Tim Paggi’s Reviews > Infinite Jest > Status Update

Also who the hell are the random Canadian dudes in wheelchairs? Why do they keep getting screen time?

There is no—and I mean absolutely zero—attempt to explicitly connect this book’s themes of addiction, anxiety and entertainment by the author. Not that I’ve discerned yet. It’s absolutely up to the reader, so far, to fill in what, if any, connection they can. And in this way, this book is slowly making me a better person.

-listened to 14+ hours of this bad boy both ways on a drive to Providence and back
-great way to take in the book
-the Eschaton section alone (in which students play a hybrid game of Risk, tennis and dodgeball) took me from Stamford to Trenton
-section describing the heroin withdrawal process for the trans sex worker is a rollercoaster
-AA and addiction section: chefs kiss.
-wtf was the research process for IJ? Wild

Testing

First of all, for any experienced Goodreads users, will I be able to see all of my updates later, like a reading diary, using this app? I just realized I’m unclear if that’s how it works..like there’s a possibility, even in our age of corporate data preciousness, that my previous updates might vanish after posting a new one? I’m going to test this out and see and post my real update next. /boomerism

3/24/2026:

-so far, I am kind of constantly in awe of this thing and really enjoying it
-mentally, trying to draw connections between the Incandenzas and the Gately contingent. Am I missing something?
-fun vid phone essay is very prescient
-the whole idea of the big, masculine tome: I’m still processing, but this book is real deal
-dad monologue is powerful
-props to the narrator for doing all this

So I am listening to snippets of this 65-hour audiobook during some—but not all—of my daily commutes and undercaffeinated, A.M. ironing board sessions. Needless to say, I will follow up with thoughts later in 2026, and will be processing it to the best of my abilities until then.