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/lit/ - Literature


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12537487 No.12537487 [Reply] [Original]

"I overestimated my ability to check in on /lit/ every few hours and let the thread die" Edition

Join your fellow /lit/izens this February in reading (or re-reading) David Foster Wallace's posthumously published novel of American ennui and tax codes, The Pale King.
We'll be reading through it over the course of 6 weeks starting in mid-February, so there's still time to pick up a copy if you're interested but don't currently have one, and the pace should be relaxed enough that those of us without much free time to devote to reading can stay up-to-date.
I'll try to keep threads with this info alive leading up to then, and I'll make sure we at the very least have weekly threads up for discussion on the current sections.

Strawpoll to see where everyone who wants to read along is in terms of their experience with David Foster Wallace:
https://www.strawpoll.me/17340889

Reading schedule (stolen from the Pale Winter group read on The Howling Fantods)
>Week 1: (2/17 - 2/23) Sections 1-9
>Week 2: (2/24 - 3/2) Sections 10-21
>Week 3: (3/3 - 3/9) Section 22
>Week 4: (3/10 - 3/16) Sections 23-27
>Week 5: (3/17 - 3/23) Sections 28-45
>Week 6: (3/24 - 3/30) Sections 46-50, Notes and Asides

>> No.12537497

>>12537487
is Oblivion/Pale King era DFW more heavily influenced by Joyce? I posted in a previous thread about this but got no replies. Am I wrong in thinking his work here is a departure from Infinite Jest in terms of style?

>> No.12537516
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12537516

>>12537497
I couldn't say, but we've had at least a handful of anons in the strawpoll answer that they've read TPK before, so maybe one of them will answer. Honestly, I'm not expecting a whole lot in the way of discussion until reading gets underway. Part of me wanted to have a shorter time between initial info and starting to read, but a few people in the last thread mentioned things like exams and shipping times, so I feel like 2 weeks was the right choice.

>> No.12537622

I'm the fag who said I was going to ruin it. I stalled playing animal crossing and with my dog, but I am a couple of chapters in. It's too sincere to spoil, bros. He is capturing life very well.

>> No.12537705

>>12537622
Glad to hear you're enjoying it, I'm definitely looking forward to starting the read. Knocking out some shorter books in my backlog over the next couple weeks.
Also I'm very excited for the new Animal Crossing this year. Even without a release date, just knowing it's coming gets me in a better mood.

>> No.12537728

>>12537487
I'm not interested in this particular book but please keep this threads and this reading groups so we can build an online community around real literature not just memes. I love this initiative.

>> No.12537748

>>12537728
It was partly serendipity, with finding TPK at a goodwill at the same time that there were a few straight days of threads discussing it, but depending on how this goes I wouldn't be opposed to organizing other reading groups in the future. Though if someone else gets an urge to set one up and they want to babysit the threads for it, that's perfectly fine by me.

>> No.12537760

>>12537497
It's not.
He was only ever like Joyce in a memey-way that plays into the flaws of Infinite Jest.
He came into his own over time is all.
He repeatedly rushed out the gate too fast, and then realizing his mistake, spent the next decade trying to make it up to himself. A lot of condensed effort in his late career.

>> No.12537819

>>12537487
Didn't post in the last thread because I didn't know if I would finish my last purchases by 2/17 but I've had more time than I previously thought. Ordered the book tonight while rewatching Patlabor 2. Add another anon whose in

>> No.12538094

>>12537819
Glad to have you on board, anon. Even more confirmation that 2 weeks wasn't too much notice.

>> No.12538122

I've always wanted to read DFW but only listened to him read Big Red Son and Consider The Lobster. I'll probably try and find this book when I go bird guide hunting tomorrow.

>> No.12538724

>>12537728
this

>> No.12539186

Morning visibility bump

>> No.12539873
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12539873

I'm surprised to have gotten this many responses on the strawpoll. Definitely not expecting this many participants when we actually get into it, but there should be a good amount of people reading and discussing.
Don't know how much I'll be able to be on my phone today, so help keeping the thread alive for more anons to see is much appreciated.

>> No.12540669
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12540669

Bumping for visibility. Less than two weeks, and I'm excited to crack open my copy. Part of me wants to dive in now, but I'm holding off.
I read The Stranger yesterday, and I'm going to start on Less Than Zero on my lunch hour today. What are other anons reading while we wait to get TPK underway?

>> No.12541479

And another bump to keep the thread alive.

>> No.12541538

Does it read like an unfinished mess or is it enjoyable in the same way Kafka's books are enjoyable (i.e. They have no real resolution but are still worth reading)

>> No.12541702

>>12541538
the chapter's themselves feel finished
as a whole it didn't really feel cohesive to me, but I also had problems tracking which adults were which kids so I maybe shouldn't be given too much trust

>> No.12541717

>>12540669
I can't focus right now so nothing.

>> No.12541838

>>12541538
if i remember correctly there's no real plot that goes from a to b, the chapters are more like vignettes with recurring characters and stuff that hint at some bigger picture you have to piece together yourself, sort of like infinite jest in a way. i remember enjoying it and might join this read-along with all you fellas :)

>> No.12541966

>>12537487
I am in, got my copy already in wait.

>>12541538
I started it once upon a time but life got in the way, to me it felt like he was in the process of refining the writing, there were bits that seemed like a simple framework for something more. I did enjoy what I read.

>> No.12541981

>>12537497
I may have to pull Oblivion off the shelf and give it a reread while I wait for this to start up, I do not remember it at all!

>> No.12542444

>>12537487
im pretty excited guys. hopefully this doesnt die like the gravity's rainbow threads.

>> No.12542551
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12542551

>>12541717
I get that. Lot of life stuff going on?
>>12541838
Sounds a little bit like Gravity's Rainbow in the "vignettes with recurring characters" sense. A lot of what I'm hearing has me excited to finally start this read-through.
>>12542444
I'm going to do what I can to keep things alive through the very end. Even if it means posting weekly discussion threads that get two comments and then fall off the catalog. Hopefully that's not the case, but there's no knowing what the future holds.

>> No.12542892

>>12542551
>I'm going to do what I can to keep things alive through the very end
I will be able to stick this out, ~80 pages a week of DFW should be easy. Likely as long as a few of us can maintain decent discourse it should keep things going.

>> No.12543617
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12543617

>>12542892
Here's hoping, anon.
Also, pre-sleep bump, hope the thread's alive in the morning.

>> No.12543622

>>12537487
I just bought Infinite Jest as my first DFW book, wish I found this thread first. I could just PDF it.

>> No.12544458

>>12537728
i agree

>> No.12544488
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12544488

I have mine, post yours.

>> No.12544492

https://www.mediafire.com/file/ncr04xv3v7mdswi/david-foster-wallace-the-pale-king-an-unfinished-novel-1.epub

Here's the epub for anyone who wants to read via computer screen.

>> No.12544750

>>12543622
Infinite Jest should be read first, along with a thorough engagement with 90s culture such as advertisements, political movements, films, and stand up comedy. Having read DeLillo, Pynchon, Gaddis, and Barth would help!

>> No.12544891

>>12544750
You really don't need to do any of that to be honest.

>> No.12544900

>>12544750
>90s culture such as advertisements, political movements, films, and stand up comedy.
It never occurred to me how different of a book Infinite Jest would be for those that missed the 90s or were to young to be aware of the culture of those times. I was a teenager during that time, so just soaking it all up, it explains some of why I take to the book so well. I will have to take note of that next time I read it. Interesting.

>> No.12544904

>>12544900
You've definitely been meme'd if you believe that is really why you like it.

>> No.12544910

>>12544891
I think i would agree, DFW does a great job of keeping his works self contained, everything you need is there in the text. That would be a worthwhile endeavor for those who enjoy the book enough to reread it and wish to understand it more fully.

>> No.12544913

>>12544904
I did not say or even imply that is why I like it, work on that reading comprehension.

>> No.12545409
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12545409

>>12544488
Sure, but I'm not getting out of bed until I absolutely have to so poor lighting and a cat are part of the deal.
>>12544492
You're a good man, anon. I can't do ebooks, but now people who can and were on the fence have no excuses.
>>12544750
That seems excessive. Why shouldn't someone just read the book if they're interested?

>> No.12545441

>>12537487
Is this book actually good

>> No.12545538
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12545538

>>12545441

I've read all three of DFW's novels and frankly prefer The Pale King to Infinite Jest. He matured a lot as a writer and a human being from 1996 to 2008. There are technical flourishes and thematic concepts in Infinite Jest that I really love, but I also find the novel extremely insufferable at times -- a tendency to induce eye-rolls once every few chapters. DFW, particularly early DFW, sabotages the otherwise brilliant aspects of his writing by being such an affected, self-important twat (this is most evident in Broom of the System and declines incrementally with each subsequent work). The Pale King is much more controlled in this regard. It best represents the "sincerity" he claimed to strive for yet somehow failed to consistently achieve in previous works.

>> No.12546676

>>12544750

TPK is mainly set in the fifties and seventies and eighties tho.

>> No.12547391

While we read, make notes, post them? Images of course.

>> No.12547444
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12547444

>>12544488
Hardfag here.

I'm one of the re-readers. In fact I finished it maybe three weeks ago, crazy timing.

Overall, I liked it a lot. It is unignorably unfinished, though. There's a lot of classic Wallace stylistic things that show up in the second half that were clearly supposed to go somewhere but never do. I honestly think it'd be well over 1000 pages completed, probably longer than IJ. He had a lot to say about this stuff.

>> No.12547512

>>12544750
But to really understand 90s ads and stand up comedy you really need to at least read the Greeks, the Bible, Mahabharta, Virgil, Ovid, Dante, the Koran, Aquinas, Decartes, Beowulf, Chaucer, Milton, Locke, Kant, Don Quixote, Madame Bovary, Heidigger, The Count of Monte Cristo, the complete Shakespeare, Goethe, Dickens, Austen, Pushkin, Gogols, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Hegel, Moby Dick, Rupi Kaur, Mark Twain, Kafka, Woolfe, in search of lost time, Pynchon, Nick Land, and Joyce.

>> No.12547554

>>12547444
Also:

I'm convinced almost all of Oblivion began as part of TPK. Wallace probably cut the Oblivion material and decided to publish it separately to zero in on the IRS/accountancy stuff and ditch the broader, generic office worker vs. adulthood commentary. Mr. Squishy is a thing in both works, The Soul is Not A Smithy obviously, there's extended discussion about human shit in both, DFW's in-story appearance in Good Old Neon, etc.

No coincidence that This Is Water also comes out of this time period.

>> No.12547700

>>12547554
I guess it was just general, non-specific shit discussed in TPK. Still reminded me of Suffering Channel.

There's also more than one character people have claimed is the baby from Incarnations of Burned Children, as an adult.

>> No.12547750

>>12545538
I read IJ last year and had a good time with it, and TPK being better seems to be a pretty common opinion from people who've read both, so that has me that much more excited to start on TPK.
>>12547444
When I was looking things up before starting the thread, I read that what came off of DFW's hard drive and was eventually edited into TPK was about 1500 pages before being pared down to what we have now.

>> No.12547887

>>12547750
>1500 pages

I believe it. Michael Pietsch doesn't say how many pages he worked from in the Editor's Note, but he said there were 250 unique chapters. TPK contains just 50 of those.

>> No.12548052
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12548052

>>12547887
I'm sure a lot of what was there was DFW being overly-verbose, but even if it was just a small portion, imagine how many insights into DFW's thinking leading up to his suicide got cut out.
If I enjoy TPK enough I'll probably order a copy that has the extra chapters that DFW-Thesis-Guy said basically spelled out the purpose of the novel as a suicide note.
I feel like the full draft of TPK will probably wind up categorized along with the alleged notes for Dune 7 as "Things I want to read very badly but will never be allowed to"

>> No.12548195

>>12548052
Is The Pale King the longest suicide note? Maybe one of the longest?

>> No.12548308

>>12548195
I didn't get that impression whatsoever. I haven't read the extra scenes (it's like 20 extra pages total) that he's talking about, and I definitely haven't seen the raw handwritten manuscript stuff that didn't make the cut, but TPK does not read like a suicide note.

Without spoiling the best scenes, it reads much more like a celebration of all the things Wallace tried to convince himself of to stand a chance of surviving day-to-day feeling like he did. Ultimately he just stopped believing himself, I guess.

>> No.12548309

>>12548195
In one of the TPK discussion threads leading up to getting the group read set up, one guy was talking about how he'd apparently written his thesis based on that assertion. I'd definitely be interested in giving it a read-through after we finish this if he's watching.

>> No.12548337

>>12537728
Yeah I tried one with Ulysses and everyone called me a fag

>> No.12548405

>>12548337
/lit/ might be the worst board I have ever been on. No shit.

This readalong sounds fun tho

>> No.12548444

>>12537487
I will purchase a copy tomorrow, count another anon in.

>> No.12548548
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12548548

>>12548337
I have yet to read Ulysses, but my impression is that it's probably a harder book to convince people to just pick up and read. TPK benefits from being a relatively reasonable length to focus on, and what seems like a lot of people online saying it's a perfectly fine place to start with DFW, while the general opinions I've seen with regards to Ulysses make it sound like one needs to read Dubliners and Portrait to understand what's going on. Plus, there seemed to be a lot of interest and discussion leading up to when I posted the first group read thread.
My /lit/ usage has been pretty sporadic over the years so I missed out, but it sounds like there was a Gravity's Rainbow group read that petered out pretty quickly, and I'm not sure if the Moby Dick group read that I saw going on at one point was successful or not.

I think getting this off the ground is as much about luck and timing as anything else.

>> No.12548566

>>12545409
That's a nice pussy. What kind?

>> No.12548589

>>12548566
She's a 16 year old shelter rescue mutt-cat. No idea what breed she is, but I've had her since she needed to be fed from a bottle.

>> No.12549486

And now back to our regularly scheduled bumps for visibility.

>> No.12549510

>>12548052
Where can I find more on TPK-as-suicide note?

>> No.12549556

>>12549510
Check the catalog for recent Pale King threads, there was an anon calling himself something like David Foster Autist posting about it. Apparently he wrote a thesis on the theory. Hopefully he's here when discussion rolls around.

>> No.12549928

Actual tax accountant here, albeit I’m a fresh grad. Read this last year and would love to read it again; this book resonates for obvious reasons. Funnily the accounting terminology is pretty basic but I can see how it would be intimidating to outsiders. Should be fun

>> No.12549994

>>12548308
You're focusing on the wrong part of the novel. The middle is the most uplifting part (and yet still intentionally bland).
By the end it becomes very clear that his "conclusions" were mostly negative
.>>12549510
I can tell you all about it. But I'm pretty tired.

>> No.12549997

>>12549928
This is true.
Not a tax accountant but the book doesn't go in-depth on that career at all.
The whole "Internal revenue service" aspect is really more of a metaphor.

>> No.12550018

>>12549994
And by the middle i mostly mean the Stecyk, David self-insert, and Chris Fogle's wastoid novella.
The vast majority of the book is deliberately depressing if you read it properly.

>> No.12550037

>>12550018
those storylines*

>> No.12550121

for anyone who's read it, how is the ending? it was unfinished when he necked himself

>> No.12550178

>>12550121
It's a non-ending.
the majority of the book's "plot" is background exposition a singular plot point near the end of the book.
There was originally going to be a part 2 but that was cut (for obvious reasons) and some of those later scenes were moved forward into part 1's conclusion.
You can sort of see what his plans were, which is sad considering all the lost potential, but even in its current state it works,

>> No.12550200

>>12550121
Zero resolution. Infinite Jest's ending looks exhaustive by comparison. But TPK has next to no real plot to begin with, so it's not that bizarre. Hard to know when it's just DFW being DFW vs. when the writing just wasn't done.

>> No.12550341

Glad you're still around, DF Autist. I thought the theory was an interesting one, but wasn't about to try and expound or answer any questions on it.

One last visibility bump for tonight from me.

>> No.12550431

>>12550341
I never leave unfortunately.
I'll be her just about every night in some form or another.
Sooner or later I'll get a chance to go in deep on my analysis.
I'll keep an eye out.

>> No.12550864

>>12544750
>>12544900
I'm a zoomer and was able to relate it to 21st century pop culture instead though. I'm sure I missed some things because of it but I also think it may have added to the experience, as many of the things he warned about have some to pass.

>> No.12550872

>>12540669
I'm reading some of his essays.

>> No.12550978

>>12548589
lookin good at 16 years

>> No.12551606

>>12550864
*come to pass

>> No.12551682

>>12550864
Your being removed from it also likely allowed you to see some things that I missed. Someday I would like to have a long conversation regarding Infinite Jest with a youngster.

>> No.12551692

>>12548589
Cats can be mutts? I thought they just randomly mixed all the time.

>> No.12551912

>>12550431
In any case, it'll be nice to have you around for this. I was going to say something about your presence "Fostering" discussion but that would be awful.
>>12551692
Cat breeds get just as specific as dogs.
Just looked into it, and apparently the cat equivalent of mutt (no particular breed's traits being immediately apparent) is Domestic Long/Short/Medium Hair.
I like mutt-cat better.

>> No.12552075

bump

>> No.12552085

>>12537728
Agreed, I have too many unread books to start tpk, but /lit/ reading groups are a good initiative. I wouldn't have read Gravity's Rainbow without that thread, and I really enjoyed that book. So I hope we can keep these threads going

>> No.12552093

>>12547512
Why do you say Moby Dick instead of Melville when you list all other known authors by name?

>> No.12552487
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12552487

Genuinely surprised to see that we've broken 60 responses on the strawpoll. I'm not expecting that many people to actually participate, but imagine if that was the case.
Also interesting to see the numbers of DFW virgins catching up to the people who've read writings of his other than TPK.

>> No.12553373

Quick visibility bump.

>> No.12553400

How do you guys take notes in books?
>just write down your thoughts desu owo.
I'm usually able to remember my thoughts on a specific thing in the book. What do I do?

>> No.12553571

>>12537728
This

>> No.12554379

Page 8 bump.

>> No.12555352

Started reading and enjoying so far. Can't wait to start discussing. Also, quick bump.

>> No.12555768

>>12544750
So I should NOT partake in this reading with you guys until i've read IJ?

>> No.12555935

>>12555768
nah go for it man
reading books in particular orders is mostly a meme

>> No.12555997
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12555997

>>12537487
checking in 4 comfy read in the snow
never read TPK but loved IJ, some of the essays in a Supposedly fun thing INDA were great also

>> No.12556301

>>12554379
>>12555352
Thanks for keeping the thread alive, bumpers. I haven't had so much as an opportunity to look at my phone the past four or so hours.
>>12555768
Ignore the memes, you can read along without a problem. I would recommend reading IJ at some point as I enjoyed it quite a lot, but so long as you have a way to read TPK you'll be set when we start.
>>12555997
I wish I could do comfy snow reading, but I see snow maybe one or two days in a given year, and that's if I'm incredibly lucky.

>> No.12557203

Bumping

>> No.12557641

I've had TPK on my shelf for like four years now. I tried to jump into it immediately after finishing IJ for the first time but it was just too much for me to handle, so I put it down intending to return to it at a later date but I never did. I think I'll finally crack it open and read it with you guys.

>> No.12558453

>>12557641
bumping to say I am in the same boat.

>> No.12558842

Morning bump. 10 days to go until the 17th.

>> No.12558924
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12558924

would you guys be interested in a lit bookclub discord?

>> No.12558948

>>12558924
Personally I do not use it and find the slower pace of places like this advantageous to discussion of this sort. Read, contemplate, reply.

>> No.12558974

>>12558924
I think the non-anonymity of something like discord plus the clique-ishness you get that makes joining in after groups have been established difficult means /lit/ discord wouldn't work very well.
Just my opinion.

>> No.12559019

>>12558924
this guy works for the NSA, CIA niggers everywhere

>> No.12559021 [DELETED] 
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12559021

>>12558948
>>12558974
i meant it as a casual, little, proper bookclub thing; a new book every month and we can talk and chat
i'll leave the link in case anyone's interested: /vaUctH

>> No.12559037

>>12558924
Yes

>> No.12559278

Is it ok if you haven't read DFW before?

>> No.12559312

>>12558924
i would, but OTOH i'm already part of a book discord and I post in the lit channel of a /soc/ discord

>> No.12559322

>>12559312
>book discord
where

>> No.12559330

>>12559322
sorry anon i'm not going to invite you

there are dedicated discord server search pages if google isn't enough

>> No.12559334

>>12559330
ok..

>> No.12559868

Visibility bump. Everyone else ready for the weekend to be here?

>> No.12560594
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12560594

The clique mentality and secret-club-ishness is exactly why I didn't want to use a discord for this group read.
Posting on /lit/ is slower paced, people can express opinions more freely without worrying that people will think they're stupid because there are no usernames, and anyone who wants to join in can. You don't need an invite to put in your two cents.

>> No.12561654

>>12559278
maybe ;)

>> No.12561655

>>12560594
My biggest issue is with live discussion a single dominant conversation tends to form, making it more difficult for side discussions to develop and continue.

>> No.12562253

Bumping. Just a little over a week until starting day, and I'm excited.

>> No.12562538

This sub-community is already so much more positive than /lit/ as a whole, can't wait to start reading.

>> No.12562671

>>12562538
Shut the fuck up faggot

>> No.12562899

>>12560594
I agree.
No discord please.

>> No.12563337

Watched this brief interview with the editor earlier today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBkf1owRRek

>> No.12563641

>>12563337
Thanks for that, anon, I really enjoyed listening to it. Left the video up for a minute or two because I was expecting the show to keep on going.
It's officially Saturday, February 9 if you're on EST, so the read through starts a week from tomorrow.
I know I'm ready to dive in.

>> No.12564283

I actually spent a lot of time today listening to DFW interviews. Here's a quote from his appearance on "The Connection" with Christopher Lydon on February 21, 1996 to promote "Infinite Jest". This line struck me as particularly prescient.

"If you've still got a nation of people sitting of front of screens, pretending, interacting with images rather than each other, feeling lonely and so needing more and more images you’re going to have the same basic problem. And the better the images get, the more tempting it’s going to be to interact with images rather than other people. And I think the emptier it’s going to get."

>> No.12564315
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12564315

mornin boys, hows the water?

>> No.12564402

>>12537487
MEGA?

>> No.12564410

Why should I read this & not early Modernist texts?

>> No.12564426

>>12564410
the sex scene

>> No.12564669

>>12564315
what the hell is water?

>> No.12564679

>>12564669
It is like vodka without side effects.

>> No.12565365

>>12564402
>>12544492

>> No.12566227

Bumping for visibility.

>> No.12567470

>>12537728
bump

>> No.12568323

Bump

>> No.12569149

And here's a visibility bump as we come up on one week left before the reading starts. We're up to 79 votes on the strawpoll and initially I didn't expect more than 20-30. Hopefully a good number of the responders read and join in the discussion.

>> No.12569329

>>12552487
Where is "I have never read"

>> No.12569333

>>12564283
>the emptier it's going to get
oof

>> No.12569343

I'm honestly shocked that 11 people responding have read TPK already
I'm going to attempt to follow along and hopefully this book can end up an enormous meme too

>> No.12570027

Bought some more books today and yesterday, but I will dust off my copy I’ve had since December and try to read along with you guys.

I tried reading IJ but got distracted by something else and realised I should probably start reading it again after taking a huge break.

>> No.12570714

>>12537487
Who were DFW’s main influences?

I know DeLillo and Pynchon, and then he mentions reading a lot of John Updike in Consider the Lobster. Who else?

>> No.12570938
File: 1.16 MB, 1440x1778, 20190210_081831.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12570938

Just one week to go until the 17th, everyone. There's still time to pick up a copy if you need one.

>>12569343
If nothing else my hope is to see more interesting discussion about DFW's writing than just people arguing over whether or not somebody's actually read Infinite Jest.
>>12570714
I couldn't say, maybe DF Autist or someone else who's done some research could answer this.

>> No.12570942

>>12570938
I've come to the conclusion that I'm very bad at using a tripcode.

>> No.12571025

Has anyone read 'Joseph Frank's Dostoevsky' from Consider the Lobster? I would highly recommend it, despite only having read Notes myself, because in discussing the merits of Dostoevsky he compares him to current writing and reveals a lot about what he wants to achieve with his own work. There are also sections marked by asterisks in which he very straightforwardly talks about his personal issues w.r.t. faith and morality. The essay's from 1996, after he'd written IJ, so it will be interesting to see if he resolves any of this in TPK.

>> No.12571037
File: 23 KB, 283x280, 1534731129025.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12571037

>>12570942
got my copy yesterday ronald

>> No.12572105

Bump

>> No.12572130

>>12537487
As an ESL, will this book be too hard for me?

>> No.12572149

>>12570938
this is an awesome cat can you please take more photos of this cat with cool books you own and post them here

>> No.12572209
File: 279 KB, 1191x1132, 85B54DEC-D332-4944-9C90-D280FE9ADE85.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12572209

TPK secured.

Does reading DFW make anyone else feel emotionally drained afterwards? Like watching an endless car crash loop for hours

>> No.12572372

>>12572130
I can't speak for TPK in particular, but from my experience DFW tends to lean more towards the advanced side of English. Someone linked an epub earlier in the thread if you wanted to download it and take a look.
>>12572149
Having her feeling photogenic and a book in the same place at the same time is a fortunate coincidence, can't make any promises there.
>>12572209
Reading IJ could feel draining, but then at the end finishing felt like reaching the summit of a mountain.

>> No.12573077
File: 185 KB, 680x700, 123.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12573077

anyone else preparing memes? heres one that leaked from next week (section 5) ;)

>> No.12573874

>>12573077
I love it, anon

>> No.12573996

>>12572209
Yes dude. Hal's monologue at the end of IJ gave me depression for a little bit

>> No.12574113

anyone have a link to the book in pdf form?

>> No.12574335

>>12573996
epub right here fren
>>12544492

>> No.12574340

>>12574113
>>12574335
Fuck, wrong comment

>> No.12574837

Less than a week to go, everyone. Here's hoping it's a good week for everybody, and we all make it through to next Sunday without incident.
Does anyone have any books they plan on finishing up this week before starting on TPK?

>>12573077
I feel like that'll be a joke I wind up laughing more at by virtue of having seen it here when I come across it.

>> No.12575156

Are we going to bother with the Reading Group Guide at the end of a certain edition (ISBN: 978-0-14-320359-9)?

>> No.12575237
File: 88 KB, 570x912, saint_david.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12575237

>>12537487
HAIL SAINT WALLACE, REPENT, SINNERS!!!

>> No.12575292

>>12575156
It's not in my copy so I wasn't planning on it, but if anyone feels like posting discussion questions when the threads are up, by all means do.
>>12575237
Saved

>> No.12576554

>>12572209
DFW leaves me feeling pretty great for the most part, but I tend not to read for awhile after finishing one of his works, just sit about content to reflect upon what I just finished.

>>12575156
I glanced at them when I got my copy a few years ago, they reminded me of the sort of question I was given in high school lit. They could still be useful despite the bad memories they dredge up for me.

>> No.12576594

My TPK just arrived across from the pacific ocean!!!

>> No.12576768

I just realized, 80 pages a week, I have never read a book that slowly in my life. Think I will stick to the schedule and just read a dozen pages a day and see what it is like, should be interesting.

>> No.12576831

>>12576768
yeah it's pretty slow. I'm planning on finishing the book before the group reading starts then reading more slowly along with everyone since I tend to read books once for pleasure and once for comprehension anyway. Worked well for IJ

>> No.12577325

>>12576594
Congrats!
>>12576768
>>12576831
Yeah, I'm debating sticking with that schedule or reading through at my normal pace and probably finishing within a week or so. I might try the scheduled pace for the first couple weeks and see if it affects my ability to comprehend/discuss at all.

>> No.12577952

And here's a bump. Six more days to go.

>> No.12579038

Keeping this thread alive has actually been interesting, it's kind of like watching the ebb and flow of traffic on /lit/.

>> No.12579149

I'm a very unlucky or foolish man because I just happened to start my first re-read of IJ a week before seeing this thread, but I want to keep up with this too, so I'm going to be reading TPK and re-reading IJ at the same time. Wish me luck.

>> No.12579570

>>12577325
I think I am going to force myself to stick to the schedule to the end, I can see some real benefit to having more structure in my reading habits, I tend to get caught up and read long past the time I should have put the book down.

>>12579149
Just buckle down and finish IJ! Last time I read it I played hooky from work for two days so I could finish it, started it on the weekend, finished it on Tuesday afternoon, pretty much read it non-stop from cover to cover. Started out at a nice pace but come Monday morning that was gone and I was in for the long haul.

Yeah, I really could use some more structure in my reading habits.

>> No.12580667

Oh dang, 98 responses on the strawpoll.
>>12579149
If you read TPK at the minimum pace to keep up with the schedule (~80 pages per week) it should be pretty easy to keep up, even if you're reading other books at the same time. I know when I read IJ last year, I needed to take breaks to read something else every now and then.

>> No.12580689

+1. I ordered my copy last night.

>> No.12581345

el bumperino

>> No.12581935

>>12573077
poor stecyk

>> No.12582038

Thanks for making this, bros.

>> No.12583060

And an early morning bump here.
>>12582038
It's definitely had more attention than I initially expected.

>> No.12583930

Bumping.

>> No.12584582
File: 297 KB, 1021x1423, Screenshot_20190212-134856_Chrome.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12584582

Over 100 replies on the Strawpoll. Hopefully this means we'll have a healthy number of participants when discussion finally starts this Sunday.

>> No.12585156

One of the guys who's never read DFW before, can I get some insight into his writing style from other anons?

>> No.12585647

>>12537728
Agreed. I’m new fag brainlet so would appreciate something a little easier

>> No.12586055

>>12584582
thats kind of ridiculous
>>12585156
he's a maximalist, so expect to read a lot of dense prose, but its not a bore to read. he understands that a part of the reason we read is to be entertained and is able to combine a lot of ironic and absurdist humor with deep meaning. you'll probably have trouble reading it at first but after a couple hundred pages youll learn how to read his writing and youll hopefully enjoy it.

>> No.12586066

>>12585647
we're reading the fifth head of cerberus by gene wolfe over in the /sffg/ thread. if you'd like to read a long with some people

>> No.12586068

>>12585156
Maximalist, a bit neurotic or maybe clinical I guess? He overwhelms you with details and wants you to sort through them and try to pick up on the important bits. A lot of the "DFW is just a shit meme" posts you see are either people who didn't read him or people who disagree with and/or couldn't understand that style.

>> No.12586138

>>12537760
Good post

>> No.12586165

>>12586055
>thats kind of ridiculous
Right?
>>12586066
I thought about joining in, but I don't like reading digitally and money is tight enough right now that I had to weigh the 10 bucks I would spend on Fifth Head against other things it might be better off going towards.

>> No.12586188

Put a hold on it.

Would've preferred a reading group for Infinite Jest since haven't read that and it seems more interesting.

Have only read a smattering of his essays and Brief Interviews, which is worth reading. And just read his review of Markson's Wittgenstein's Mistress, which was intense, unconvincing and extremely erudite and made me felt like a brainlet, which I imagine this novel is going to do too.

>> No.12587224

>>12584582
wait are we supposed to be done with those chapters by sunday? or finishing them up through the week?

>> No.12587250

>>12586165
Can I tripfag too?

>> No.12587357

I'll bump, need to order my copy from the bookstore tomorrow

>> No.12587379
File: 74 KB, 2048x1024, DFW cringe.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12587379

>You watch TV, don't you anon.

>> No.12587463

Hello, I will read it in spanish ... (I am mexican)

>> No.12587507

>>12587224
Reading starts Sunday. I figure I'll start a discussion thread then and people can post anything they want as they're reading. We'll see how it goes from there.
>>12587250
If that would make you happy, then by all means do.
>>12587463
Bueno

>> No.12587513

>>12587463
You don't know English? Is Dave Wallace's English too complex for you? I would highly recommend reading it in English and not a translated copy. If you don't know words you can always look them up, or if you don't understand a phrase you can seek help here in this thread.

>> No.12587617

Honestly put a hold on this due to it's unfinished nature.
>is it still good?

>> No.12587676

>>12587617
You get to find out with the rest of us. Dave is Dave. I like Dave. I'll probably like this book. And you?

>> No.12587871

/lit/ is slow today with all these horrible threads.

>> No.12588449

>>12537487
just wait for infinite summer instead
https://youtu.be/x7kSDoql77I

>> No.12588476

>>12588449
No. I like this thread, thank you. The people on here are different from others.

>> No.12588694

>>12588476
If you guys are taking schedules from The Howling Fantods then you may be affiliated with them and thus also affiliated with Infinite Summer, no?

>> No.12588697

>>12587617
If you like dfw, you will enjoy this. No doubt. If you don't like him, or haven't yet read anything by him - give it a chance.The book was unfinished, and if you don't like it - don't finish it.

>> No.12588732
File: 264 KB, 484x489, 1548307470794.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12588732

>>12588694
What a leap. I didn't make the thread, don't ask me.

>> No.12588921

Fun fact: Chris Fogle is the only real protagonist.

>> No.12589308

>>12588694
I already read IJ, just found the schedule for TPK on Howling Fantods when I was looking for a group read schedule for this. No affiliation.

>> No.12589897

Bumping for visibility.

>> No.12590055

>>12589897
I'm not trying to be bitchy, but why doesn't /lit/ do more thread generals or read alongs like this? This board is for book discussion, right?

>> No.12590154

>>12585647
>>12585156
read his nonfiction for a nice breezy intro to his style

>> No.12590163

>>12588921
What about the self-insert DFW character though?

>> No.12590724

Sure Gisco, I'll read it.

>> No.12590869

>>12590163
He's just as minor a character as David Cusk.
David Cusk is actually the true David self-insert (technically so is Fogle, but in a more disguised fashion).
David Wallace, the character, really was mostly meant to be a foil to Stecyk as a person who is unnecessarily spiteful and selfish.

>> No.12591148

>>12587463
i have to agree with >>12587513, if you know enough english to participate in the discussion, go read it in english too. I'm learning spanish and reading children's books in that language.

>> No.12591828

>>12590869
Should I self-insert into my novel as a side character?

>> No.12591973

is this supposed to be funny or am i a degenerate for laughing while reading. this book feels quite comfy desu.

>> No.12592018

>>12591828
It can be a useful trick, but before one even thinks about self inserting themselves they should make sure they have removed all traces of themselves from the other characters.

>> No.12592024

>>12592018
correct

>> No.12592097

>>12592018
If only Stephen king had seen this before he wrote It

>> No.12592157

>>12592018
Every character is an aspect of Wallace in this book. Even the girls

>> No.12592177

>>12588921
I take it back Stecyk is also sort of the protagonist as he seems to exemplify the moral of the story most clearly (Fogle does this as well but in a less spelled-out and meta way).

>> No.12592236

>>12592157
Of course, he created them, this is true of all authors, you can not possibly remove every iota of yourself from the characters you create anymore than you can remove your DNA from your child, but you can raise them to be well rounded people with their own life and not just a clone of yourself

>> No.12592715

>>12592236
You’re missing the point though. Each character represents something about himself (he’s not joking in chapter 9 when he says it’s a memoir) that forms he backbone of the Novel as suicide note

>> No.12592965

>>12592715
Ahh, your post was lacking in details and in context of the conversation came across as someone arguing the obvious, this is 4channel afterall.

I know nothing about the characters or the suicide note view yet, I put off reading what other say until after I read a book.

>> No.12593518

I hope this thread will become more active when the reading actually starts.

>> No.12593594

>>12593518
It will be active and will probably comprise mostly of me ranting/explaining, and less familiar people getting mad/curious.
I expect it will convince some people not to read the book as it will likely seem like a waste of time after I cut the fat and expose the book's bones.
It will be fun and will likely make you appreciate the book in a way you hadn't before.
I'm the original TPK "novel-as-suicide-note" theorist/analyst btw.

>> No.12593729

>>12593594
You make me question being a part of this group read. You come across more interested in your own views of the book than people reading it and even admit your being a part of this will discourage some from reading it. Perhaps hold off until we finish to go into it.

>> No.12593747

>>12593729
I'll be considerate in regards to "spoilers".
But I will not hesitate to correct people when they misunderstand something that I view as crucial to understanding the whole.
I will point out things to look out for and whatnot.

>> No.12595174

>>12593747
My issue is not so much a worry of spoilers, but that you say your participation will cause people not to read it, and that what I have read of your posts in other DFW threads were preaching and not discussion, these go against the purpose of this thread, to get people to read and discuss the book. You may very well be able to make people appreciate the book in a way hadn't before, but you do not sound like you are going to give anyone in this thread a chance to appreciate any way but your way.

I think it would be more interesting if you were to wait until we are done and post a link to your thesis so a read and discussion of it could be done.

>> No.12595552

>>12595174
Oh please
Is there really any harm in him posting some things to think about as we go along?
There'll be plenty of other people to discuss with.
And you can filter him if it really bothers you.

>> No.12595647

>>12595552
>Is there really any harm in him posting some things to think about as we go along?
I directly stated what my issues were, that was not one of them.

>> No.12596053

>>12595647
I haven't read it yet. I'll discuss it with you. :3

>> No.12596925

>>12595174
I sympathize with what you're saying, but the truth is most people won't read the book just because of how dense it is in certain parts.
The way I see it, I can provide a roadmap for those with actual interest, incentive to keep going, but for those who are only slightly invested, I have a feeling they will be inclined to give up as soon as they realize how much is really going on behind the scenes (it's just more work for them).

>> No.12596952

>>12596925
I can't wait! \( ^ W ^)/

>> No.12598055

And a valentine's day bump here.

>> No.12598183

>>12596925
This is the exact opposite of what you said in your initial post and if you said this in the first place I would never have responded or at most said that in the discussions I have had regarding literature were one person knew the material better than the rest, the most useful and interesting ones were those were that person just asked the questions they felt the group should be asking and avoided making statements.

>> No.12598868

the tripfags really came out of the woodwork for this one. here's a bump

>> No.12598919

>>12598868
Thanks for the bump desu <3

>> No.12598988

>>12598868
You'll not be seeing this trip outside of these specific threads. I prefer anonymity but I figured it might be good to use one for organizational purposes.
Bumps are appreciated though.

>> No.12599531

Page 7 bumping

>> No.12600589

Bump

>> No.12600654

Has anyone actually finished reading Infinite Jest? It's almost impossible for me with my short millenial attention span.

>> No.12600659

>>12600654
Yeah it's really not that bad man

>> No.12600708

>>12600654
Read it a few times now, gets better each time.

>> No.12601154

>>12600654
yup, it was great. i took it 10 pages at a time. you just gotta keep at it

>> No.12601181

How are we going to discuss individual sections without criss-crossing?

I marathoned the first chapter last week but it itself deserves at least 70 posts to properly pick apart.

>> No.12601201

>>12601181
This is not really about attaining absolute knowledge of the book, just reading it and discussing anything the you feel like discussing. So I guess we are not going to 'properly' pick it apart, just have some topical diner conversation.

>> No.12601851

Bump

>> No.12601982

>>12537728
agreed

>> No.12602006
File: 40 KB, 650x366, reggie-ledoux-tattoos.jpg?quality=100&amp;w=650.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12602006

>yuh he came around here....saying sumthin bout a pale kang

>> No.12602225

>>12602006
Season 1 of True Detective is honestly some of the most enjoyable television I've seen. 2 was disappointing, but I'm looking forward to watching season 3 once life slows down a bit and I have more free time.

>> No.12602360

is there a term for the pages long paragraph of inner monologue done in chapter 2? American Psycho does the same thing.

>> No.12604338

Page 10 bump

>> No.12604389

>>12602360
>paragraph

>> No.12604891

>>12600654
As a fellow stimulus-overloaded zoomer, it was actually perfect for me because dfw writes about these exact issues, and makes sure that you have to some work to experience the pleasure in the book (that's what the footnotes are for) which is what we really should be doing with everything. He talks about some of this in interviews, and how it relates to entertainment vs art.

>> No.12604943

>>12600654
not to be a a humble brag faggot but what makes you go slow with the book? I read it only once and I was pretty young at the time so probably I missed a lot but I tend to think of his writing as really sing-song-y that you can really find easy flow states with. My memory might be wrong but I remember flying through like 50 pages at a time just because of how its paced.

>> No.12604995

>>12604943
I flew through most, but the Steeply/Marathe plot dragged at times and often killed the flow and some of the foot notes as well.

>> No.12605446

>>12558924
gross.
>>12560594
god bless.
>>12562899
Kek blesses this.
>>12570714
Television

>> No.12605457

>>12572209
Maybe its a coping mechanism but I receive alot of humor. Everyone hating and trying to kill Leonard Stecyk, for instance.

>> No.12605462

>>12600708
favorite section, anon?

>> No.12605827

>>12605446
Do you just go into threads and rate peoples posts with no discernable scale and or additive (preferable nonpejorative) content to the conversation? Huge faggot.

>> No.12606326

>>12605827
fuck off tripfag cunt, no one cares about your username you fake prick

>> No.12606358

>>12605462
Are you able to pick out a section as a favorite like that? I can't. The foreign medical attache is what hooked me, Steeply and Marathe became the most interesting part, eschaton was one of the most vividly written things I have read, I have endless empathy for Poor Tony, the filmography footnote and all its little tie ins was amazing, I could just go one for days here, I never know where to begin. I am really looking forward to my next reading of it, this time I am going to take extensive notes and really dissect the book, can't wait, likely sometime come summer.

>>12606326
I love all you people that are hung up on trips, especially since they are slowly gaining popularity and you know it.

>> No.12606625

>>12606358
Tripfagging is exclusively okay to help prove identity to maintain order and deliver. Outside of that you can fuck off back to whatever prima donna popularity fest you came from. Ron can use his to Shepherd the reading group and DFA can use his specifically when someone asks for "the guy who wrote his thesis on DFW". Otherwise get stuffed.

>> No.12607096

Reading DFW in 2019 is such an interesting thing compared to reading DFW when his books were published. The internet has made his books a lot easier to understand. There's significantly less work and prior knowledge required to know what the hell he's talking about in certain dense sections. I don't know if he would like this or not, but it make the books seem significantly less clever and up their own ass. DFW in 2000 seems like a blowhard trying to show how smart he is, whereas DFW in 2019 seems like a guy who likes to google things.

>> No.12607656

>>12607096
I do not think DFW would mind people using the internet as a tool to research references and the like, but I doubt he would be a fan of people using it and these all encompassing guides to explain books to them. Personally I do not find any real prior knowledge needed to be able to understand the book and references to culture rarely come across as clever to me. I think part of the reason he tweaked reality is to keep it from becoming dependent on cultural references which not everyone will know and to keep the book self contained.

>> No.12608582

Still time to get a copy and join in!

>> No.12609441

How many days now? Holding off

>> No.12609526

>>12537497
Late DFW is Bernhardian. Darkly mimetic of obsessive compulsion

>> No.12609532

>>12609526
cont'd
Whereas DFW's works before Oblivion/Pale King are essentially optimistic

>> No.12609837

>>12607656
This is an important point about his books being self contained that I have never considered. Some of the things in IJ feel dated, but none of them reference very specific pop culture things and that allows them to be significantly less annoying to read today. I imagine other things written at the time must not stand up in quite the same way.

>> No.12609892

>>12609837
Curious as to what you find dated?

From what I can remember he did a great job of removing anything that could date it to an era, the exception possibly being subsidized time, but he stuck with companies with a history well beyond the 90s and not knowing those companies would have no real effect on the story.

I am curious as to how he picked those companies, I kind of enjoy thinking that Depends wrote him a check.

>> No.12609916

>>12609892
>Curious as to what you find dated?

all of his whining about tv. who gives a shit about tv in the 21st century?

>> No.12609938

I'm on page 66 now. The last chapter I read had some of DFWs grim situations/"humor"/revenge I enjoyed so much from IJ. He is really good at creating characters and situations and thoughts. Damn. I'll have to read broom of the system after this. I had forgotten how much I like his writing and why. The next chapter is Author's Forward, on page 66 lol. My wife is playing music right now that bitch, but I'll be back to it soon. Scrappy hobo trailer park girl best character so far, hope there is a lot more of her.

>> No.12610018

>>12609916
Does Infinite Jest even mention TV? It has been a good number of years since I have read it but I can not recall TV or television being used, film, the entertainment, video and what ever it was his version of the VCR was, but no TV.

>> No.12610052

>>12610018
One of the characters' fathers develops schizophrenia tied to the TV show MASH. I think they watch TV at ennet house but I could be wrong.

>> No.12610251

Tomorrow is the day.
I read the first two pages, please don't hurt me

>> No.12610297

>>12610052
I have a vague memory about TV being watched in the background at Ennet House, forgot all about MASH. Think that anon is projecting.

>>1261025
Just about to dig into it myself.

>> No.12610513

>>12609938
>Scrappy hobo trailer park girl best character so far
I kinda want an entire novel just about her, idk if the writing style would become irritating eventually though.

>> No.12610545

>>12609892
When the dad is raping the retarded daughter he puts a mask on her that is some starlet from the period

>> No.12610608

>>12610545
Raquel Welch was a starlet of the 60s and 70s.

>> No.12610662
File: 185 KB, 1440x1920, 1550335817989.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12610662

bump for interest and approval

I have three days off from my slave job starting tomorrow. It's payday too so I'm going to my favorite restaurant for breakfast. I'm excited to begin this book as I wait for my meal.

>> No.12610665

>>12610297
I think the girl that smokes pot at the beginning might watch TV all day too now that I'm trying to remember, though I can't remember who she was
>>12610513
Does she show back up? I read another 60 pages. I like the different perspectives through the video interviews and the depiction of the new guy versus long-time coworkers on break. Really enjoying this book. Very "real"

>> No.12611027

>>12610665
>Does she show back up?
I hope so, haven't read past ch 10

>> No.12611377

Here's a torrent if someone needs a last minute copy
magnet:?xt=urn:btih:5edbc7afc7e5488422a8957b525ad9529fdef5de&dn=The+Pale+King+-+David+Foster+Wallace.mobi&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.leechers-paradise.org%3A6969&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Fzer0day.ch%3A1337&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Fopen.demonii.com%3A1337&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.coppersurfer.tk%3A6969&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Fexodus.desync.com%3A6969

>> No.12611485

>>12610662
Based anime girl bump. I'm off from my wagie job tomorrow, I'm going out to breakfast after my hangover just on your rec annon then I'm going to read and enjoy like the wind. I'm hoping to stop at a local joint but if I'm too late I'm go to a Denny's.

>>12611377
Based but didn't check to see if it was a good non AIDS virus copy so be careful but still based


Very HAPPY to be a part of a book club frens, looking forward to it!

>> No.12611501

>>12609938
Yes, there is...prepare for it, I won't go on to spoil anything else

>> No.12612633
File: 10 KB, 645x773, 1537737986279.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12612633

>Quartz and chert and schist and chondrite iron scabs in granite. Very old land. Look around you. The horizon trembling, shapeless. We are all of us brothers.

>> No.12612698
File: 42 KB, 542x467, ri[pped blumpf.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12612698

>tfw read the first page yesterday and no one could stop me

>> No.12612892

>>12612633
That start is sweet. The next bit on the plane feels a bit like the 'where's my dope?' guy from the start of IJ but with a slightly more appealing balance of the tedious and the funny. The people waiting on the tarmac while claw-lady gets her private ride is pretty vivid too.

>> No.12613119

>>12612633
I loved the imagery on that first page. Took a second for me to realize that the first half of that page was one sentence and I was definitely reading DFW.
>>12612892
Thought it was interesting how that section has Sylvanshine going through thought processes anyone who deals with a lot of stress can relate to and has you feeling a sort of attachment to him, before giving you a couple paragraphs as the plane is landing basically saying "Cold reads of people are easy and will make them respect you, haha gotcha"
Though in all honesty, as someone trying to balance work, personal life, and studying for a certification to take me in a different direction career-wise, I really did feel like I could see a weird reflection of myself in Sylvanshine.
>>12573077
Good meme.

>> No.12614097
File: 317 KB, 1028x1393, Screenshot_20190217-130020_Chrome.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12614097

123 responses on the strawpoll now. Once people have had a couple days to get into it, it would be awesome if we see a big explosion of discussion on here.
Haven't had a chance to read anything after Leonard Stecyk's bit yet, but I'm looking forward to digging in further.

>> No.12614196
File: 16 KB, 255x246, 1515788137015.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12614196

>chapter is 100 pages long in first person

>> No.12614206

>>12614196
It's really good though

>> No.12614268

>>12614206
Im just going to get food and go shopping soon and when I checked I was like jesus christ. So far so good tho.

>> No.12614511

I have a question for my fellow readers: On page 22 of my edition, a character named Bussy is mentioned. It's said his wife arrives at an office Christmas party in an overcoat and a nightgown, then tells some exec that her husband doesn't like the man. What is this story about, sorry if I am dense. Why is she in the nightgown? Is she drunk and shittalking? Is she trying to cheat on her husband with the guy and being coy with the "My husband says you could be a really evil man if you had the balls"? Does this come up later in the story and get resolved? Sorry if this is a simple thing I am missing, but it is sitting in the back of my head and pestering me because I do not understand what exactly happened or why it is important.

>> No.12614715

>>12614511
She's drunk and embarrassing her husband by running her dumb mouth about his impotent bitchings

>> No.12614832

So do we start talking about the first 9 chapters today, or tomorrow?

>> No.12614916

>>12612892
>>12613119
I think the second chapter is similar to the first in that it attempts to prepare the reader for the kind of themes and ideas the rest of the book will focus on.

Chapter 1 presents a natural world in which everything is connected or inter-linked, and where everything is, despite the appearance of tranquillity, at business all the time. There is an obvious attempt to link the natural world with human society by the use of adjectives, e.g. "ale-coloured sunshine", "electric sounds of insects". In terms of perspective it practically mirrors the second chapter, as it begins from high above, overlooking detail in favour of the wider scope, then gradually focuses on the more detailed aspects of what exactly comprises this natural scene, the smallest image reached being that of insects going about their obscure business (similar, in a way, to Lynch's Blue Velvet where a depiction of a suburban area eventually ends up focusing on the innumerable insects beneath the soil of each home).

Chapter 2 is most interesting stylistically, as it presents us with a great deal of information, alternating between focused analysis of perceived phenomena (e.g. the fat lady's nuts, the pilot's pimples), to intrusive thoughts about tax codes that no reader can be expected to understand, to pieces of more general observation like the way traffic appears to be calm and peaceful from a thousand feet but suddenly busy and aggressive the more one descends towards it. Just as the camera in Ch.1 zooms in to penetrate the image of natural slowness and tranquillity suggested by words like rust, the mother's hand simile etc and reveals the electric insects all hurrying around, so too does Ch. 2 zoom in and reveal the complexity of e.g. the "complexely painted cement expanse" of the runway, or the way each vehicle observes was constructed from numerous different other parts they themselves each manufactured separately etc. The difficulty introduced here is how a self-conscious individual can be confronted with an overwhelming amount of data and not be overwhelmed (like the way the regional IRS office was overwhelmed and started stuffing paper in ventilation shafts etc)

>> No.12614959

>>12614511
Not sure if it'll come up again but I think it's partly to show that the proposed judge of what kind of person makes a "great accountant" is himself a slave to his mentally ill wife who forces him to bring her Chinese takeout and who wears cheap clothing despite presumably raking in a ton of cash.

>> No.12614974
File: 157 KB, 638x501, 1549272066982.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12614974

>this straight laced responsible dad who's kid's a druggie fuck up and then his wife leaves him for a lesbian and he has to fund their useless book shop
>he dies in an accident literally being dragged highspeed to his death by the very mass transit system of the city he works for
>in a shower of cheap consumerist gifts and herds of self-interested shoppers
>a hispanic man is left in shock holding the remnants of the man's very expensive shoe barely able to fill out hospital forms
Uh guys is this some kind of metaphor for something

>> No.12615027

>>12614715
This doesn't seem to be correct. I missed out on the fact that this is the same woman who is a shut in as the other poster mentioned, this is why she was in the nightgown.

>>12614959
This makes a lot more sense to me in the context of the story so far. It really is interesting that someone so cool and collected in the workplace goes home and bitches to his shut in wife about his job that he seems to be comfortable with so much that she stops being a shut in for a minute and shows up to shittalk him. She must have done it knowing it would get him fired, and this would hopefully cause him to stop complaining so much and ruining her shutinness. That's how I'm reading it anyhow, after looking at again after considering your post. Thanks for the help anon.

>> No.12615046

Page 18, Sylvanshine waits to deboard the plane with a bunch of Midwestern businessmen, has a Random Fact Acquisition.

>"Two eventual suicides on this plane, one forever classed as an accident."

Made me think of Neal from Good Old Neon, who's some kind of marketing guy in Illinois. Thoughts?

>> No.12615479

>>12614974
no spoilers. the reading is up to chapter 9, I haven't seen that bit yet

>> No.12615490

>>12614974
oh god look at wallace pouring on the sentimental bullshit, supreme hack

>> No.12615534

>>12615479
>6 fucking weeks
I like OPs intentions but you guys who are sticking to this schedule are bound to get fucked. For instance you don't even understand my reference here about how now that this element is understood every anon has to complete the reading quicker than each other anon lest they be spoilered first. Very Wallacesque ;^)

>> No.12615628

>>12615534
kill yourself

>> No.12615643

>>12615046
Interesting, hadn't linked those stories.

>> No.12615727

>>12615628
wash your dick bucko I'm gonna have this done before tuesday I wanna re-read TCoL49 and GR

>> No.12615756
File: 427 KB, 1080x1424, tpk.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12615756

About to start m8s

>> No.12615814

>>12615479
>>12615534
I figure there'll be a good amount of people finishing in a week or two, but at the same time due to personal schedules, attention spans, or any other number of factors, that ~80 pages a week might be all some people can manage, though I kind of doubt that'll be the case generally speaking.
However, if possible I want discussion to reflect the reading schedule, rather than your personal position in the book. That way people who want to or have to stick to the minimum reading are on the same "page" as everyone else in terms of what's being talked about.
I know and accept there'll be spoilers, and I would hope everyone else taking part in this does as well, but if people are more focused on one section of the book at a time it'll make for better discussion of that section.

>> No.12615922

>>12615534
>>12615814
Why and the fuck is there a schedule if it is not followed.

>> No.12615946

>>12615922
And how would you like to enforce that on an anonymous imageboard?
It's a guideline, and like I said, I'd like for discussion to reflect the schedule as posted, but in the end all that matters is that people are actually reading the book and talking about it with other people that read the book.
Following a fixed schedule is far less important than sharing personal thoughts on the work being read.

>> No.12615994

exploding mirrors of multileveled awareness
This is a really fantastic book. Its a real tragedy he killed himself this is miles away better than IJ so far. Gonna have to get broom of the system for sure.

>> No.12616017

>>12615946
>And how would you like to enforce that on an anonymous imageboard?
move discussion to discord? :thinking:

>> No.12616018

>>12616017
Discord is cancer.

>> No.12616023

>>12615994
>broom of the system
Don't expect too much.

>> No.12616049

>>12616017
self-defenstrate from this website

>> No.12616052

My audiobook wont download.

>> No.12616068

>>12616017
See
>>12560594

I guess a better question would by why you think it's necessary to enforce a rigidly structured discussion, when people can just talk freely about the book right on /lit/? This isn't an academic or professional forum, we're just here for the love of reading.

That's not a rhetorical question or meant to belittle your point of view, I'd genuinely like to hear your reasoning on why it would be better to hold discussion on a private discord than a public forum.

>> No.12616080

>>12615946
I'm not saying you can enforce it, I'm saying we should agree to tell the "Dude I finished the book in 2 hours I'm so fucking smart" crowd to get fucked.

>>12616017
Bad Idea and not me

>>12616068
I think there is not point to having a scheduled and structured readthrough of a book if we are not going to at least pretend to stick to the schedule or have some sort of structure. The desired structure is the only reason I haven't called you a dumb ass for tripfagging.

>> No.12616102

>>12616080
snape kills dumbledore faggot jesus christ grow up and read the book

>> No.12616113

>>12616102
It's not an issue of spoilers you strawmanning retarded faggot go fuck yourself I'm out. Fucking 2019 /lit/

>> No.12616125

>>12616113
>4chan 2019
goodbye reddit

>> No.12616148
File: 269 KB, 1303x1920, Psyché.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
12616148

This is weird. I just bought this book last night because I wanted to read something "fiction, written in English, from the past 20 years."

The reason I chose the pale king is that it has a king of clubs on the cover. The king of clubs is presently significant to me because I used it this valentine's day to apportion MDMA for my seasonal anti-depressant dose.

I choose to say this in spite of this board's zeitgeist, "loldrugs."

>> No.12616154

>>12616148
You're right anon I should take acid tonight

>> No.12616168

>>12616154
take acid during a hot day, in nature, and walk back into the city.

>> No.12616186

>>12616168
cities fucking sucks ass. Times Square tripping balls at 2am seeing it for the first time was fun but otherwise count me out. Although I would maybe go back to the playstation to see the disco biscuits

>> No.12616195

>>12616125
I was here before the end of the Maya calendar and don't have a reddit account dickhead.

>> No.12616203

>>12616186
Settle your yolks, you hateful cliche

>> No.12616225

>>12616203
t. domesticated bugman who has tripped a whole three times

>> No.12616490

Is the attack by the sixth graders on Lenord a sexual one?

>> No.12617166

NEW THREAD
>>12617163