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David Foster Wallace: In His Own Words
"[DFW's] delivery is dead-on and fresh, the words often springing from his mouth as if conceived on the spot . . . . an audible confirmation that modern American writing continues to gain strength." -- Publishers Weekly on Consider the Lobster
Collected here for the first time are the stories and speeches of David Foster Wallace as read by the author himself. Over the course of his career, David Foster Wallace recorded a variety of his work in diverse circumstances -- from studio recordings to live performances -- that are finally compiled in this unique collection. Some of the pieces collected here "Another Pioneer," recorded at The University of Arizona Poetry Center; stories from Breif Interviews with Hiddeous Men and Consider the Lobster recorded in the studio; and the unforgettable "This Is Water," his 2005 commencement address given at Kenyon College. Also included are two interviews and a 2005 conversation with Rick Moody at Herbst Theater in San Francisco.
This collection has a special introduction written and read by acclaimed writer and editor John Jeremiah Sullivan. For fans of David Foster Wallace who have read everything he ever wrote as well as those looking to familiarize themselves with his work, David Foster In His Own Words is a special, unique collection unavailable anywhere else.
Collected here for the first time are the stories and speeches of David Foster Wallace as read by the author himself. Over the course of his career, David Foster Wallace recorded a variety of his work in diverse circumstances -- from studio recordings to live performances -- that are finally compiled in this unique collection. Some of the pieces collected here "Another Pioneer," recorded at The University of Arizona Poetry Center; stories from Breif Interviews with Hiddeous Men and Consider the Lobster recorded in the studio; and the unforgettable "This Is Water," his 2005 commencement address given at Kenyon College. Also included are two interviews and a 2005 conversation with Rick Moody at Herbst Theater in San Francisco.
This collection has a special introduction written and read by acclaimed writer and editor John Jeremiah Sullivan. For fans of David Foster Wallace who have read everything he ever wrote as well as those looking to familiarize themselves with his work, David Foster In His Own Words is a special, unique collection unavailable anywhere else.
Audible Audio
First published May 6, 2014
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About the author
David Foster Wallace
131 books13.2k followersDavid Foster Wallace was an acclaimed American writer known for his fiction, nonfiction, and critical essays that explored the complexities of consciousness, irony, and the human condition. Widely regarded as one of the most innovative literary voices of his generation, Wallace is perhaps best known for his 1996 novel Infinite Jest, which was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005. His unfinished final novel, The Pale King, was published posthumously in 2011 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Born in Ithaca, New York, Wallace was raised in Illinois, where he excelled as both a student and a junior tennis player—a sport he later wrote about with sharp insight and humor. He earned degrees in English and philosophy from Amherst College, then completed an MFA in creative writing at the University of Arizona. His early academic work in logic and philosophy informed much of his writing, particularly in his blending of analytical depth with emotional complexity.
Wallace’s first novel, The Broom of the System (1987), established his reputation as a fresh literary talent. Over the next two decades, he published widely in prestigious journals and magazines, producing short stories, essays, and book reviews that earned him critical acclaim. His work was characterized by linguistic virtuosity, inventive structure, and a deep concern for moral and existential questions. In addition to fiction, he tackled topics ranging from tennis and state fairs to cruise ships, politics, and the ethics of food consumption.
Beyond his literary achievements, Wallace had a significant academic career, teaching literature and writing at Emerson College, Illinois State University, and Pomona College. He was known for his intense engagement with students and commitment to teaching.
Wallace struggled with depression and addiction for much of his adult life, and he was hospitalized multiple times. He died by suicide in 2008 at the age of 46. In the years since his death, his influence has continued to grow, inspiring scholars, conferences, and a dedicated readership. However, his legacy is complicated by posthumous revelations of abusive behavior, particularly during his relationship with writer Mary Karr, which has led to ongoing debate within literary and academic communities.
His distinctive voice—by turns cerebral, comic, and compassionate—remains a defining force in contemporary literature. Wallace once described fiction as a way of making readers feel "less alone inside," and it is that emotional resonance, alongside his formal daring, that continues to define his place in American letters.
Born in Ithaca, New York, Wallace was raised in Illinois, where he excelled as both a student and a junior tennis player—a sport he later wrote about with sharp insight and humor. He earned degrees in English and philosophy from Amherst College, then completed an MFA in creative writing at the University of Arizona. His early academic work in logic and philosophy informed much of his writing, particularly in his blending of analytical depth with emotional complexity.
Wallace’s first novel, The Broom of the System (1987), established his reputation as a fresh literary talent. Over the next two decades, he published widely in prestigious journals and magazines, producing short stories, essays, and book reviews that earned him critical acclaim. His work was characterized by linguistic virtuosity, inventive structure, and a deep concern for moral and existential questions. In addition to fiction, he tackled topics ranging from tennis and state fairs to cruise ships, politics, and the ethics of food consumption.
Beyond his literary achievements, Wallace had a significant academic career, teaching literature and writing at Emerson College, Illinois State University, and Pomona College. He was known for his intense engagement with students and commitment to teaching.
Wallace struggled with depression and addiction for much of his adult life, and he was hospitalized multiple times. He died by suicide in 2008 at the age of 46. In the years since his death, his influence has continued to grow, inspiring scholars, conferences, and a dedicated readership. However, his legacy is complicated by posthumous revelations of abusive behavior, particularly during his relationship with writer Mary Karr, which has led to ongoing debate within literary and academic communities.
His distinctive voice—by turns cerebral, comic, and compassionate—remains a defining force in contemporary literature. Wallace once described fiction as a way of making readers feel "less alone inside," and it is that emotional resonance, alongside his formal daring, that continues to define his place in American letters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
November 4, 2014
I’ll confess there’s a bit of a rub.
By his side I’m the brain-deprived schlub.
So is anyone else in this club?
Falling short of our dear DF-Dub?
While my awe for his intellect is still intact, the pedestal I'd placed him on might not seem as high as it once did. Don’t get me wrong. This audio set, which I was happy to receive as part of the First Reads program, has plenty to amuse, stimulate and inspire his fans. But I couldn’t help noticing a few things that put me off slightly.
Some of that may have come from the choice of what to include. The one short passage from Infinite Jest was an example. It’s tempting to say it was forgettable, but in truth it was repellant enough to remain stuck in my head (about the guy at the tennis academy who hung around the gym to lick sweat off the young athletes). Then there were the true-to-the-title selections from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. He would often go deep into these dark and flawed souls, to chilling effect – all the more repugnant for the penetration of his insight. The longest essay he read focused on the annual pornographic film awards – an easy target, of course. And it was truly fun to hear him rip into this smutty, classless bunch. It was just too long. (Please, this is not the time for a TWSS joke.) The material, in general, had a sort of outré edginess to it, with some highbrow elitism thrown in for good measure.
Maybe if I was as smart as he was I’d preach from the high ground, too, but I would hope not to lose touch with the cultural underclass and its plights. I got the sense that he was empathetic to a first approximation, though at times he failed to convey that. For instance, he was recalling in one essay how many of the older women he happened to be with in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois when 9/11 was unfolding had no idea the Twin Towers were so far south on the island. One of the women was worried about a niece who worked in midtown. She and her ilk were labeled ignorant and out of touch, though to his credit he didn’t assume they were stupid; just not a part of his America.
In one of the included interviews, he was talking about the poor outcomes when many of his writing students tried to be clever. I don’t doubt that many were tone-deaf in their attempts at it, and that it really is good advice not to even try walking the high wire, but it seemed a little funny coming from him. He always struck me as an aerialist himself when it came to the high falutin’. Could he have been saying this ironically, as someone aware of his own penchant for cleverness? Was he trying to be meta-clever? For that matter, am I? What I do know is that Wallace had confessed at one point to having been a sort of smart-assed know-it-all student back in the day, and then realized once he was older how right his professors had often been. That more self-effacing guy I can relate to. Let’s call it a Midwestern modesty connection.
+ + + + + + + + + + +
There’s only so much negativity I could ever send DFW’s way. For the most part, I still think he was great: kind, knowing, witty and mensch-like. At the same time I think it’s fair to say he was often conflicted between two parts of himself vying for primacy: the phrenic but spiky detractor vs. the goo-prone (his own expression) sentimentalist. His wife contended that his “inner sap” didn’t show up enough in his writing, but was, in fact, one of his most appealing traits. While I argued earlier that the more cynical David held sway in this collection, that’s not entirely true. The earnestly empathic David was evident, too. In the title essay from Consider the Lobster he showed a great depth of feeling even if most of it was directed the crustacean’s way.
My favorite piece in the collection was the last one. It was a recording of his famous Kenyon College commencement speech also known as This Is Water. I had read this address for the first time the day after he died, a special and sad association. Anyway, his wisdom and humanity were on full display with that one. He asked his bright, young audience to fill mundane moments “learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think.” He imagined a higher plane of consciousness and meaning; one that overrides the default of self-centeredness; one wise enough not to worship money, power, or intelligence; one with the capacity “to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over … [and] making it to 30, or maybe even 50, without wanting to shoot yourself in the head.” Ouch, right? Like I said, special and sad.
Lots of us feel a personal connection to this sensitive genius of a man. Just read the many wonderful Goodreads reviews of Infinite Jest and you’ll see what I mean. While this collection often struck me as bleak and disdainful, it was never less than powerful. It also featured enough of “nice” David to satisfy the gentler souls among us, too. Listening to it made me stronger, literally, since I had it on while working out at home and did my reps slower with less clanging (which is harder) to pick up more of his words. Still, I might have missed a few. I’ll round up from 3.5 to 4 to make up for any displeasure I had due to inattention.
By his side I’m the brain-deprived schlub.
So is anyone else in this club?
Falling short of our dear DF-Dub?
While my awe for his intellect is still intact, the pedestal I'd placed him on might not seem as high as it once did. Don’t get me wrong. This audio set, which I was happy to receive as part of the First Reads program, has plenty to amuse, stimulate and inspire his fans. But I couldn’t help noticing a few things that put me off slightly.
Some of that may have come from the choice of what to include. The one short passage from Infinite Jest was an example. It’s tempting to say it was forgettable, but in truth it was repellant enough to remain stuck in my head (about the guy at the tennis academy who hung around the gym to lick sweat off the young athletes). Then there were the true-to-the-title selections from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. He would often go deep into these dark and flawed souls, to chilling effect – all the more repugnant for the penetration of his insight. The longest essay he read focused on the annual pornographic film awards – an easy target, of course. And it was truly fun to hear him rip into this smutty, classless bunch. It was just too long. (Please, this is not the time for a TWSS joke.) The material, in general, had a sort of outré edginess to it, with some highbrow elitism thrown in for good measure.
Maybe if I was as smart as he was I’d preach from the high ground, too, but I would hope not to lose touch with the cultural underclass and its plights. I got the sense that he was empathetic to a first approximation, though at times he failed to convey that. For instance, he was recalling in one essay how many of the older women he happened to be with in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois when 9/11 was unfolding had no idea the Twin Towers were so far south on the island. One of the women was worried about a niece who worked in midtown. She and her ilk were labeled ignorant and out of touch, though to his credit he didn’t assume they were stupid; just not a part of his America.
In one of the included interviews, he was talking about the poor outcomes when many of his writing students tried to be clever. I don’t doubt that many were tone-deaf in their attempts at it, and that it really is good advice not to even try walking the high wire, but it seemed a little funny coming from him. He always struck me as an aerialist himself when it came to the high falutin’. Could he have been saying this ironically, as someone aware of his own penchant for cleverness? Was he trying to be meta-clever? For that matter, am I? What I do know is that Wallace had confessed at one point to having been a sort of smart-assed know-it-all student back in the day, and then realized once he was older how right his professors had often been. That more self-effacing guy I can relate to. Let’s call it a Midwestern modesty connection.
+ + + + + + + + + + +
There’s only so much negativity I could ever send DFW’s way. For the most part, I still think he was great: kind, knowing, witty and mensch-like. At the same time I think it’s fair to say he was often conflicted between two parts of himself vying for primacy: the phrenic but spiky detractor vs. the goo-prone (his own expression) sentimentalist. His wife contended that his “inner sap” didn’t show up enough in his writing, but was, in fact, one of his most appealing traits. While I argued earlier that the more cynical David held sway in this collection, that’s not entirely true. The earnestly empathic David was evident, too. In the title essay from Consider the Lobster he showed a great depth of feeling even if most of it was directed the crustacean’s way.
My favorite piece in the collection was the last one. It was a recording of his famous Kenyon College commencement speech also known as This Is Water. I had read this address for the first time the day after he died, a special and sad association. Anyway, his wisdom and humanity were on full display with that one. He asked his bright, young audience to fill mundane moments “learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think.” He imagined a higher plane of consciousness and meaning; one that overrides the default of self-centeredness; one wise enough not to worship money, power, or intelligence; one with the capacity “to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over … [and] making it to 30, or maybe even 50, without wanting to shoot yourself in the head.” Ouch, right? Like I said, special and sad.
Lots of us feel a personal connection to this sensitive genius of a man. Just read the many wonderful Goodreads reviews of Infinite Jest and you’ll see what I mean. While this collection often struck me as bleak and disdainful, it was never less than powerful. It also featured enough of “nice” David to satisfy the gentler souls among us, too. Listening to it made me stronger, literally, since I had it on while working out at home and did my reps slower with less clanging (which is harder) to pick up more of his words. Still, I might have missed a few. I’ll round up from 3.5 to 4 to make up for any displeasure I had due to inattention.
May 4, 2023
There is no rhyme or reason to the composition of this posthumous collection of recordings, and some of the pieces also have highly questionable audio quality, but it is such a joy to listen to DFW reading his texts and answering questions. He would only be 61 now - imagine how important his (back then prophetic) voice could be now.
August 23, 2024
Last year, my husband read "The Infinite Jest" and he has been a little bit obsessed with David Foster Wallace since then: we had a little road trip planned to visit his family and we spent a significant amount of that drive listening to DFW’s surprisingly warm and soft voice as he read some of his short stories and essays. This audiobook also has a few interviews he gave to various platforms, as well as his famous Kenyon College commencement speech.
I haven’t read any of his work, though I am about to correct that, because I found myself enjoying this collection a lot more than I anticipated – even if I can’t really figure out why some of these pieces were selected for it, as they are kind of all over the place. Due to the fuzziness that I associate with listening to audiobooks on the road, I would be hard-pressed to give very specific examples of what drew me in, but I found the intricacies of his thoughts, his dedication to making the reader feel the setting he had drawn and the tragic yet hilarious humanity of his characters really fascinating.
The very insightful and erudite way he explores the topics of the various short pieces of this collection were really fascinating, and while I am well-aware that those words were strung together 30 years ago (in some cases), there was a freshness to them that really engaged me. A lot of the work explored here was really dark, often getting squarely into bleakness, and I know enough about DFW to see the battle with mental illness behind the words. But mostly, what strikes me is the nuanced thinking and intellectual rigor and honesty that informs his writing.
I think Jason was hoping to get me excited about reading "The Infinite Jest" myself after listening to this, and while I have been meaning to do it for a long time, I am definitely more excited about it now than I was before, though I will start with some of DFW’s slightly lighter work first. A very good little amuse-bouche to pique one’s curiosity about a man who cast a rather imposing shadow on modern literature. I am not sure this is the ideal way to dip your toes in his work if you’ve never read it before; the collection might be too dark for some palates, but I enjoyed it a lot, and would definitely recommend it to fans who haven’t gotten around to it yet.
I haven’t read any of his work, though I am about to correct that, because I found myself enjoying this collection a lot more than I anticipated – even if I can’t really figure out why some of these pieces were selected for it, as they are kind of all over the place. Due to the fuzziness that I associate with listening to audiobooks on the road, I would be hard-pressed to give very specific examples of what drew me in, but I found the intricacies of his thoughts, his dedication to making the reader feel the setting he had drawn and the tragic yet hilarious humanity of his characters really fascinating.
The very insightful and erudite way he explores the topics of the various short pieces of this collection were really fascinating, and while I am well-aware that those words were strung together 30 years ago (in some cases), there was a freshness to them that really engaged me. A lot of the work explored here was really dark, often getting squarely into bleakness, and I know enough about DFW to see the battle with mental illness behind the words. But mostly, what strikes me is the nuanced thinking and intellectual rigor and honesty that informs his writing.
I think Jason was hoping to get me excited about reading "The Infinite Jest" myself after listening to this, and while I have been meaning to do it for a long time, I am definitely more excited about it now than I was before, though I will start with some of DFW’s slightly lighter work first. A very good little amuse-bouche to pique one’s curiosity about a man who cast a rather imposing shadow on modern literature. I am not sure this is the ideal way to dip your toes in his work if you’ve never read it before; the collection might be too dark for some palates, but I enjoyed it a lot, and would definitely recommend it to fans who haven’t gotten around to it yet.
filmed
April 18, 2014Terrible title for a not so really very good idea.
Why does this make me feel like Gaddis when Gass took up William's book and read it aloud to adults like children?
It is perhaps not as atrocious as the movie being made. Of which reviews require the single expression ;, :: No!
I still subscribe to DFW hagiography ; but projects like these have hagiofy'd the wrong DFW.
_________
A little bit LATER.
I seem to be softening up just a little bit. It still sounds like a barrel scraping (and as an advocate of Put-my-beer-in-a-barrel-for-three-years kind-of-thing, I'm against barrel=scraping -- just make it water tight and leave them critters alone). But, isn't Gass reading The Tunnel a really charming idea? I'll probably never listen to it, but I think it's pretty damn great. DFW reading his own stuff? Well, I know the production of this and that are quite different, but.... well, what I'm trying to say is if you go for that kind of thing, fine and good, but since I'm not a book=audio kind of guy myself (I only read The Wake aloud on public transportation) it's just not something I'm going to pick up at all, is all.
Track list is now available :: http://www.thehowlingfantods.com/dfw/...
8 cds (saying that sounds like "four record set"; it's just not what people do today) with 9 (nine!) hours -- an intro, some interviews, stuff from Hideous Men and Lobster mostly. And fortunately for you kiddies, This is Water. Yip!
Fact is, I've participated in some Zappa barrel=scraping that makes this look like a kid in junior high playing three=chords&truth kind of thing.
Why does this make me feel like Gaddis when Gass took up William's book and read it aloud to adults like children?
It is perhaps not as atrocious as the movie being made. Of which reviews require the single expression ;, :: No!
I still subscribe to DFW hagiography ; but projects like these have hagiofy'd the wrong DFW.
_________
A little bit LATER.
I seem to be softening up just a little bit. It still sounds like a barrel scraping (and as an advocate of Put-my-beer-in-a-barrel-for-three-years kind-of-thing, I'm against barrel=scraping -- just make it water tight and leave them critters alone). But, isn't Gass reading The Tunnel a really charming idea? I'll probably never listen to it, but I think it's pretty damn great. DFW reading his own stuff? Well, I know the production of this and that are quite different, but.... well, what I'm trying to say is if you go for that kind of thing, fine and good, but since I'm not a book=audio kind of guy myself (I only read The Wake aloud on public transportation) it's just not something I'm going to pick up at all, is all.
Track list is now available :: http://www.thehowlingfantods.com/dfw/...
8 cds (saying that sounds like "four record set"; it's just not what people do today) with 9 (nine!) hours -- an intro, some interviews, stuff from Hideous Men and Lobster mostly. And fortunately for you kiddies, This is Water. Yip!
Fact is, I've participated in some Zappa barrel=scraping that makes this look like a kid in junior high playing three=chords&truth kind of thing.
March 7, 2018
DFW has a fair-mindedness approach to journalism that is sorely missed in our current era of partisanship and sensationalism. The news which gets the most attention is now presented through tribal lenses, lacking good faith toward one's critics. DFW reminds us how intellectually-honest writing can be prescient, critical, and somehow not attacking of people in the slightest.
This collection of audio includes a few essays from Consider the Lobster, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, among others. His voice is so strong. I've read much of what he reads here, but having his audio revealed to me how worn, or burdened his wit and wisdom always sounds like he was constantly wrestling to keep himself above the seas of despondency.
The readings from Hideous Men (which I hadn't read before), and his long-form essay on the Adult Video Network Awards are my favorites from this selection. For somebody possessed by so many geniuses, he writes so humanely, empathically, and relatably.
He deserves all the praise he receives.
Mainstream society needs more David Foster Wallace.
You are missed, brother.
This collection of audio includes a few essays from Consider the Lobster, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, among others. His voice is so strong. I've read much of what he reads here, but having his audio revealed to me how worn, or burdened his wit and wisdom always sounds like he was constantly wrestling to keep himself above the seas of despondency.
The readings from Hideous Men (which I hadn't read before), and his long-form essay on the Adult Video Network Awards are my favorites from this selection. For somebody possessed by so many geniuses, he writes so humanely, empathically, and relatably.
He deserves all the praise he receives.
Mainstream society needs more David Foster Wallace.
You are missed, brother.
January 15, 2024
Published posthumously, this collection of selected DFW works contains interviews, speeches, essays, and more. I was interested in it mostly for interviews with DFW that are not easy to find online, of which this book contains several. Unless you want the same, I don’t necessarily recommend this book. Just read his actual stuff. Also, having just read Consider the Lobster, I skipped the last couple essays. Thought I’d spare myself from having to relive the Adult Video News convention. The conversation with Rick Moody was great, listening to DFW interviewing another author about their writing was so good. Funny guy, huge RIP.
August 7, 2025
I downloaded this because I wanted the audio recording of him reading my favorite essays/short stories of his. He has a few that just live rent free in my mind and they are even better when read by him.
This was also a good way to preview his stuff I haven’t read. I loved some of these “chapters” and others were not for me so I’m glad I went this route.
I knew some of the chapters would be graphic but a few of the interviews were much more triggering and graphic than I expected so that’s worth noting for sure. Also, I HATE that the chapters aren’t labeled well. It can be challenging following what came from where and the audio quality on some of the chapters is terrible so I skipped around a bit.
This was also a good way to preview his stuff I haven’t read. I loved some of these “chapters” and others were not for me so I’m glad I went this route.
I knew some of the chapters would be graphic but a few of the interviews were much more triggering and graphic than I expected so that’s worth noting for sure. Also, I HATE that the chapters aren’t labeled well. It can be challenging following what came from where and the audio quality on some of the chapters is terrible so I skipped around a bit.
June 26, 2022
this varies considerably in quality, especially sonically. i should rqte it much lower but i took so much from some sections that it feels wrong to do
February 16, 2018
This isn't exactly a book, but a valuable resource nonetheless. My favorite Wallace story that he reads is Forever Overhead.
December 9, 2020
Worth it just to hear DFW’s reading voice. Some parts are perfect. These are usually about the basic consumerist American life which however is not satirized or minimally. There is something honest about such life even and DFW tries what the “honest” is. Rather satire there is a critique of it. The less intriguing was for me the Consider the Lobster essay (one of DFW most well-known writings) - a what seems to be a biologically objective take on lobsters (not a JBP hierarchy stuff) with some not so interesting biological fun facts. But maybe I missed something about it. To sum up, this is a must listen if reader is to scared of 1000-page Infinite Jest or doesn’t know where to start with DFW.
January 29, 2025
DFW's natural and engaging writing style is easy to appreciate, and I especially enjoyed hearing him read and discuss his work. His commencement address to Kenyon college titled, This is Water, is an understated, yet beautifully philosophical reminder to live with compassion and presence. This collection also features short stories from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and Consider the Lobster, but I did not enjoy those as much. There's no doubt his understanding of human nature and talent for laying bare intimate thoughts allows us to inhabit the minds of his narrators, but few were minds that I wanted to inhabit. And this is why I'm taking a break from the second half of the book.
I prefaced this book by watching End of the Tour about his interviews with Rolling Stone reporter, David Lipsky. Jason Segel captured his complexities wonderfully, I thought.
I prefaced this book by watching End of the Tour about his interviews with Rolling Stone reporter, David Lipsky. Jason Segel captured his complexities wonderfully, I thought.
September 23, 2014
I was mislead by the title, thinking this was a work of nonfiction, with interviews and perhaps some musings on literature and his work. It was not that, but it sure was nice to hear his voice. More than half of the audiobook was Wallace reading published works from "Consider the Lobster" and "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men." There were a few interviews, and this was the part I enjoyed the most, as this is not available anywhere in any other format. I also liked hearing him deliver the infinitely famous commencement speech: "This is Water." Recommended for fans of DFW, looking for something different.
September 10, 2015
This is only the second book Iv'e ever listened to on Audible. It was seven some odd hours oh highly poetic and intellectualized prose mixed with various speeches and live readings. David Foster Wallace has intrigued me beyond belief since I first learned of his life and work. I decided that I needed to read the epic and tortuously long magnum opus Infinite Jest by him. So it is in the mail. And I felt I needed some sort of introduction before I dove into such an ambitious read. This book was the right choice. The stories were so raw and real and thought provoking it was hard to not crave every extant piece of writing by Wallace that is currently available. But, one thing at a time.
April 24, 2017
In some ways it's hard to give this five stars as much of it appears elsewhere, but then, that's (a) not its fault and the material still has enough genius in its little toe second time out to fill most five-star-books' whole boots, and (b) made up for by the fact that DFW reads it himself -- it's great to hear it in his own words; it transforms it to hear it direct from him.
January 12, 2016
"Am I a good person? Deep down, do I even really want to be a good person, or do I only want to seem like a good person so that people (including myself) will approve of me? Is there a difference? How do I ever actually know whether I'm bullshitting myself, morally speaking?"
August 10, 2017
I am a bit at a loss to explain how I feel about this, so I think I may just ramble and see what comes out.
I got this audio collection because I have come across quotes by David Foster Wallace that I have fallen in love with and wanted to get a taste of his style before jumping into the enormity that is Infinite Jest. The quotes that I had found were very elegant and amazing, but also outrageously long. They were spot on but very packed and heavy with the imagery. As it turns out, he does everything like that. This is one of those things where it is a bit awe inspiring, but can also get a little bit boring or frustrating. I think in a lot of his essays this style works just fine, but in a story format it makes the story feel like a scratched DVD because it takes an entire page to describe one moment. I am afraid this may become an issue in Infinite Jest....
Another thing with him is that his mindset seems pretty stuck in the dismal, but with this sort of terrible truth aspect. The Conversation With Hideous Men, I think, was a very good example of this. Some of these conversations were just exactly as the title describes; some of them were harder to pin down. They all seemed to speak harsh truths in nasty ways. Some truths were quite profound, some were offensive and some were mundane. I think the really amazing thing was the differences and depth of each of them; the range of the writing to encompass so many contrasting personalities.
I think some of the better parts were the live recordings with interviews and his commencement speech. I think these gave you a better sense of his intelligence and depth of observation than the stories did, and tended to have less uncomfortable topics. I think in these moment you could see more of the hope and less of the despair. His stories sometimes felt like you were trying to stay afloat in black goop while the interviews and public speaking events gave you more of the sense that he was standing in blackness but focusing only on a pinpoint of light.
There were few things here I didn't enjoy. Even the really uncomfortable or mundane topics were well written and insightful. I think this holds true for everything except perhaps the excerpt he read from Infinite Jest (about the yogi man in the training studio). Considering my intention for listening to this was to prepare myself for that exact book, this was not a promising moment. I have, however, decided to ignore that and proceed with Infinite Jest anyway (though I am really sure this is the kind of book I need to buy my own copy of to read it).
Another thing that I found annoying at times and amazing at other times was his attitude. He comes across as an intellectual elitist. This can sometimes be great because it it makes his writing really astute yet eloquent. It also allows for some very hilarious subtle humor that weaves throughout everything. After a bit though the know-it-all attitude can get tiresome. I think it was a bit interesting how he can analyze and describe these complications associated with isolation in a manner that essentially works to isolate. In the one live recording he even made a bit of a comment about it (indirectly) regarding the way literary fiction is sort of an isolated genre, which he has always enjoyed, but then he also started to realize that this was in many ways hindering his connections to a wider and more diverse audience where his viewpoints may have made a bigger impact, or at least started a livelier debate.
Overall, I highly recommend this for people who are looking for an introduction to his writing or people who would like to know more about him personally. He doesn't like give a biography or anything, but his demeanor when he is both reading, interviewing and being interviewed do give you a sense of who he may have been.
I got this audio collection because I have come across quotes by David Foster Wallace that I have fallen in love with and wanted to get a taste of his style before jumping into the enormity that is Infinite Jest. The quotes that I had found were very elegant and amazing, but also outrageously long. They were spot on but very packed and heavy with the imagery. As it turns out, he does everything like that. This is one of those things where it is a bit awe inspiring, but can also get a little bit boring or frustrating. I think in a lot of his essays this style works just fine, but in a story format it makes the story feel like a scratched DVD because it takes an entire page to describe one moment. I am afraid this may become an issue in Infinite Jest....
Another thing with him is that his mindset seems pretty stuck in the dismal, but with this sort of terrible truth aspect. The Conversation With Hideous Men, I think, was a very good example of this. Some of these conversations were just exactly as the title describes; some of them were harder to pin down. They all seemed to speak harsh truths in nasty ways. Some truths were quite profound, some were offensive and some were mundane. I think the really amazing thing was the differences and depth of each of them; the range of the writing to encompass so many contrasting personalities.
I think some of the better parts were the live recordings with interviews and his commencement speech. I think these gave you a better sense of his intelligence and depth of observation than the stories did, and tended to have less uncomfortable topics. I think in these moment you could see more of the hope and less of the despair. His stories sometimes felt like you were trying to stay afloat in black goop while the interviews and public speaking events gave you more of the sense that he was standing in blackness but focusing only on a pinpoint of light.
There were few things here I didn't enjoy. Even the really uncomfortable or mundane topics were well written and insightful. I think this holds true for everything except perhaps the excerpt he read from Infinite Jest (about the yogi man in the training studio). Considering my intention for listening to this was to prepare myself for that exact book, this was not a promising moment. I have, however, decided to ignore that and proceed with Infinite Jest anyway (though I am really sure this is the kind of book I need to buy my own copy of to read it).
Another thing that I found annoying at times and amazing at other times was his attitude. He comes across as an intellectual elitist. This can sometimes be great because it it makes his writing really astute yet eloquent. It also allows for some very hilarious subtle humor that weaves throughout everything. After a bit though the know-it-all attitude can get tiresome. I think it was a bit interesting how he can analyze and describe these complications associated with isolation in a manner that essentially works to isolate. In the one live recording he even made a bit of a comment about it (indirectly) regarding the way literary fiction is sort of an isolated genre, which he has always enjoyed, but then he also started to realize that this was in many ways hindering his connections to a wider and more diverse audience where his viewpoints may have made a bigger impact, or at least started a livelier debate.
Overall, I highly recommend this for people who are looking for an introduction to his writing or people who would like to know more about him personally. He doesn't like give a biography or anything, but his demeanor when he is both reading, interviewing and being interviewed do give you a sense of who he may have been.
February 12, 2025
I listened to the audio book version of David Foster Wallace in his own words, and there were parts that I liked and there are parts that I didn't like.
In the beginning, it was just a joy to hear the author's voice after reading him so much and for so long, to hear him drop his GS, to hear the kind of faint way that he read his prose, the laid back Midwestern style, and the way that even though he was reading horrifying things, he doesn't really react to them. He reads them in a neutral way. He reads them as if he too is horrified by what the author's saying, but he is the the author himself. So it's an interesting reading. It's an interesting person to try to get to know through an audio book recording that's already 11 years old at this point in 2025
but then the subject material moved on, and it got to the more unpleasant parts of Wallace, horrible, graphic depictions of rape, human beings being turned into, quote, things. And the way that Wallace does it is he really gets you in there and gets you thinking about both sides of it, and thinks you about his friend who was taken captive, and how his friend was able to make a psychic connection with the person who took her captive and to together, her friend was able to escape and was let go by the person that attempted to hurt her more. But walls describes it in such detail, it's almost painful. Truly is painful to listen to. So I didn't like those parts much. But then it drifts back into the more normal Wallace of thinking about day to day life and some incredibly predictive pieces about 911 and life in a small town, what it's like to be the only one who doesn't have a television and how these small town people reacted to what Wallace, in prescient knowledge, calls the horror, even one of the characters discusses how the play the buildings collapsing into their footprint looked like a spaceship taking off the perfect cylindrical column nature of it. And Wallace himself thought that perhaps when the second building collapsed, was it not a replay of the first so perfectly the collapsing. He also discussed the people jumping off the building footage and how they would never show it again. All in all, the book finishes out with this is water, the great commencement speech by Wallace. But it was just great to spend time with the great man, to hear him read the books in his own words. And while some of the curious interviews with horrible men may have been cringe worthy and difficult to take, as well as if you know anything about the recent attempts to revise the character of Wallace and to basically destroy him, maybe these horrible examples lead you to believe that more that's to say nothing of the true horror show of consider the lobster with the difficult to take realities of boiling a living creature alive so that humans can eat it. Not a lobster man myself, but certainly hard to be one after hearing Wallace describe it again in Wallace in detail,
I still like him. I still miss him. I like the hard to read books. I like that he challenged us. And I even like the movie where the guy from How I Met Your Mother plays in always fun to spend time with. David Foster Wallace. Alas, I don't think there's that many more audio books, especially ones quote in his own words. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy it, too. Until next time.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
In the beginning, it was just a joy to hear the author's voice after reading him so much and for so long, to hear him drop his GS, to hear the kind of faint way that he read his prose, the laid back Midwestern style, and the way that even though he was reading horrifying things, he doesn't really react to them. He reads them in a neutral way. He reads them as if he too is horrified by what the author's saying, but he is the the author himself. So it's an interesting reading. It's an interesting person to try to get to know through an audio book recording that's already 11 years old at this point in 2025
but then the subject material moved on, and it got to the more unpleasant parts of Wallace, horrible, graphic depictions of rape, human beings being turned into, quote, things. And the way that Wallace does it is he really gets you in there and gets you thinking about both sides of it, and thinks you about his friend who was taken captive, and how his friend was able to make a psychic connection with the person who took her captive and to together, her friend was able to escape and was let go by the person that attempted to hurt her more. But walls describes it in such detail, it's almost painful. Truly is painful to listen to. So I didn't like those parts much. But then it drifts back into the more normal Wallace of thinking about day to day life and some incredibly predictive pieces about 911 and life in a small town, what it's like to be the only one who doesn't have a television and how these small town people reacted to what Wallace, in prescient knowledge, calls the horror, even one of the characters discusses how the play the buildings collapsing into their footprint looked like a spaceship taking off the perfect cylindrical column nature of it. And Wallace himself thought that perhaps when the second building collapsed, was it not a replay of the first so perfectly the collapsing. He also discussed the people jumping off the building footage and how they would never show it again. All in all, the book finishes out with this is water, the great commencement speech by Wallace. But it was just great to spend time with the great man, to hear him read the books in his own words. And while some of the curious interviews with horrible men may have been cringe worthy and difficult to take, as well as if you know anything about the recent attempts to revise the character of Wallace and to basically destroy him, maybe these horrible examples lead you to believe that more that's to say nothing of the true horror show of consider the lobster with the difficult to take realities of boiling a living creature alive so that humans can eat it. Not a lobster man myself, but certainly hard to be one after hearing Wallace describe it again in Wallace in detail,
I still like him. I still miss him. I like the hard to read books. I like that he challenged us. And I even like the movie where the guy from How I Met Your Mother plays in always fun to spend time with. David Foster Wallace. Alas, I don't think there's that many more audio books, especially ones quote in his own words. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy it, too. Until next time.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
May 11, 2017
I'm not quite sure how to begin this review, to categorize DFW's work. This was the first time I read - or listened, I should say - to him, and I'm happy that I chose this collection, which was narrated by the author. His delivery makes the pieces hum. The first collection, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, is unlike anything I have read before. They made me uneasy, these men who, through topics taboo and downright despicable, manage to at-once posit deeply existential (at least some of them) conundrums and yet come off as arrogant and bullish, almost justifying the horror of what they're describing as having moral relativism. This thrusts the reader into the discomfiting position of dealing with the shame of his own intrigue, especially living as a white, privileged male, a reality that many of us don't want to face.
DFW's long-form essays make up the bulk of the latter half of the book. "Big Red Son" was a bit too long for my taste, but the other three pieces, including the titular "Consider the Lobster," were thought-provoking and powerful. I think what I like most is the way in which he dives unpretentiously into his subjects to dissect them and explore their roots. He's verbose but not pedantic, mixing academic language with common idiom and slang. He arrives at a strong thesis, but this is done with humility, inviting critique as long as one is willing to think.
The book ends with "This is Water," his commencement speech given to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College. It's reputed to be immensely popular, although I hadn't before heard it. I've since listened to it three times. All that I think about what I do for a living (teach English) and what I wish I could say to people who criticize the value of the liberal arts in contemporary America he captures brilliantly. Again, it's unpretentious - it's all about thinking, or rather having the freedom to choose what to think. Simple in theory and yet profoundly difficult in practice. I love it, as I loved the collection. A book for the intellectually curious who don't want esoteric philosophy but are willing to be challenged by his satire and dead-on cultural criticism.
DFW's long-form essays make up the bulk of the latter half of the book. "Big Red Son" was a bit too long for my taste, but the other three pieces, including the titular "Consider the Lobster," were thought-provoking and powerful. I think what I like most is the way in which he dives unpretentiously into his subjects to dissect them and explore their roots. He's verbose but not pedantic, mixing academic language with common idiom and slang. He arrives at a strong thesis, but this is done with humility, inviting critique as long as one is willing to think.
The book ends with "This is Water," his commencement speech given to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College. It's reputed to be immensely popular, although I hadn't before heard it. I've since listened to it three times. All that I think about what I do for a living (teach English) and what I wish I could say to people who criticize the value of the liberal arts in contemporary America he captures brilliantly. Again, it's unpretentious - it's all about thinking, or rather having the freedom to choose what to think. Simple in theory and yet profoundly difficult in practice. I love it, as I loved the collection. A book for the intellectually curious who don't want esoteric philosophy but are willing to be challenged by his satire and dead-on cultural criticism.
October 12, 2022
Superb, fantastic, minus the one awfully chilling tale in the middle that had me a bit scared. Best not listened to right before bed. I had to listen to the another 2 hours of the next story to calm me down and try not have nightmares- and consequently was asleep at about 2am. But tbh it was still thrilling and not nearly as traumatising as the audiobook of Roald Dahl The Witches .
Highlights for me were the review of the Maine Lobster Festival and AVN Awards (Porn awards). All the short stories/speeches were great but these were my personal faves. Hilarious, laugh out loud depictions of modern life. He really makes you feel like you are THERE, while also winding into stories held outside the venue, as our minds do, wandering our / the narrators psyche's to interpret and integrate all that is around us.
I did contemplate the Authors morbid fascination and obsession with going into the darkest, weirdest, and most repugnant corners of society and the human psyche. I certainly do not envy this trait/compulsion. There are many things I hear- every day- that make me automatically shut off to prevent damage to my vicarious trauma HP- whereas Foster Wallace seems to lack this self preservation and dives right in. A whole essay on the 12 men a year in the US who castrate themselves? Why the F*** does he go there? But I went there with him for whatever reason- the 3.5 days I finished it in remain strongly etched into my mind. Sitting outside kmart parking lot eating a burger just because I would rather eat in my car and hear DFW talk than do nearly anything else for those few days.
Highlights for me were the review of the Maine Lobster Festival and AVN Awards (Porn awards). All the short stories/speeches were great but these were my personal faves. Hilarious, laugh out loud depictions of modern life. He really makes you feel like you are THERE, while also winding into stories held outside the venue, as our minds do, wandering our / the narrators psyche's to interpret and integrate all that is around us.
I did contemplate the Authors morbid fascination and obsession with going into the darkest, weirdest, and most repugnant corners of society and the human psyche. I certainly do not envy this trait/compulsion. There are many things I hear- every day- that make me automatically shut off to prevent damage to my vicarious trauma HP- whereas Foster Wallace seems to lack this self preservation and dives right in. A whole essay on the 12 men a year in the US who castrate themselves? Why the F*** does he go there? But I went there with him for whatever reason- the 3.5 days I finished it in remain strongly etched into my mind. Sitting outside kmart parking lot eating a burger just because I would rather eat in my car and hear DFW talk than do nearly anything else for those few days.
June 15, 2017
This is a good David Foster Wallace sampler platter; it has excerpts from a few of his works, an interview, a commencement address. I understand he was a complex man who dealt with issues related to mental illness. There were three times in this collection that he talked about suicide, which is how he ultimately died, so I thought that was sad.
DFW can be so acute in his observations, his satire refreshing and so on point. But at times a tone of condescension comes through that can be off-putting. 1/4 of this collection is about the adult video convention/awards in Las Vegas. He went there to write about it as a member of the press, but he wrote it in third person, as if he wasn't a participant in the fiasco. I wanted him to take responsibility for his observations and explain his rationale for taking this assignment. He experienced absolutely no pleasure from it?? His "high and mighty" attitude can be a bit much.
One of my favorite pieces was about the men's bathroom attendant in a swanky hotel. His writing was so good. I also liked the Tracy Austin tennis autobiography piece.
DFW can be so acute in his observations, his satire refreshing and so on point. But at times a tone of condescension comes through that can be off-putting. 1/4 of this collection is about the adult video convention/awards in Las Vegas. He went there to write about it as a member of the press, but he wrote it in third person, as if he wasn't a participant in the fiasco. I wanted him to take responsibility for his observations and explain his rationale for taking this assignment. He experienced absolutely no pleasure from it?? His "high and mighty" attitude can be a bit much.
One of my favorite pieces was about the men's bathroom attendant in a swanky hotel. His writing was so good. I also liked the Tracy Austin tennis autobiography piece.
March 21, 2025
I'll always love reading DFW, but there's something absolutely distinct and compelling about hearing him reading that I love. Even though almost all of these pieces were very familiar to me, engaging with them anew in his voice brings them a reactivated sense of urgency and sincerity that makes his questions, quandaries, and anxieties all the more fresh and relevant to the ways that so many of us can/should/do think about our modern lives. I'm not sure what all more there is to say here about this specific collection because comment is maybe more appropriately reserved for the respective collections from which the pieces originate, but putting these author-read pieces together like this was a brilliant, beautiful move that I sincerely appreciate and loved getting to explore all over again as if for the first time.
February 24, 2023
2/10
The creation of this audiobook is a bald faced cash grab. Nothing here is truly new for fans of DFW, so my low rating reflects that rather than the quality of the content. Hearing some interveiws was fine, but it doesn't justify the creation of the audiobook when they're available publicly.
“There is no such thing as atheism, everyone worships.”
I wish he lived longer and was able to expound more fully on his views of religion.
Entertainment will get progressively more entertaining – how do we avoid getting so wrapped up in it? Pleasure can be dangerous, the more enjoyable it is, the less control we are likely to have over it.
“Reviews aren’t for the author, they’re for the audience.”
“Being scared is mostly caused by thinking.”
The creation of this audiobook is a bald faced cash grab. Nothing here is truly new for fans of DFW, so my low rating reflects that rather than the quality of the content. Hearing some interveiws was fine, but it doesn't justify the creation of the audiobook when they're available publicly.
“There is no such thing as atheism, everyone worships.”
I wish he lived longer and was able to expound more fully on his views of religion.
Entertainment will get progressively more entertaining – how do we avoid getting so wrapped up in it? Pleasure can be dangerous, the more enjoyable it is, the less control we are likely to have over it.
“Reviews aren’t for the author, they’re for the audience.”
“Being scared is mostly caused by thinking.”
April 16, 2024
A remarkable collection of audio interviews, author events, keynotes, and audiobook excerpts for any real DFW fan.
For everything that pre-dated podcasts and digital archives, it's wonderful to be able to listen to radio interviews from the 90s around the release of DFW's earlier books.
And then there's great samples from Brief Interviews and Consider the Lobster, which I hadn't heard before.
For less than diehard fans, like my wife who felt sleepy listening to , I'd steer them to the This is Water commencement speech recording audiobook on its own - a must listen for anyone.
But this is a gem and I'm glad I could spend a few hours with David over the course of his life and career.
For everything that pre-dated podcasts and digital archives, it's wonderful to be able to listen to radio interviews from the 90s around the release of DFW's earlier books.
And then there's great samples from Brief Interviews and Consider the Lobster, which I hadn't heard before.
For less than diehard fans, like my wife who felt sleepy listening to , I'd steer them to the This is Water commencement speech recording audiobook on its own - a must listen for anyone.
But this is a gem and I'm glad I could spend a few hours with David over the course of his life and career.
February 24, 2020
If you want an audiobook collection of DFW essays read by the author himself, then I can’t recommend anything better than this.
I wish chapters were titled instead of numbered but it’s a minor concern since I just hit play and let DFW’s voice weave it’s magic.
The essays in this collection include:
- A radio interview on Infinite Jest
- Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
- Death Is Not the End
- Forever Overhead
- Suicide as a Sort of Present
- University of Arizona speech
- Big Red Son
- How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart
- Consider the Lobster
- The View from Mrs. Thompson’s
- This Is Water
I wish chapters were titled instead of numbered but it’s a minor concern since I just hit play and let DFW’s voice weave it’s magic.
The essays in this collection include:
- A radio interview on Infinite Jest
- Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
- Death Is Not the End
- Forever Overhead
- Suicide as a Sort of Present
- University of Arizona speech
- Big Red Son
- How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart
- Consider the Lobster
- The View from Mrs. Thompson’s
- This Is Water
July 3, 2020
Guess I’m one of those people who likes DFW now. Guess I’m also gonna have to read Infinite Jest now, eh?
I related a bit too much though to a couple of the characters in the “Interviews with terrible men” bit though, or whatever it’s called.
Everything he says about entertaining ourselves to death seems incredibly obvious we everything we now know. Back then it maybe came across as “people watch too much TV and need to get out more”, but the complete emptiness of 21st century life, with our fried dopamine receptors looking for the next hit of porn/games/drugs/Disney/outrage... yeah, seems he was onto something.
I related a bit too much though to a couple of the characters in the “Interviews with terrible men” bit though, or whatever it’s called.
Everything he says about entertaining ourselves to death seems incredibly obvious we everything we now know. Back then it maybe came across as “people watch too much TV and need to get out more”, but the complete emptiness of 21st century life, with our fried dopamine receptors looking for the next hit of porn/games/drugs/Disney/outrage... yeah, seems he was onto something.
February 9, 2021
I guess this audiobook – which is in many ways more like a radio programme than a book –is meant for hard-core David Foster Wallace fans, for whom it is interesting just to hear him talk. I hadn't read / listened to anything by Wallace before this. I enjoyed "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men", but most of the stuff was pretty uninteresting to me. One of the recordings (of a live performance) was so bad technically that it was practically incomprehensible, and the attitude of the essays (dealing with porn industry etc.) was a combination of curiosity, condescension and self-loath. A blast from the past.
September 19, 2023
DFW was a sometimes mentally disturbed individual (according to his bio), and this book is a strange hike through his dark and unhealthy mind. The book takes the form of compilation of thoughts, speeches, imaginary(?) conversations and rants, which contains an occasional meteor of brilliance in description or humor. The balance of it is raw and profane and base from subject matter to unnecessary detail. Just yuck. If you’ve heard his speech “This is Water “ on YouTube, you’ve experienced his best.
January 6, 2025
Audiobook of DFW reading some of his work + plus some interviews. Really enjoyed this, especially because I was interested in hearing DFW read his own work and his narration style. It’s all really good stuff. The only thing I didn’t love was that there was no rhyme or reason to the recording layout, it felt pretty randomly jumbled together, along with his “footnotes” sounding like a scratchy recording.
July 12, 2019
Contains interviews, book store readings, commencement speeches and less abridged versions of his previously released audiobooks, the majority of which comprises Consider the Lobster which is always great to revisit. Not a good first entry into the mind of the author but if you’re already a fan you’ll love it.
January 26, 2020
I've already read the last three essays in other Wallace's books. And I had not known that a repeat can be so good. I only did repeat for Evelyn Waugh, Nora Ephron, and Jane Austen's novel or short stories before. This is the first interesting non-fiction repeat I have had. I will read the "David ... Reader" next and there will be more repeat there.
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