I know it's a meme, I'll delete the thread in like 10 minutes. Can I read this book if I'm in high school...

Veeky Forums and /mu/ are the most bluepilled boards on the website

Ok I will thanks

Explain

Dude, Veeky Forums is fascist as fuck and /mu/ is somethink like ironic anarchism.

I really have to explain why the fashion industry and music industry is a lot of brainwashing, go to /pol/
>inb4 "oh ofcourse, /pol/"
I don't go there, but I prefer a world where that's everyones main board over the other two or god help us /tv/

You can read anything at any time, doesn't mean you'll understand or appreciate it.

That said, reading IJ in high school is not something I'd recommend, coupled with
>I heard it was good so I bought it
makes me doubt you have very good critical thinking skills, so I'd suggest not at the moment. Instead, how about you work on going through other classics or the simpler entries of the Western canon. Better yet, how about asking your English teacher what they have planned for the course/would recommend.

Try reading The Crying of Lot 49, Kafka, or Dostoyevsky.

First off, check my trips on that post you're quoting.

Second, yeah. What books are you reading where you can learn everything you need to in one pass through? You really don't think some books grow up with you, or reveal more to you as you become wiser/smarter/whatever? I'm talking books of the caliber of thr Republic, Nicomachean Ethics, Beyond Good and Evil, etc.

Ok fair enough, what does that have to do with me or what books I read

Read it now while you still have a semblance of a soul

IJ is a fiction novel you stupid fuck, not philosophy.

Thanks for the advice. I sound ignorant when I said I just bought it because I heard it was good. I was simplifying I guess. I heard it was the most representative piece of fiction of this era and that intrigued me. Is that a good reason or should I still save it

Oh sorry, I took your "do you really believe this" to be ironic and aggressive. I apologize for responding ironically and aggressively.

Yes, I really believe it, and it applies to literature too, not just philosophy. I try to remind myself of it when something just isn't making sense and I'm pulling my hair out.

Same principle applies.

I mean, go ahead and try it, but seriously.. Infinite Jest isn't some book they teach you in english, it takes work to read and understand. I sound like some DFW fanboy or like I'm underestimating you, but honestly, it's like reading a dictionary, it can be a chore, and it's over 1000 pages.
You're better off reading other classics, and then coming back to it later, because even with it's length and his wide vocabulary, the whole post-modern thing is difficult in it's self, it can feel like nothing is happening with no kind of underlying meaning.
I'm really just discriminating against Veeky Forumsgs and /mu/tants, but go for it, I guess.

Fair enough, and I stand by saying that you won't fully appreciate it, but if you're already wanting to read it that much, go right ahead.

Be warned though, it gets pretty dry and dull, and there are a lot of WORDS WORDS WORDS sections. That, and a lot of the themes will go right over your head.

Thank you for the advice. I get the impression most think I'm not mature enough, which is probably true. Perhaps I'll try it and report back when I'm done, but I definitely see why it would be hard to tackle

read White Noise by Don DeLillo, it kind of has the same tone and style, and even some of the same topics. And, obviously they're both post-modern, but much less autistic than DFWs writing

I'll look into that thanks friend

Well you seem reasonable, but it's not really about how mature you are, but more about your literary comprehension and ability to understand the themes and the 'point'.

I mean, there's a reason you read Shakespeare so much in highschool.

I strongly suggest TCoL49 if you want to venture into pomo; it's short, concise, and much deeper than you'll think it is. Plus on a personal note, it was part of my personal highschool English curriculum, so I'd think it's appropriate.

why am i not surprised high schoolers are interested in dfw
go outside, stupid kid. use your body while you can, after that gives out in a few years then read big dumb books

I read at night and during school dude!

Thanks I've been recomemended that twice in this thread (maybe by you?) so I'll check it out

>TFW read IJ at 16

Did you appreciate it my man? I'm almost 18 admittedly (pls no bad give me one more month)

>tfw read Ulysses and Nietzsche at 16

Not OP but I'm deciding between reading IJ, Mason & Dixon and GR, which should I go with? Mason & Dixon looks comfier so I'm leaning towards that. Probably have enough time for one before uni starts up again.

I read Sartre and Camus at 15, doesn't mean I got anything out of it at the time.

Yeah it was great although I'd probably have to re read it in chronological order in the future, took me about 4-5 months to finish it

I read IJ at 18 and I didn't think it was that great. I read it again at 20 and I still didn't think it was that great.

How old are you and what is your "level" of literary knowledge? Mason & Dixon is a bitch, and GR is a better, but possibly "harder" book than Infinite Jest.

19 and I think I'm fairly well read considering, though my upbringing is mostly English "canon", not behemoth post-modern American novels. Read Lot 49, Pale King, New York Trilogy etc though. I'm okay with 18th century writing style, read Robinson Crusoe, and some novel by a weird fiction writer I forgot the name of, that had a similar pseudo-18th century style as M&D.

>possibly "harder"

M&D and GR are both much harder than IJ.

>read The Pale King before IJ

Ouch.

I'm in highschool too. My teacher recommended I read Gravity's rainbow, but I'm not sure I can handle it. Should I go for it?

Have you read TCoL49 or V or any Pynchon or any po-mo?

no, but I've heard Crying of Lot 49's a good start

You should read it now. I did my best reading when I was younger. I had a college reading level in the third grade. As an older person you will find that you have more distractions, roommates, drugs, and presumably more difficult school work (though your mileage may vary).

The best advice I would give to a younger person is don't listen to other people. Especially not older people. You want to do something and you have the time for it, go do it. Half the characters are your age anyway.

Although a lighter introduction to DFW might help, Oblivion has some goodies.

Yeah it is, jumping into GR is not going to be fun.

>I had a college reading level in the third grade

Yes. You can always read it again.

in fact you will probably have to if you want to finish it.

any other book recommendations for someone my age? I've got a few books on my shelf, The Stranger, Lolita, In Cold Blood, HHeart of Darkness, and The Devil in the White city.

Well, that's what people (and standardized tests) told me. And it isn't a very high bar to clear. Have you actually seen what college aged people read these days? Pic related.

>read Crime and Punishment at 15 or 16
i'm sure i understood everything

I read it in high school and got a lot out of it. I was very focused and did le post it note meme for notes/references. It is/was one of my favorite experiences with a book ever. Really tested me as a reader and made me truly engage with it (which is what DFW wanted, I suppose). I'd say go ahead, because you are definitely going to reread it in the future if you manage to get through it once.

Stay away from Veeky Forums while reading because shitposters who never read the book will give you a thousand reasons to not finish the book.

Dont fall for the meme, the book is bad.

How to post it note?

That shit is seriously really easy to do. I wouldn't say I'm an insanely good reader, but I tested into a 12.7 (or 12.9, can't remember exactly) reading level the first time I was able to take the test.

Bottom line, shit is easy as fuck, but it's definitely not accurate. I remember reading Robinson Crusoe in grade 2-3 and I got fucked on the test.

quick everyone post your favorite DFW memes, I am in dire need of some.

Use this infinitejest.wallacewiki.com/david-foster-wallace/index.php?title=Pages_3-27
and keep a tab open to google words you don't know. This book is not that fucking hard. The only difficult parts of this book are the parts that Wallace would be referring to when he said that his work didn't "live on the breath very well, there's not enough punctuation." Sometimes, yes, it can be hard to follow a long ass sentence that won't stop fucking going on and on, but overall the book is not some incredible obstacle that you need to be college educated to enjoy.

If Stephen King is a 5 on the difficulty scale, Wallace is a 6.

That depends. How old are you?

You may have to know 1980s history to be able to read it.

Same here. Pretty sure all I accomplished was becoming a pretentious asshole

If you read it in high school and absorb its message you will soar in college. It teaches you about self discipline, overcoming vices and much much more. I would supplement it with s few of DFW's interviews to get an idea of his thinking, and read as much of it as you can. Don't worry about understanding everything the first time around, as you'll likely read it another time if you truly appreciate it.

why? I'm 200 pages in and everyone keeps saying this even though I seem to grasp just about everything...