Read Infinite Jest With a Few Thousand of Your Closest Friends

What are you reading this Summer? You may want to join thousands of readers (including me) in a group "endurance reading event" by tackling David Foster Wallace's massive novel, Infinite Jest. Organized by writer Mathew Baldwin, Infinite Summer begins June 21 and runs the duration of the Summer (or whenever you finish the novel). Not only will Infinite Jest guides be blogging about it at the website, there are a whole host of online collaboration resources including a discussion forum, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account (you can also follow #infsum hashtag on Twitter).

Infinite Jest (1996) is widely considered David Foster Wallace's masterwork, a nearly-1,000 page tome followed by another 100 pages of endnotes (of the not-to-be-skipped variety). The novel also sports the lexicological complexities and and stylistic experimentation that have cemented Wallace's reputation as one of the greatest writers of our time. It's a big read.

Like many others, the mere heft of Infinite Jest has been enough to keep me from reading it for some number of years. I don't know when I bought my copy, but I do know that I had to brush a considerable layer of dust off the cover for this endeavor. The momentum of a massive, global, online book club is exactly the sort of kick in the pants I needed to overcome my inertia.

Everything I've ever read leads me to believe that you either love Infinite Jest or you hate it. I've a feeling I'll be one of the former, but there is no better way to find out than by reading it with a few thousand of my closest friends right now. Will you join us?

Visit www.infinitesummer.org, and get started!