So for the last year or so i have been wanting to read more for many reasons like expanding my vocabulary and writing skillswhich i need really badly, haveing more knowledge and in general feeling smarter and more confident.
Anyway i recently saw a movie called The End of the Tour which is about a interview with David Foster Wallace just after his ground breaking novel ''Infinite jest'', and it kinda pushed me into wanting to read a really good novel.
So anyway!
Can anyone give me advice out of experience? Is this a good book or is it overrated? Can i have some other recommendations ?
I literally know no one that is into reading. I mean who does these days?
I know i know, it's stupid to base something off a movie i saw. But that's how it usually is with me, i grab new hobbies by being impulsive... Sometimes if helps me and sometimes it don't.
It can be divisive but if you stick with it you'll probably love it. If you've ever dealt with addiction, depression, ennui, shit like that, it will really resonate with you
It's an excellent book, but it can be quite difficult. If you're an unskilled reader, I'd recommend starting with something a lot shorter and less complex.
>>7418879
>depression
That is what's attracted me to begin with.
>>7418884
Thanks for the recommendations. I am indeed a really unskilled reader. At least when it comes to books in general. I do love to larger textes, etc but never really a whole book.
Do you mind going into details on how it is complex? I just wounder because i can't wrap my head around the meaning of the word in this context if that makes sense.
I will look into the other books for sure tho thank you.
>>7418871
It's really great. If you want to start off smaller, read some of DFW's short stories from Oblivion, where I think his greatest work is.
>>7418900
By all means, give it a go if you're interested in it. I'm just saying there's a reason many people never finish it. It's extremely long (1079 pages, 388 are endnotes), has dozens of characters, jumps around a lot and is purposely but playfully unfriendly to the reader at times. These things are part of what makes it great, though.
>>7418956
Thanks.
I wasn't trying to go against you or anything. I just have difficulty wrapping my head around it as I lack expirience.
Before you dive into dfw I would take a trip to the wiki and see if any more manageable books jump out at you. I don't want to discourage you but I worry that reading something of that difficulty might accomplish the opposite of what you intend. With that said though, there is a lot of merit in plodding through large texts you just need to be sure you have the fortitude necessary
>>7418970
Yeah thanks. I basically stopped my purchaseof the book because of you and that other guy and it is probably for the best now that i have a better understanding of what challenges that awaits.
I'm not just sure about what to pick instead. The only books out of the recommendation chart that i have heard of is obviously Huckleberry Finn and Great Gatsby. But i don't know... It's hard to put what i want in words. But this book seemed like something that could form me as a person make me more knowledgeable and give me a greater understanding. It kinda seems too ambitious now.
>>7418970
i was thinking this. its kind of a daunting book to go at having no experience with the author's style.
he has several short story/essay collections. maybe start there.
>>7418871
I think I first read it when I was 16 or 17, and some of it was tedious and difficult to read, but it still had a profound impact on me. I've read it again since then (I'm 23 now), and it's definitely my favorite book. If you feel like reading it, I would really encourage you to give it a shot. Try to give it to the first 100 pages, and if it doesn't even remotely stick by then, you may have to come back to it a few years later.
>>7418956
>1079 pages, 388 are endnotes
ummmm no... 388 endnotes, over the course of, like, 80 pages.
>>7419030
Oh, shit. My mistake.
>>7418998
I would recommend Lolita by Nabokov. It's an easy read, relative to IJ, but it has some of the best prose in the english language.
>>7419078
it legitimately gave me erections at times which filled me with a mixture of wonder and shame.
>>7419030
I think the endnotes are over one hundred, but yeah definitely not 388. I think that is the number of actual endnotes, though.
>>7418871
>>7418900
Infinite Jest is great. I wouldn't recommend it as a first Wallace though. For that I would recommend either an essay collection (I give A Supposedly Fun Thing I Will Never Do Again the edge over Consider the Lobster) or a short-story collection (Oblivion is excellent); probably the former. Infinite Jest isn't overly difficult, but it's very long, and its nonlinear nature and initial unclarity (that gets clarified later) have been a stumbling-block for many. If you do read IJ, definitely read the endnotes since they're quite good and the structure of breaking up the narrative to flip back and forth to the end is deliberate. So have a second bookmark for the endnotes. Also have a third one at hand for p. 233, which clears up a lot of things, but don't look ahead, just trust that things will be reasonably cleared up (if not totally freed from ambiguity). And also Wallace used some big words, but let context provide the meaning instead of being concerned to check the dictionary every time, and know that Wallace made some of the words up.
I'll be honest. I'm bad like you. I have a poor vocabulary, and prior to engaging with IJ I hadn't tackled many complex books like this.
I'm a little over 100 pages into it, and so far it hasn't been that difficult. In fact, it might be one of the easiest books I've ever read just because the maximalist. If you're willing to truly engage with every detail in the book it actually is really clear and easy to comprehend. However, the difficulty for me (and likely for you), is that, because of our poor vocabulary and potential lack of knowledge about tons of intellectual culture references, it takes an ungodly amount of time to get through the book. Almost every page requires me to google at least one thing, usually five or six words/references per page. But, if the story really resonates with you (as it does me), then it's worth the effort.
>>7418871
no no no no no. read The Count of Monte Cristo.
if you've read that, read the russians.
when it comes to infinite jest, i personally didnt care for it, pretty overhyped. i still don't know why people compare it to Ulysses. anyway, in the end, read what you like, get into the habit of reading, simple is fine, just get into the habit, work your way up and do some research. when you find something good, you'll know it. when you find something shit, throw it aside and find something else. you'll do fine.
What can you advise to expand dictionary and speak better English?
not op, not a native speaker, currently reading IJ
hey anon, about 2 years ago I was in a similar situation, and the first book I read to get out of it was IJ, it was difficult and long, but so so worth it. now I love reading and read every day. so IJ may not be the best starter, but if you want to read it, read it!
>>7418871
I recently started Infinite Jest. I'm some 350 pages into it, and I'm digging it a lot.
It's not particularly difficult, I think - just extremely long. My vocabulary is pretty good though, and even I have to stop every so often and look something up. Like someone else mentioned, if you're just beginning and want to get into literature, I'd recommend The Count of Monte Cristo. Infinite Jest can be pretty daunting. Either that, or some Steinbeck. Steinbeck manages to write good literature with profound points in an accessible manner. East of Eden in particular is a good choice for a beginner.
>>7420885
Hey man, check this out:
http://infinitejest.wallacewiki.com/david-foster-wallace/index.php?title=Infinite_Jest_Page_by_Page
It has explanations of a lot of the more difficult words/references, sorted by page number. I've used it a fair bit. Seems easier than incessant googling.
