Litsy

We are now 8 weeks into 2022 and this is my weekly post for week 8

#Week8 #WeeklyReadingUpdate #BookReport

Finished 4 Books

Read 1884 Pages.

My least productive week of the year so far.

Cinfhen

Cinfhen How‘s your wife feeling?? 3y

Andrew65 @Cinfhen Seems to be over the worst now, and just now a matter of resting and building up,energy levels. Thanks for asking 💕 3y

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ShananigansReads

Book Report: Publishing Strategies, Writing Tips, and 101 Literary Ideas for Aspiring Authors and Poets | Mark Shaw

This lopsided graphic bothers me but I‘m also too sleepy to fool with it anymore. Anyway I got a lot read this week but most were pretty short. It didn‘t make them any less enjoyable.

#bookreport #WeeklyForecast #Week8

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JenP

Infinite Jest (-20th Anniversary) | David Foster Wallace

#infintejestbuddyread #week8
Marathe and Steeply have now had several discussions about choice and freedom and each one views the notion of choice very differently. What does each one think about he ways in which choice and freedom are connected? Who do you agree with? Who does DFW agree with?

Currey I am going to butcher the beauty of DFW's argument but Marathe believes that American's are childish and have not been taught to choose what to love and that they will therefore "freely", like the lab rats, watch an entertainment cartridge even onto starvation. Steeply believes temptation is part of a free society and that all humans are selfish but that it is society's responsibility to protect against temptation. #infinitejestbuddyread 8y

AshleyHoss820 I think Steeply is saying that freedom of choice is not freedom from consequences, but the freedom to choose is still a right and no one else's business. Also, that we shouldn't really be surprised when people "pull the lever", even to the detriment of their physical well-being. 8y

britt_brooke @Currey 👍🏻👍🏻 8y

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Currey I think you encapsulated Steeply better than I did, but don't you think his investigation of the "entertainment" is about protecting whatever it is he is supposed to protect (ONAN presumably). Or do you think he is just having a philosophical discussion with Marathe? Not easy stuff for me to parse. 8y

Mtroiano @Currey I think the conversation is mostly philosophical. Is freedom the absence of boundaries even if that means you can harm yourself or is freedom the ability to do what you want because boundaries have been established to keep you from harming yourself? 8y

Pippitypip On page 318 Marathe criticises the USA because its citizens no longer know how to choose. Other countries peoples can still choose some ideal beyond themselves. By implication, others have more freedom. Americans have not been taught to choose with care because they have been mollycoddled, and choose The Entertainment (whatever that is) which is a deathly pursuit of happiness to the detriment of all else. (edited) 8y

Pippitypip On the other hand, Steeply accuses the Québécois of being totalitarian "Cuba with snow". He says that being unable to choose is a hazard of being free, and that one cannot be human without freedom. I think DFW sides with Steeply. He goes on to have Steeply say that paternalism, however well meant, prevents people from being able to make their own choices, even if these choices are detrimental to them. 8y

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JenP

Infinite Jest (-20th Anniversary) | David Foster Wallace

#infinitejestbuddyread #week8
What do we know about ONAN so far? Please no info past page 475.

Talk about the formation of ONAN, the great concavity/convexity controversy, the political leaders, the resistance groups, or any other politically related events so far.

tstan So far, I'm getting that O.N.A.N. is the union of Canada, USA, and Mexico as one entity- perhaps as the result of more open trade between the countries. Currently the leader is Gentle, a former lounge singer who, along with his cabinet, seems to be pretty incompetent. The Northeast, along with a chunk of Quebec is the garbage dump for both traditional and toxic waste. (edited) 8y

Spiderfelt That pretty much sums up my understanding @tstan 8y

britt_brooke The most extreme resistance group are the separatists AFR (aka Wheelchair Assassins). I find this whole concept to be one of the most ridiculous and darkly hilarious things in this book. (edited) 8y

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Currey I agree with you, all the images of federal agents dumping toxic waste in New Hampshire and Maine so that Gentle could force Canada to take the land (and the toxic concavity) plus the whole section about buying all the Winnie the Pooh PJ's so there would be no media images of refuge children without clothing....hilarious in a dark way. 8y

britt_brooke @Currey So much dark humor, but done in such a clever way. I love it. 👏🏻 8y

Hooked_on_books Also, onanism = masturbation or coitus interruptus. Clearly DFW made up this name purposefully. I don't really have his point figured out, though. Politics is masturbation, maybe? 8y

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JenP

Infinite Jest (-20th Anniversary) | David Foster Wallace

#infinitejestbuddyread #week8 Next week we will cross the halfway point! Are you all caught up? What page are you on? What do you think so far? Favorite parts or least favorite from this week's section?

This upcoming week's prompts will all be about celebrating our half-way mark. Make sure to update the google doc when you reach it - I will raffle off the prize next week!

Simona I'm on p. 489 and in general my favorite parts are about residents of Ennet House, not only about D. Gately, but about the whole group and dynamic between them. My favorite from this week are story about Clipperton (p.432) and a kid from Fresno (p.436) 😳🤗 8y

LeahBergen I was away for the weekend so I'm catching up today! 😬 8y

AshleyHoss820 I'm on page 475, until tonight. I really am digging this book, even with the footnotes. I think my favorite parts this week was the story about Clipperton, Mario's movie production and the fact that they watch it every year, and getting to know more about Ennet House and Don Gately (especially the crocodiles.) 8y

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britt_brooke Just finished this week's section a few minutes ago. I find myself a little bored during the detailed tennis portions, minus the Clipperton part. That was completely bats and brilliant. The continued exchange between Marathe and Steeply was my favorite this week. The Johnny Gentle stuff is gold, too. 8y

Hooked_on_books I'm on 461, hoping to finish up this week's section tonight. I actually like the stuff at ETA most. 8y

Currey I am on page 475. Before I really was only appreciating the ETA sections but lately I am enjoying reading about Gately. He is probably the most straight forward of all the main characters but I haven't yet figured out why Hal was with Gately when they dug up his father's head (page 17) or at least thought he was with Gately...Much more to learn. 8y

Skeebies05 My favorite parts were about Gately and his interactions with Pat M. Also still enjoy the discussion between Marathe and Steeply. Perhaps some clues on how The Entertainment works. I just finished page 475 😳 8y

britt_brooke @Skeebies05 Yes, agree! It's like the p-terminal rat experiment. Keep the pleasure going to the point of starvation. The Entertainment playing on a loop having the same effect. 8y

Tcip I didn't reaf on here but did anyone catch the prediction of Netflix?? 8y

Pippitypip I like the ETA bits the best. It is DFW at his best, showing how well he understands the game and the players and coaches. I have spent my whole life coaching different sports, including tennis, and his descriptions are subtle, hilarious and, when it comes to Eric Clipperton, imaginative and beyond believable. (edited) 8y

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britt_brooke

Infinite Jest (-20th Anniversary) | David Foster Wallace

Gately is afraid of believing in something you "can't see or hear or touch or smell," and in his case, "can't even feel." Yet, he's also afraid to not believe.

#fear #infinitejestbuddyread #week8

JenP

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