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Reading the Chunksters discussion
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Infinite Jest
Archived 2015 Group Reads
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Infinite Jest by D.F. Wallace, Reading Schedule
Thanks so much for your work Zulfiya!!!So, to make sure I've got the idea...
on 9/29, we open discussion for everything beginning with "Year of Glad" and ending with but not including "As of Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment"
Then, on 10/06, we open discussion for everything beginning with "As of Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment" and ending with but not including "Mario Incandenza'a First And Only Even Remotely Romantic Experience, Thus Far"
Then, on 10/13, we open discussion for everything beginning with "Mario Incandenza'a First And Only Even Remotely Romantic Experience, Thus Far" and ending with but not including "Tennis And the Feral Prodigy, Narrated by Hal Incandenza, an 11.5-Minute Digital Entertainment"
etc, etc. Do I have it right?
You are absolutely right, John!
Zulfiya wrote: "Gah and phew together - that was not easy. The reading schedule looks a little bit chaotic, but it will be the schedule that is very much in the vein with our group's reading pace. My fellow part..."
Thanks for all the hard work, Zulfiya! :D I'm so excited to resume reading this tome.
Thank you Zulfiya.. this is wonderful and you are indeed amazing. I was going through the book and totally understand how you must have felt while creating this. So thank you once again. :)And can I also add that I am already intimidated by this one. :( I sure hope I can read this successfully!
Thank you, guys, I am uber-excited but also slightly intimidated :-)
I'm also intimidated. So I need to get some of those post-it tabs and find a place where the cats can't get to it. ;)
Don't be intimidated, just take your time and read all the footnotes. Many of them are essential, some are funny, they all have value. The first 200 pages are the most difficult because they skip from character to character, but after that you pretty much know everyone. It's worth the effort. :)
I would suggest a separate bookmark just for the footnote section.
I've tried this book before and only got just over 100 pages in -not because I didn't like it, I think I just lost momentumI really would like to attempt it again, but I have so much on my TBR (particularly for October, my favorite reading month), I don't know if I can give it the attention it needs. I didn't vote, because I wasn't sure I could commit - but I'm really happy it got picked :)
Approximately how many pages are the weekly reading portions?
Layla, each week is about 50-60 pages.I got started already to make sure I'll be ready for the first discussion -- it seems like pretty easy reading so far, which is making me even more nervous...haha :)
Great job, Zulfiya!! I had a feeling the making of the schedule would be quite cumbersome. And like you said, it is what you would expect for our Challenging book pick. :) Looks like I have homework this weekend bookmarking my book, but I'm quite looking forward to it!!
Zulfiya said: "My advice is charge your reading batteries and do not forget to buy some extra ones. You might need them. Of course, I am talking about nice snacks like trail mix, dried fruit snacks, cocoa, hot chocolate, and hot tea. These are my batteries."
Ha ha! When you mentioned batteries, I immediately thought "I thought Zulfiya said she was reading a tree book for this read?" :)
John wrote: "Layla, each week is about 50-60 pages.I got started already to make sure I'll be ready for the first discussion -- it seems like pretty easy reading so far, which is making me even more nervous....."
I agree with you. It's not a difficult read. Like Ulysses, you can enjoy the book perfectly well without delving into all the subtle threads...unpeeling the onion, as it were. But DFW has so many tiny little nuances built into the story and footnotes. I love finding them and connecting them with other little threads that connect to it 50-100 pages later. Just about everything in this book is connected - and making all those discoveries makes it fun. On one page, you may see reference to someone's drug supplier...and then maybe 100 pages later, you see the slightest little reference as to who that person is. Building all those connections adds to the genius of the book.
Plus, it contains (along with so many other things) the most poignant depiction of the fragility of hope (a hope that is wanted so desperately), that I have ever read. Such a moving book.
Hmmm I will have to see with how this schedule works while listening to it on Audiobook! Should be a challenge!
@Paula - I love the way you described all the connections in the book. This is good info for a newbie like me. I can't wait to get started!
Becky wrote: "Hmmm I will have to see with how this schedule works while listening to it on Audiobook! Should be a challenge!"I'm curious about how the audiobook works with the footnotes. I looked at the listing on audible.com, and the book seems to actually be a separate purchase from the footnotes? That seems odd.
Thanks Zulfiya! I have already started and it is not as difficult as I thought it would be-- just lots of characters introduced. Very funny so far. I'm excited to read this with everyone!
Man, that was painful just entering it into my phone's notepad, I can't imagine digging through all of that on your own.I'm also doing a tree book on this one. Ami assured me that I would want easy access to the notes section.
I'm looking forward (with trepidation) to starting the book.
I started with a kindle copy, but quickly moved to hard copy. I have post-its, bookmarks, underlining, highlights and notes scribbled in the margins. :)
I have new pads of mini and regular post-its on hand, ready for tabbing. :) First order at hand - tab the reading sections. I'm pretty excited to get started. I've flipped through the book looking at chapter headings and reading sentences here and there, and laughing at the chapter heading that is used over and over again (as seen above in the schedule), wondering what the heck it means.
Paula wrote: "I started with a kindle copy, but quickly moved to hard copy. I have post-its, bookmarks, underlining, highlights and notes scribbled in the margins. :)"The OCD part of me hates doing this to my books. Maybe I should buy the Kindle copy to highlight and make notes and use the hard copy for reading!
I'm off to inventory what post-it products I have...
Guys, I am very happy to see you excited. There is a discussion going on about what kind of book to read - e-book, audio-book, or an actual book. I really think that a tree-book will work best, IMHO, but I know many people read it as an audio-book and they even review it, so if it works for some readers, it might also work for you.
As for my batteries, Linda, I always snack on small things when I read :-) Food for brain :-)
Note-taking is really not very cumbersome on a Kindle Fire. Getting to the footnotes is as easy as touching the notation, and you can highlight and write in the "margins" pretty easily.Probably for non-touchscreen kindles, it would be a nightmare though. You'd have to scroll through menus to get to the footnotes. And definitely, if you have the flexibility to always sit down with the paper book, that would be the best experience. But a touchscreen kindle is not that bad.
I am promiscuous with the types of books - I love paper copies, epubs, mobi books for Kindle with touchscreen functions and of course audio-books, but I also read different books differently. For fantasy, especially solid fantasy with good world-building paper copies work best for me, for for narrative books - audio books, and for labyrinthine books - paper copies.
As I said earlier - promiscuous :-)
I like the Kindle for texts that make me look things up constantly. I have a Fire and it's so easy to search or use the dictionary. Highlighting and notes are also incredibly easy.But.
When it comes to classics or complex texts, I love tree-books. (I love that word by the way) If I'm going to get lost in it then I want the real thing. I also like having stacks of tree-books near me. They soothe. The Kindle does not. I still read mostly ebooks though. I'm currently cleaning out my books and I have over a hundred to donate to the library so far. But I also just bought 15 or 20.
Promiscuous is a good word for it.
I also like having stacks of tree-books near me. They soothe.YES YES YES!! I spent several years reading mostly from a kindle, but needed to read House of Leaves as a tree book...well, all of a sudden I have a huge stack of tree books I am working through. I forgot the feeling, but it all came rushing back. I like having that stack sitting there, waiting for me...
I'll also be reading IJ as a tree book..but mainly because its available free at the library and the ebook is $10.
Sarah wrote: "I love tree-books. (I love that word by the way) If I'm going to get lost in it then I want the real thing. I also like having stacks of tree-books near me. They soothe."Totally!!! I haven't gotten into reading e-books yet, so I always have a stack of books on the nightstand, and a stack on the floor, and usually a couple at the foot of the bed. :)
Linda wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I love tree-books. (I love that word by the way) If I'm going to get lost in it then I want the real thing. I also like having stacks of tree-books near me. They soothe."Totally!!! ..."
I have stacks all over, too. Usually more than I can read in even the next few months, but they speak to me :)
Kaycie, how do you handle your library lending end date? Ours only allows three weeks. You can renew (5 times I think), but there's no guarantee you'll get it. Is this the same for you?
Until a couple of weeks ago, I had not read a tree-book in 2 years or more. A little while ago, I got a fancy new bedside lamp which inspired me to read more 100-200 page novellas, that I could keep by my bed. It is a wonderful feeling and very relaxing.But for a long book with deadlines, maximum efficiency becomes necessary. I need to be able to read while on the treadmill - can't do that with a tree-book :)
John wrote: "Until a couple of weeks ago, I had not read a tree-book in 2 years or more. A little while ago, I got a fancy new bedside lamp which inspired me to read more 100-200 page novellas, that I could kee..."One of my kittens curls up on my chest to get attention. It helps to have the Kindle so I can prop it on my knee while she tries to get in the way.
Kaycie, how do you handle your library lending end date? Ours only allows three weeks. You can renew (5 times I think), but there's no guarantee you'll get it. Is this the same for you?I get my ebooks from Overdrive, and yes, those are the rules for reading. I do, generally, finish a book in under three weeks, though, if I am getting it from them. I have never actually tried to borrow a tree book from the library because I have a library on campus...which leads to...
Fortunately, I am still (until early next year, which is why I am rushing some of these big group reads!) at a university where I can borrow tree books for essentially forever. That is part of the reason I am reading IJ on tree book, and why I want to read M&D sooner rather than later!
I think once I leave the university I will have to start buying the books that will take me longer than three weeks. Its not a terrible thing, its just that I only like to buy books I KNOW I will re-read, and that isn't a large majority. Especially when the books are $10! That just seems like such a huge price for an ebook (no printing cost!) to me.
Kaycie wrote: "Kaycie, how do you handle your library lending end date? Ours only allows three weeks. You can renew (5 times I think), but there's no guarantee you'll get it. Is this the same for you?I get my e..."
I've been buying them used. I just got Mason & Dixon for $4 and it was in good condition. Unfortunately when you buy 10 or 15 $4 books it adds up - in both money and space.
John wrote: "I need to be able to read while on the treadmill - can't do that with a tree-book :) "Ummm....that was the only way I would get on the treadmill, was to have my tree-book with me. I even lugged my giant copy of Anna Karenina to the treadmill, although it was so big I had to keep one hand on it to keep it open. :)
Haha, Linda I am not steady enough to pull off something like that! Too much movement, I would either tear pages out or fall and crack my head. :)
Unfortunately when you buy 10 or 15 $4 books it adds up - in both money and space.It does, which is why I've spent the past 6 years borrowing from the university library with billions of books for free. If I ever wanted a book they didn't have, I just asked for it and they bought it for me. :-)
John wrote: "I need to be able to read while on the treadmill - can't do that with a tree-book :) "
I also cannot treadmill with a tree book. It makes me a bit sea-sick, so I need to make the font and spacing bigger. :-)
Kaycie wrote: " It makes me a bit sea-sick, so I need to make the font and spacing bigger"Exactly! Mine goes on the biggest setting. I just wish there were some way to turn pages with a voice command...but swiping isn't too bad :)
Kaycie wrote: "It does, which is why I've spent the past 6 years borrowing from the university library with billions of books for free..."You are SO lucky!!! Whenever I get rid of books, I always donate them to the library. That way I can always check them back out. It's my long term storage solution.
Linda - I can't believe you read a tree-book copy of Anna Karenina on your treadmill. I don't know how you kept your place.
John wrote: Exactly! Mine goes on the biggest setting. I just wish there were some way to turn pages with a voice com..."Haha, EXACTLY!!
You are SO lucky!!!
Ya, my library situation has been great, but ending soon. That's why its been so hard for me to pay even $4 for a book! :-/
Sarah wrote: "Linda - I can't believe you read a tree-book copy of Anna Karenina on your treadmill. I don't know how you kept your place."Well, to be fair I do a fast walk on incline on the treadmill. I am not a runner at all. So that probably makes a huge difference.
I see the sections start on Mondays - if I am doing all my reading at the weekend, is it better to read each section the weekend before or after the appropriate Monday?(sorry if that's a stupid question, this is my first read with the group)
ETA: just started. I think the answer to my question is "both" ... skim the previous section again before starting the new one
Will separate threads be put up for each week? Where do we discuss?
Yes, there will be separate threads per each week. I will post the first thread on Monday (Central Time -6 UTC)
Woot, just finished The Goldfinch and ready for another project! Did a group reading of IJ with Infinite Summer a few years ago and loved it. To those who are coming to this with some trepidation, fear not. IJ is funny, very funny actually. Relax, trust the process, use stickies and highlighter, and follow the suggestion someone had to use two book marks.
Just picked my copy up today and got the post-its in! I'm excited to join in, now I need to get started reading!
KC wrote: "Just picked my copy up today and got the post-its in! I'm excited to join in, now I need to get started reading!"Yay! I've been using post-its too, but now I'm thinking I need a separate journal. Just an FYI. :)
Ah! A journal is a fabulous idea! Thanks Linda!
I decided that yes, a journal is a good idea!
Would it be worth transferring this all to a free-standing group (Infinite Chunksters?)
My fellow participants, be advised -use sticky bookmarks. The book DOES NOT HAVE A CLEAR DIVISION SYSTEM, so you will have to pay attention when one part ends and the other begins.
NB! NB! NB!
Ready? Please pay attention - it is easier to indicate when the weekly portion begins, so it means all the other chapters and sub chapters are included up to the one that is mentioned as the next one.
09/29 - Year of Glad
10/06 - As of Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
10/13 - Mario Incandenza'a First And Only Even Remotely Romantic Experience, Thus Far
10/20 - Tennis And the Feral Prodigy, Narrated by Hal Incandenza, an 11.5-Minute Digital Entertainment ....
10/27 - 5 November - Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
11/03 - 14 November Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
11/10 - 8 November Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment Independence Day Gaudeamus Igitur
11/17 - Freak Statue of Liberty Accident Kills Fed Engineers ...
11/24 - Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
12/01 - 10 November Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
12/08 - Selected Snippets From The Individual-Resident-Informal-Interface Moments of D.W. Gately, ...
12/15 - no subtitle, but we start with the chapter with the circle and the words ... Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment: InterLace TelEntertainment, ...
(Christmas Break. I do not like breaks, but I believe this one is unavoidable, but I usually read a lot during the Christmas Break even with all familial obligations). Let me know if we do not need one.
12/29 - 14 November Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
01/05 - 14 November Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
01/12 - 17 November Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
01/19 - 19 November Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
01/26 - (in my edition, in 61 pages there is an indented/tabbed paragraph that signals the beginning of the final part) It starts as, 'Entrepôt -bound, twitchy-eyed and checking both sides behind him as he comes, rounding the curve ...' up to the very end.
O'k, now you call roll your eyes and accuse me of incompetency, but I did my best. I really did try - I spent an hour yesterday and quite some time today. That's what I call a duty to your reading community :-)
My advice is to do what I did - I physically pages through the whole book and bookmarked the beginning and the end of each week's selection. It might be laborious, but please remember - we are reading allegedly one of the most challenging books of the twentieth century, so even this part should be demanding.
This book is already coming up to its expectations. Hah:-)
My advice is charge your reading batteries and do not forget to buy some extra ones. You might need them. Of course, I am talking about nice snacks like trail mix, dried fruit snacks, cocoa, hot chocolate, and hot tea. These are my batteries.
P.S. I apologize again for the most unconventional schedule :-) Nah, just kidding!