The point is, if infinite jest really is the best novel theyve ever read, thats a problem. The beloved 1100page novel is david foster wallaces magnum opus and one of the. The library consists of 26 book categories with new releases and audiobook titles. Hal incandenza, who is narrating, is in the admissions office of the university of arizona along with his uncle charles. I cant recommend the purchase of the what at first appears to be the amazing ive heard good things about the audio. Mar 12, 2014 this news is a bummer for audiobook fans like me whove suggested that audiobooks present just as rich an experience if not richer than reading in print. When you buy the audio edition of ij, you get the novel sans footnotes. Underline words you want to look up later or, if you are reading the e book, highlight words not in the kindle or ios dictionary, star your favorite sentences, make lists of characters, etc. Beyond the ease with which one can lookup footnotes, consider the following. This is not something you finish and then say, well that was a really great book, and then move on with your life. The way the footnotes were handled in infinite jest was that they werent. The best way i can think of to show my appreciations to these men and. Infinite jest is his second, and last, finished novel.
A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and. The fact has been discussed that the type of book you are listening to can determine how well you absorb the words. The book of koli is a dystopian postapocalyptic adventure about a young man named koli who lives in a small village on the british isles in the distant future. Infinite jest is both sad, depressed and funny and even 25 years after it was published in 1994 remains relevant to the modern age. Set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup family to come along in recent fiction, infinite jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives. When the book was first published in 1996, the audio version wasnt available and to be honest, i was having too much fun in the 90s to be reading. If infinite jest had been written by the cia other titles available. Infinite jest a gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup family to. There are those days, after all, that our poor eyes are simply too strained to take in that bedside copy of infinite jest youve been meaning to finish. If infinite jest had been written by the cia other titles available, it couldnt be more placed in your face irregardless of merit. Infinite jest ebook written by david foster wallace. Christopher lydon interviews david foster wallace on february 21st, 1996, three weeks after the publication of infinite jest. I remembered seeing this author in interviews and wanting to dive in this book.
That being said i tried a dance with dragons in audio format and kept getting lost. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup family to come along in recent fiction, infinite jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it. Sophia demblings latest book is the introverts way. The library consists of 26 book categories with new releases and audiobook titles spread evenly throughout. Set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup family to come along in recent fiction, infinite jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our. But they have not been widely used with average, avid, or gifted readers. Infinite jest infinite jest audiobook, by david foster wallace. Genetic engineering has caused earths flora and fauna to evolve into new deadly forms and most of humanity has reverted to preindustrial levels of technology.
Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Infinite jest audiobook david foster wallace audible. And by the way, listening to audiobooks most definitely counts as reading. This book genuinely redefines the boundaries of what a novel can do. Apr 12, 2012 why i cannot recommend the infinite jest audio book infinite jest i guess this is a first for me and ill get straight to the point. Benefits of audiobooks for all readers reading rockets. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most.
In fact, its take on the very nature of entertainment itself perhaps foresaw. Infinite jest might be the most polarizing novel ive ever read. What should i read after infinite jest if i loved it. Steven asin infinite jest is the perfect book for the kindle paperwhite. Word count does not imply quality, gravity, or beauty. Sep 10, 2016 its been a bit of a journey on this one. We are always adding new titles daily and hopefully we will have this title soon. While reading a book you have flexibility you choose the place, you choose pace of reading, you choose h. Jan 17, 2016 with infinite jest, at 1079 pages long, give it at least 107 pages before ditching it. Infinite jest audiobook by david foster wallace 9781609418120. This is one of those great books that is just too smart for me. Set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup family to c.
Infinite jest 2009 read online free book by david foster. The audible library features over 425,000 titles and audio versions of books. While reading a book you have flexibility you choose the place. Infinite jest is a clear example of how humans add to the confusion of the world. With more than 1,700 titles, penguin classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. There are those days, after all, that our poor eyes are simply too strained to take in. A high speed internet connection, such as dsl, cable or fiber optic is recommended. At the end of the day, i still crave a compelling story that hooks my heart as well as my brain. A typical audiobook is about 1012 hours in length roughly 300400 megabytes. Feb 15, 2016 today, i turned the last page of infinite jest, around a week late for my deadline. Listen to infinite jest by david foster wallace at. Infinite jest central arkansas library system overdrive. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in infinite jest, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Later, the audiobook publishing company hired the narrator back to just read the footnotes, which you need to buy as a separate title. Infinite jest by david foster wallace little, brown and company. Listen to infinite jest audiobook by david foster wallace, narrated by sean pratt. Infinite jest by david foster wallace hachette book group. My copy of the book is sawn in three, abused, with smudges of food across its pages, from when i couldnt stop. A high speed internet connection, such as dsl, cable or fiber optic is recommended for fast downloading. Reading december 22, 2014 books, reading jamie todd rubin t hey say that with age comes wisdom, and that part of wisdom is the ability to allow your opinions to be changed with changing facts, arguments, or the natural flow of time. Infinite jest for example, became eyebleedingly dull, which for that unduly praised breeze block, is saying something. But i dont think this study is the last word in the audiobook comprehension debate. Im not saying that the book must have infinite mass, im just asking why are you so sure that the said magic is used to reduce the book mass, rather than making the book liftable. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. Are you trying to kill time productively yes audio books are the way to go. Hal incandenza, who is narrating, is in the admissions office of the university of.
Infinite jest audiobook by david foster wallace, read by. Infinite jest a gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup family to come along in recent fiction, infinite jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives. If i am interested in a book on audio, that book had better be worth the time investment for the unabridged version. At this time it does not look like we have a release date for this particular audio book. Sophia also is author of the yankee chicks survival guide. Elegant complexity is the first critical work to provide detailed and thorough commentary on each of the 192 sections of david foster wallaces masterful infinite jest. An ebook is a digital representation of a printed book. Books that are difficult sometimes require you to go back and read other words to tie them together, something you cant really do with an audiobook. Are reading books and listening to audiobooks the same.
Poehlers book especially was infinitely better as an audiobook. The answer to this question is based on a variety of factors and depends primarily on your internet providers speed. Audiobooks are a great alternative for those of us who spend the workday with our eyes glued to a computer screen. This article lists the benefits of audiobooks for all students. The poet x is a remarkable young adult novelinverse that only gets better in audiobook. Voiceoverxtra the four voices of nonfiction narration. Audiobooks have traditionally been used with secondlanguage learners, learningdisabled students, and struggling readers or nonreaders. In a manner both reminiscent and imitative of thomas pynchons gravitys rainbow 1973, wallace traces the sometimes connected fortunes of two dozen or so addicted and obsessed souls variously involved with. This year is almost over and ive read my fair amount of titles, but infinite jest is what i. In fact, its take on the very nature of entertainment itself perhaps foresaw the age of vanity and social media, as seen through the prisms of tinder, facebook, twitter and instagram. Endnotes, the first one, infinite jest according to audible released 042012 that is 56 hrs 19 mins.
Hal incandenza, a tennis prodigy and drug user as a result of. What its like to record the audiobook version of infinite. Book series here include lengths over 300 volumes to just 3 volumes not counting the amount of pages. No other commentary on infinite jest recognizes that wallace clearly divided the book into 28 chapters that are thematically unified. The footnotes were not incorporated into the main text at all. In the end, we decided the audiobook would flow best by having the endnotes indicated by. I know that infinite jest isnt about drugs to reduce it to that would be insulting but nevertheless, i read these books around the same time, and found they both have really interesting. Nov 27, 2017 believe it or not, listening to a book can be even more exciting than reading it in print. Apr 05, 2016 notable titles include a death in the family by james agee, infinite jest by david foster wallace, elvis in the morning by william f. An ambitious and frequently brilliant fictional exploration of the pursuit of pleasure and its ramifying consequences, by the antic author of girl with curious hair 1989, etc. These are the endnotes to david foster wallaces infinite jest, a gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america. Not all ebooks are downloadable though many are, some can only be viewed within a browser, web app or webpage.
Currently, sean coaches performers on audiobook narration technique. I need my audiobooks to be small to medium not large tomes that require a lot of memorization and callback from previous editions. As a bookworm approaching 50, that is a large pool in which this tome dominates. Jun 26, 2018 11 new books that are even better as audiobooks. Set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and. Its an astonishing work, dense and darkly brilliant. This book is one of the best books i have ever read in my life. Get this book free when you sign up for a 30day trial. What is the difference between ebooks, audiobooks and.
Poehlers book especially was infinitely better as an. Dec 08, 2016 again, you pointed out that a book of infinitie pages is magical already, so why are you insisting that the book cant have infinitie mass and be magical. Infinite jest by david foster wallace booksamillion. Audible tops the ranks as one of the densest audiobook libraries on the market. The book was edited by publisher little, brown and companys michael pietsch, who has. I had already read the book, but knew that there was more to enjoy. When i was asking my friends on what i should read next, they suggested infinite jest by david foster wallace. What made the experience of listening to infinite jest the most enjoyable. Infinite jest is a 1996 novel by american writer david foster wallace. Given it is an offshoot of amazon, we only expect that number to grow. Living a quiet life in a noisy world, published by perigee books. In many cases, audiobooks have proven successful in helping these. Pausing and reading the endnotes works best for me, but others might prefer listening to the.
It is an exuberant, uniquely american exploration of the passions that make us human and one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do. He is seated across from the dean of admissions, the dean of academic affairs, the dean of athletic. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup family to come along in. In many cases, audiobooks have proven successful in helping these students to access literature and enjoy books. I know that infinite jest isnt about drugs to reduce it to that would be insulting but nevertheless, i read these books around the same time, and found they both have really interesting things to say about drugs and addiction in modern society so if you liked ij, tome fellings book might be worth a look. Why i cannot recommend the infinite jest audio book was the title of a post published on the howling fantods, the largest wallace resource site on the internet, about the lack of endnotes. I dont bother with abridged fiction at all, and rarely buy unabridged nonfiction except good history or something from a writer noted for literary qualities. Infinite jest by david foster wallace librarything.
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