Infinite jest to buy or not to buy

[Ra Ra No.19801532]

Infinite jest one of lit’s all time favourites but is it good? Should i buy it? What is the consensus?

[Anonymous No.19802021]

>>19801532
Never buy anything you can easily find online for free

[Anonymous No.19802198]

>Infinite jest one of lit’s all time favourites
>What is the consensus?
are you retarded?
some love it, some hate it, some just like it.
it's entertaining, if you like long and intricate novels, read the first few pages in amazon and if you like the style buy it.

>>19802021
if there is one book that is absolutely pain to read digitally, that book is infinite jest.

[Anonymous No.19802368]

>>19802198
Lol looking up the endnotes for a thousand page document on a tablet

[Anonymous No.19802380]

>>19801532
Are you American/Canadian? If so, then yes, buy it.
If not, don't bother. There's plenty more worthwhile literature.

[Anonymous No.19802386]

You'll never know for sure until you read it. Buy it or pirate it.

[Anonymous No.19802392]

200 pages and I hate it so far. I thought the Pale King was good though so I'm not sure what my problem is with this book.

[Anonymous No.19802396]

>>19802368
I have a physical copy but this is kind of a crappy point. It's easier to read digitally because you can click back and forth to the footnotes really easily. It's less effort than turning pages. I have the paperback from OPs image and the footnotes are all in the back.

[Anonymous No.19802427]

Most libraries should have a copy

[Anonymous No.19802430]

>>19802392
takes 300~400 pages to get really good.
if you makde it through 200, i'd push it to 400 to make sure.
For me to go from page 400 to the end took me like 1/3 of the time it took me to go from 0 to 400.

>>19802396
>the footnotes are all in the back.
yes, the famous end notes.

[Anonymous No.19802467]

>>19802430
Everytime someone tells me a page number for when the book gets good it gets higher and higher. Before I started it I was told it got good 100 pages in, then 200. Now I'm being told I have to read 300-400 pages before it really gets good. By the time I'm there the book'll get good 700 pages in, and when I've finished it I'll be told it's only really good on a second reading.

[Anonymous No.19802481]

>>19802467
It definitely gets better on a second reading. I hated the first 1/3 or so the first time but now it's got some of my favorite chapters, like Erdedy sperging out because his weed dealer is late.

[Anonymous No.19802509]

Infinite Jest is a comfy relic of the post-Internet, pre-9/11 era of American culture. It’s quite funny, is filled with insight and has an astounding level of world building.

If you read it expecting a ground breaking work of maximalist fiction, you will be disappointed.

[Anonymous No.19802539]

read this instead

[Anonymous No.19802966]

>>19801532
Does anyone else think that the book's difficulty declines substantially after the first 200 pages?

The first 200 are sort of like a literary obstacle course. Lotta dense endnotes, many dense descriptions within the text itself.

But past that it settles into an easier groove (generally speaking), especially in some of the longer portions dedicated to exploring the characters in Ennet House. Some of that was actually real breezy imo.

[Anonymous No.19803433]

>>19802430
I read the description of Hal in the first chapter, which is isomorphic with DFWs life, and new that it would be a great book.

[Anonymous No.19803436]

>>19802021
gay

[Anonymous No.19803459]

>>19802467
That’s the meme, mate. The ‘jest’ if you will

[Anonymous No.19803463]

>>19801532
Sure. Just don't get this edition if your hands get sweaty.

[Anonymous No.19803489]

>>19801532
Is Infinite Jest /lit/s answer to In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

[Anonymous No.19803507]

Should I watch The End of the Tour if the only David I've read is Good Old Neon and some of his articles?

I have IJ but I haven't felt like reading much lately and haven't started it. Unless reading 20 or so random pages last time I took methy ecstasy pills and acid counts.

[Anonymous No.19803563]

>>19803489
Yes.

[Anonymous No.19803583]

>>19802198
So what? People say the same thing about Call of the Crocodile and Ulysses. Some like IJ. Some don’t. It being a “le epic meme book XD” shouldn’t affect your personal taste. People can like whatever they want.

[Anonymous No.19803594]

>>19803583
/thread

Well said.

[Anonymous No.19803604]

>>19803583
Pretty much this.
>>19803507
You need to read it all. Not the kind of book meant to just read 20 pages of.

[Anonymous No.19803620]

>>19802430
>takes 300~400 pages to get really good.
Ah, the One Piece of Literature

[Anonymous No.19803869]

>>19802467
The book actually gets good only when you finish it and realize half the actually "entertaining" just happened outside your peripheral vision, and that you just spent 1000+ pages reading deeply emotional pages about human beings while being baited with a plot you'll never read. That's when you close the book and think: shit, I've just been jested. And then you want to read it from the start to know more about both the "entertaining" plot and the characters. And that's why it's infinite.

[Anonymous No.19803871]

>>19803869
rare jeff spotted

[Anonymous No.19804744]

>>19803489
It took me so many years to listen to ITAOTS because of its meme status. Turns out if 4chan spergs endlessly shitpost about something there's a good chance it's actually pretty good.

[Anonymous No.19804932]

>>19804744
Yea. I came to the same conclusion after reading Call of the Crocodile. It was amazing. Halfway through Infinite Jest I’m realizing the same thing applies with this book. It’s great. 4chan is literally the best way to tell if something is good or not.

[Anonymous No.19804971]

>>19804932
Least surprising conclusion ever

[Anonymous No.19805866]

>>19802198
How so?

I’ve been googling and seems like it’s doable on an ebook reader.

Genuinely curious whats the best approach.
English is not my first language and looking up words with an e-reader is useful for me.

[Anonymous No.19805872]

I got a new looking edition from a thrift store for $1 and still kind of regret it.

[Anonymous No.19805965]

>>19803507
It is a good film if you like the actors. Made me cry. Fun portrayal after seeing all his interviews.
>>19803869
Correct. I threw the book across the room when I finished it in anger. It is my favorite book.
>>19805866
Reading it on an e reader circumvents the entire point of having the end notes.

[Anonymous No.19806083]

>>19805965
Ok. I ordered the sweaty palm version since it was on sale.
Hope I didn’t get meme’d into buying it.

[Anonymous No.19806120]

>>19806083
You were, but when you finally get around to finishing it this time three years from now you’ll thank me.

[Anonymous No.19806223]

>>19806083
I mean, it is a massive meme with a reputation that hugely precedes it,
But I thought it was a good book. Didn't change my life or impact me like some people i know, but it was good.

[Anonymous No.19806226]

>>19806223
>>19806083
P.S. I nearly gave up around page 400, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

[Anonymous No.19806631]

>>19806083
>Hope I didn’t get meme’d into buying it.
if you are THIS insecure about buying a book you already got filtered, I already KNOW you will read 10 pages, hate it, and come here posting on ALL CAPS saying it's a meme and you fell for it

[Anonymous No.19806804]

>>19806631
I was referring to buying the actual book instead of using my iPad.

[Anonymous No.19806936]

>>19806223
Thanks.
See you in 3 years

[Anonymous No.19808707]

>>19803489
no, it's /lit/'s answer to P4K, ITAOTS is actually good