Reading List Completists discussion

Discussion begins March 16. Who's excited?!

Reading schedule added below....

Infinite Jest Reading Schedule

March 16: Pages 1 - 127 (12.5%)
March 23: Pages 127 - 258 (25%)
March 30: Pages 258 - 379 (37.5%)
April 6: Pages 379 - 508 (50%)
April 13: Pages 508 - 627 (62.5%)
April 20: Pages 627 - 755 (75%)
April 28: Pages 755 - 876 (87.5%)
May 4: Pages 876 - 981 (100%)

I think that's a great idea! I have my brand new copy on my nightstand just waiting to be cracked up and marked up. I will likely need to tape it back together again when I'm finished.

This book has been waiting for me for awhile. Can't wait to get started with it!

This is a big book I have been wanting to read. Probably too big for me to finish in March!

Yeah it's gonna take some time. Probably at least a month for me, maybe six weeks. I'm thinking of adding a shorter book as well for March/April.

Also, apparently the book takes its title from Hamlet, and there are some parallels to the play in the novel as well. I didn't read Hamlet in high school so I'm reading it now to catch up with the rest of the world. Just throwing it out there in case you want to read a little Shakespeare this week. To read or not to read.... that is the question.

I am excited to join the discussion, but I'll have to be late to the party. The library paper copy has been lost and I am #24 on the hold list for a single digital copy.

So, thinking ahead . . . since we have our book list already set, would you consider maybe mapping out the next few months in advance? That gives a little more flexibility to slow readers and time for us library users to acquire the book.

Absolutely! I'm planning to add some new threads when I'm home tonight. I'd also like to maybe have at least two reads per month possibly from two different lists. We can go crazy with it.

It has parallels with Hamlet? Didn't know this!

I do remember when I first got the book, I found a site that said I should tear the book into three parts: part 1, part 2, and the notes, so you can always keep the notes with you but it's easier to carry around. It also said don't ever skip the notes, even though some of them are ridiculously long, because they're actually really relevant. And it suggested having three markers: one for where you are in the book, one for the list of the order of the years on page 200-something, and a marker for the notes at the end, to make it easier to go between all the points. They should add reading Hamlet to the list!

Looks like I'll be doing a Shakespeare refresher before starting the book!

Awesome, I've heard about using multiple bookmarks, too. I don't think the entire story draws from Hamlet, but I've heard there are sine connections to it in the book.

What is your reading schedule?

Putting it together tonight. I had to finish up some other books to mentally prepare myself for this one.

Looking forward to following the discussion of my all time favorite book. Though I won't be reading along with everyone, I will be more than happy to participate.

You will need two bookmarks indeed, maybe three. One for your place in the narrative, one for the footnotes and maybe one for the timeline of years, which are all named (like the Year of the Depends Adult Undergarment, etch.). Also I used a little notepad and took notes. Just some friendly advice.

Thanks! This is going to be fun!

It will be! It's a true work of genius.

I will be late to start this one. I just finished some pretty dense reads and need some fast paced reading before I start a monster read. So it might be a few weeks.

Has anyone ever listened to an audio version if it or would that be difficult with all these footnotes I'm hearing about? I would read when I could but it would be nice to do audio other times to help push through the length.

I considered doing the audio version, but had read several negative reviews about the lack of end notes. From some of the discussion I've seen, it sounds like these notes are an important part of the book. This made me decide to wait for the Kindle version.

The notes are CRUCIAL. He uses them to break up the traditional narrative structure. Some of them are one sentence, but some are multiple pages of plot or even a fake list of movies that were directed by a character.

Kindle it is!

Enjoy! It is definitely worth the effort!

Wow, this thing is difficult to break out into sections for a reading schedule. There are no chapters really, plus there are hundreds of pages of footnotes.

I've created a "Group Reads" folder and will add IJ to it with topics for each section. To keep us as close as possible on the same track, I'm going to go with an eight week timeline to read it which is roughly 125 pages a week or 12.5% if you're listening to it or reading it digitally. That isn't really factoring footnotes so I think the pace seems pretty good. It doesn't seem like something to rush through and that should leave everyone some space to read other stuff as well.

Just got the bookmarks ready to go. How is everyone reading this... physical copy or digital? I think the paperback editions have the same page numbers but maybe different cover. I'll try to break this schedule down by page numbers and percentage the best I can.

I have tried to hunt down a copy. My library doesn't have one so a strike there . . . I actually thought I had a kindle edition after all the random books I get over the years . . . strike two there . . . I am not sure I will have a copy in time to join in at the same time as this discussion, but it is still on my to read list!

I got the kindle edition .. but I won't join in until the end of the month. The way you're scheduling it, I figure I'll just read a little more until initially until I'm caught up with the group. Tough I might decide to just read straight through it as I prefer to focus on just one thing at a time ...

I grabbed mine from my library through overdrive so I will be reading the kindle version. I might finish it before because it might not allow me to recheck it out if there is a hold on it.

Good call - I now have a hold placed on Overdrive and at my local library.

I love overdrive. Sometimes it makes life easier. Happy you found a copy.

I just wish I could get books for more than 14 days from Overdrive - I also hope my hold wait isn't too long!

It took me 3 months to read this....with only one 10 day break.

And I bought a copy sight unseen. Just had heard so many good things. I've only been burned once so far buying a book randomly....The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon which I didn't wnjoy

TheLong Wait - Yeah, I was not really sure how I ended up feeling about Kavalier and Clay. I hear some people think it is a classic, and it is on a lot of must read lists, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Me either. Too ponderous. Too....I dunno....just meh! And I had too many other books being read to waste my time on that.

I've got a physical copy of the book, but I'm thinking I may get it from overdrive too, just to have options.

Brittney
I ways prefer to read a physical copy of anything. Just personal preference, but I couldn't imagine reading Infinite Jest as an ebook. To each their own

I enjoy physical books but I find eBooks easier to bring everywhere. I can access 6000+ books at a touch of a button.

Very true. And I do read books on my phone sometimes (Samsung S5)...but I just prefer the real thing. lol

Also holding my phone or kindle is easier on my hands than hold a large hardcover book. I don't get the same satisfaction finishing a huge book on an eBook vs. Hardcover. There is something about closing that huge book and saying I read it, especially with a huge book you can use for weightlifting.

I can go any way now: eBook, real book, or audio book - as long as I am reading as much as possible! With all the options now, I can easily read in the car, waiting in line, for a few seconds here and there, etc. It is an optimization of all my down time - filling every free second with books!

I try not to do hardcover...mostly paperback

I vastly prefer ebooks .. especially for long ones or those with footnotes or words I might want to look up (being not a native speaker). It's just so much more convenient .. ideal lighting everywhere, no need to turn pages etc. Only graphic novels or cookbooks/travel guides are things I still buy in paper.

I try not to do hardcover...mostly paperback.

You, sir, are now an unstoppable reading machine!

I don't mind the technology at all....just want to feel the heft, smell the pages....that kinda thing

I'll be getting kindle. The size of the book is what lead me to that decision. These days my hands and wrists tend to love it when I don't force them to hold the heavy book.

I'm still tempted to grab a copy in audible...it's pretty much free anyway. And since I have a print version (of a sort) I can go back to look up footnotes and what not.

Justin, the reading schedule will be very helpful for me. I might start it with the group now. Thanks for doing that!

Getting excited! Monster reads always make me nervous and excited. Never know what awaits the journey.

This book is truly massive in size and scope. It's messages are hidden deep and the plot doesn't begin to make sense for about half the book.

I'm glad I'm reading with a group. It's for me to truly enjoy books like that if I can't discuss, question, and theorize about the book. Are the rest of this author's books similar?

His novels are, yes. His short stories are great, but obviously a little more focused. I have not read any of his non fiction yet. The Pale King, which was unfinished at the time of his suicide is masterful and The Broom of the System, which was published when he was 24, is great as well. I am about 1/3 of the way through it.

I just love his writing. But I also love Hunter S Thompson, Thomas Pynchon, Stephen King and Jonathan Lethem as well. But DFW ranks highest for me.

Matthew, I am in the same boat...waiting for my Overdrive hold. I think I was number 24 on the list. My library lost their one physical copy.

I also agree with the any format, as long as I am "reading".