Gone back to La Costa with Scarlett for a little more R & R.Sure there'll be eating and lounging and swimming and spa treatments, but I'm going to try and compete with Scarlett and read some. She digests books with fair regularity, which is a good thing considering her exceptional television consumption, and I'm armed with some heavy duty material by T.C. Boyle and David Foster Wallace.
I have attempted Infinite Jest (by Wallace) many times, and now that I am off for a weekend without distraction I want to try again to tackle the monster tomb. I have been unable to conquer the thousand plus pages of this beast, but with His Word - Not Mine making me more word conscious, I figure I really should try and take in a book just to get a sense of other writer;s style and pacing. Each time, I have failed to make a real dent in it and I hope this pass will carry me through to the end. The book's plot centers on a lost film cartridge, titled (naturally) Infinite Jest that it is so "entertaining" to its unwitting viewers that they become lifeless, losing all interest in anything other than endless viewings of the film.
Backing up my reading plan is Tooth And Claw, a new collection from my absolute favorite author (that'd be Boyle). Now, why have more reading as a back up? Well, if I can't summon the power to attack the mighty book that taunts me, I figure a nice short story or two ought to whet my appetite and give me the strength to dive in. Sounds strange, but I like to think of it as an appetizer. Here's to good weekends and great beginnings...
UPDATE: Creepy. The timing is just plain erie, really.
Just caught the news that David Foster Wallace (46) committed suicide this very night. He hung himself. Jesus Christ. Somebody make sure T.C. Boyle is okay.
1 comment:
dude that is creepy. I thought you were posting because of his death, and decided to try reading his book again because of his death. Infinite jest, no shit...
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