[michelledepeil]

I read Infinite Jest for the first time this year, and it's incredible. I recognise at the same time it's not for everyone, but the story, writing style, humor and sheer specific knowledge on so many subjects employed in this book are incredible.

[edanm]

It's one of my long-time goals to read this book. I read the first few chapters and it was amazing, but sadly life intervened and I couldn't continue.

I'm curious - did you read it on its own, or did you read some kind of resource along with it? I've seen recommendations to read it alongside websites/books that help understand it.

[michelledepeil]

I read it on its own, on an ebook reader where the annotations don't work (bad android app). Generally I only have to look up the occasional word or two to get some of the word jokes (my favourite being "[making his exam by] a single dento-dermal layer", meaning "the skin of his teeth")

I am reminded of the foreword, the author of which I forget, who said that it clearly isn't a breeze to read, you have to put in actual effort to understand the damn sentences. This is totally true, if I let my mind wander as with any other book, I have to go back and re-read it.

[nfg]

I also read it this year (as part of a book club) - one thing I’d note is I was very pleasantly surprised at how well the footnotes worked in the ebook. I had made an attempt with a hardcopy about ten years ago and found juggling two bookmarks a major pain. It’s not without its flaws but well worth the effort to read, and once I got properly going I didn’t find it difficult or a drag at all.