Throwing Down the Infinite Gauntlet

I remember flipping through a copy of David Foster Wallace's book, Infinite Jest, at the Ann Arbor Borders (which is my favorite Borders of all time, not only because it is the original Borders, but because they allowed you to bring your dog--I didn't have a dog at the time, but the fact that they kept dog biscuits behind the information booth desk makes it s'awesome) a few years after graduation. I was living in Ann Arbor (or A-squared or Tree Town as the locals liked to call it) on a lark, working on a novel that took place in a Midwestern town. 

The reviews for the novel were mixed, some people were ecstatic and promoted Wallace as The Voice of Our Generation. Others, not so much. Just looking at the size of the book was daunting. I mean, it's a thousand pages! 

I asked my friend John, reader of books and trusted critic, whether he read it and he said, "Well, no. It's an investment of a huge amount of time and I'm afraid that the book's not going to be that great and then the joke's on me. And I will NOT be made a FOOL of!"

There's a website that was launched a few weeks ago at www.infinitesummer.org. Its call to arms is:

You've been meaning to do it for over a decade. Now join endurance bibliophiles from around the web as we tackle and comment upon David Foster Wallace's masterwork, June 21st to September 22nd.

A thousand pages ÷ 93 days = 75 pages a week. No sweat.

I don't know if I've been meaning to do it for a decade, and I'm not one to usually follow the bandwagon, but it seems like a good time to read the book. 

Plans for the summer:

1. Learn Spanish

2. Read Infinite Jest