text. Doing so just makes you seem like a limp-wristed weakling.
>no more slashes
This is another pet peeve of mine. You're saving one fucking character by using a slash instead of the word, "or."
Other than that, you seemed to skim over the major points and spend a lot of time on irrelevant trivialities.
Adding voice can be okay, but you have to keep the main focus on your points.
>wiser people drop out
>because they can't or won't deal with plebs
There are a lot of ways to string those two points together. My suggestion is one, and it probably doesn't reflect you very well at all. Your original, however, is a muddied, run-on sentence that gets lost in meaningless tripe. For your rewrite, make sure that any superfluous language serves either your voice or points a big flashing arrow at your point. Combining the two is an obvious bonus.
Christ, I feel like an overzealous English teacher.
>>8103834
I was not attempting to write in an academic voice from a sentiment of sincerity. Sorry for the confusion, and thank you for your devoted critique.It remains true that I had presented the ideas very badly in the post in question, so thanks for that input. It's not so much a testament to my inability than to my not caring enough about this particular matter.
>no more archaic """"intellectual"""" language
methinks þou art inclined to go fuck þi selven in ass thine, blessed naked in the forest by Jesus rain that first turned þe into a rainy man (clearly methinks -- because this is an opinion piece (so it goes without saying that it is, in fact, merely my personal opinion -- i.e. something that I think))
>>8103834
Wow you got your first paper back from your grad student instructor, we're all so impressed with you taking your red pen to a fucking 4chan post
my copy is picking up dust so why not
>>8103237
I'm about halfway through right now, but I wouldn't mind picking back up at the start again to try to make sense of it.
You guys could ask the /lit/ discord to add a room for this
I'm ready for it!
>>8103323
>>8103418
>>8105609
Why do you reckon shitposters would come in droves so large that they couldn't be ignored like they're usually being whenever a serious discussion gains momentum?
I opine against the IRC idea because it would introduce identities (nicknames). It would (inevitably, methinks) bring with itself the concept of personal reputation which would then in turn take away the true egoless 4chan anonymity, and therefore actual unbiased discussion.
It's basic human instinct to try and form friendships whenever the concepts of personal identity and personal reputation are introduced. And I think especially in a sample group of 4chan "NEET autist losers"*, this phenomenon would only be even more prominent than in the general population.There already have been real-life examples of how much intelligent discussion suffers when personal online identities (even if unlinkable to offline identities) are introduced into a 4chan sample group, i.e. when /lit/tards gather round in an online chatroom
----
*Yes I know some of you are successful and whatnot. It's still a useful generalization. You get the point.
>>8105696
>muh anon is leegion
anonymity hasn't and won't create unbiased or good discussion: see 4chan.
>>8105716
Then what the fuck are you doing here? Take this to Reddit you normalfag cunt.
![Cd_gNktUIAALJER[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/nAab9ip.jpg "Cd_gNktUIAALJER[1].jpg")
>>8105696
>(inevitably, methinks)
>>8105696
I'm not going to reread IJ yet, but this guy is legitimately, boner fide, 100% capital C correct
>>8105746
maybe you're right. given the fact that this board is filled with retards like >>8105723, i can almost see how your paranoid little schoolchild version of how an online discussion board works with "allegiances and friendships" "blindly accepted and defended by all of them"
>>8103759
Yeah I guess I never believed this thread would coherent enough to function as an actual reading group, hence I just wanted to have a chat.
>>8104110
He's been taught how all things should be written and I think we need to respect that, is this OK, this post? please tell me I worked sedulously to affect an outcome upon which I deduced thou might smile verily.
If you need a reading group and a schedule to read Infinite Jest, it's because you want to read it as an ego boosting thing, not because you are enjoying it.
>>8105955
no man, I've read it twice before. I really just enjoy the book and want to read it this summer at a steady pace with discussion.
>>8105965
Ok then.
I'm voting to make "methinks" the next hot meme.
>>8103237
I read the book; the meme was better.
>>8106029
If this post gets dubs methinks is a meme
>>8106044
>>8106044
methinks permanently btfo
>>8106044
>>8105955
What this lad said. Of course it couldn't be anything but Infinite Jest, what other novel is so synonymous with philistinism?
>>8106044
methinks we've got a live one.
To ask a relevant question: If I decide to buy the book, should I get the 10th or 20th anniversary edition? What are the substantial differences between the two? Font, paper, formatting, etc.
If there aren't any, I think I'll stick with the 10th, as I'm just fond of the cover art.
>>8105723
>normalfag
muh leegion
39 readers, good stuff
>>8103237
I literally finished the book last week for fucks sake
I wanted to read Infinite Jest somewhere in january but decided to wait for summer because I thought something like this might be up. Ofcourse I completely forgot about it so this is a nice surprise.
So we starting on friday or what?
>>8103237
There is 44 of us, not bad. It'll be a splendid summer.
>>8110224
40ish really means 5-10. Not to disappoint you, but don't expect commitment from most of them.
>>8112475
even that's great
>>8112475
My copy is arriving today, I'm not doing anything else this summer, and I'm an undergrad English major. Buckle up, friend.
can read this in 1 week easily
>>8113059
then do it, faggot ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
>>8103237
Im kind of tempted, ia this the kind of book that requires anything else already being read?
>>8113161
just Hamlet, but even then you can do w/out it
im in!
>>8113161
It draws on both Hamlet and The Brothers Karamazov, but they're not obligatory
>>8103237
>15 to 20 pages a day
lmaoooooo
>>8105696
suck my fucking dick you fucking retard
Fuck, I thought this was starting on the 21st like normal. I probably won't get my copy in time but I'll try.
>>8113511
>normal
>>8103237
Is this book actually good? I was under the impression it was some sort of pseudo-intellectual meme people read to look cool.
Anyone got kindle reading schedule?
>>8103418
There's already a Tinychat room.
>>8113511
it started on the 14th last year
>>8113311
wherefore
I started on Feb. 1 and got like 300 pages in. If these threads are still going I'll jump back in late June
>>8114195
Yes to both
>>8114195
it's pretty good, it's also pretty pseudointellectual, and two thirds its readership are complete psueds never finish the book only picking it up to look smart
>>8114413
mind sharing it?
