Summer of Jest discussion

I've been reading IJ on and off for the past year, and really just want to stop putting it off and get it done. Where is everyone? I'm almost 500 pgs in.

Hey Jacqueline, I'm just past page 800, closing in on the finish. I think you should go for it and finish the book in the next couple months; you're more than halfway there!

~ page 770 - keep going!

Pg. 818. Still going strong.

I got behind, but around 780 right now.

I just finished. Hang on. It's worth it.

825. love it.

I started back on IJ last night after taking a break for a few weeks to read a book club book and a couple of library holds. Page 650.

@Karen - sounds like you and I had similar situations. I'm on p503. My husband got through in record time, has been done for several weeks! It's my second time reading IJ so I'm not too concerned, I'll get back to it this weekend.

Just finished! :D

@Christopher - Way to go! :)

Finished but still pondering!

@Jenny - My husband finished weeks ago and we still talk about IJ daily. He's reading a few of the guides to the book now.

@Christopher, @Jenny - congrats! thoughts?

^ I just started a new thread for end-of-book discussions. (I know some people are very sensitive about spoilers -- after all, that's one of the reasons we're discussing it here instead of in the Facebook group.)

page 900. almost there...

done. wow.

scott wrote: "done. wow."

way to go! :)

Forgot to say earlier ... the section with Kate Gompert's description of depression (round about the 690 mark) was utterly heartbreaking when you think about DFW's own struggles and where it eventually took him.

Karen wrote: "Forgot to say earlier ... the section with Kate Gompert's description of depression (round about the 690 mark) was utterly heartbreaking when you think about DFW's own struggles and where it eventu..."

Agreed; felt the same way.

I've also really felt sadness after IJ, thinking about DFW and what a loss.

The section in “Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story”describing his last days - especially with his parents visit - is gut-wrenching.

^ There's also a great story in Jonathan Franzen's most recent collection, Farther Away. Franzen and DFW were good friends, and after DFW's suicide Franzen went through some of his own "stuff." The title story in the collection is an amazing reflection on that. (Just googled it and found that it's online -- thanks to the good people at The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/20...)