Sat on my stoop in Brooklyn trying to push through 'Infinite Jest' for 3 weeks straight

I was on page 400 something and realized I could not tell you what the plot was even about if someone asked me. My neighbor came down and asked what I was reading and I just stared at the book cover blankly for a solid 10 seconds. Has anyone else stuck with a book way too long just because they wanted to say they finished it?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan_coleman2115d ago

Nah, I gotta push back on this one. Infinite Jest is one of those books where you kind of have to accept that you won't get all of it on the first read. I tried it once and got lost in the footnotes, but honestly, the journey is the point. Plowing through just to say you finished it kinda misses what the book is doing. Maybe put it down and come back later, but don't force it for bragging rights.

jordan18414d ago

The part about the footnotes really got me too. I think I spent half my reading time flipping back and forth until I just gave up and read them after each chapter. Honestly, it's a relief to hear someone else say the journey is the whole point, because I was starting to wonder if I was just not smart enough to get it.