Okay cats.

Who's still reading?

I am 150 pages in... or I'm past the long diatribe against videophone calls.

When I do sit down to read the book, I get a lot of pleasure from it. He's an absolutely incredible writer, and his fits of genius are like fireworks.

But I don't have the toehold and foothold that I want. I slide away from the book because there is no, as of yet, discernible plot. I put the book down and don't pick it up for a couple of days, and where once I read on the train to and from work, now I listen to podcasts and play Fruit Ninja.

I'm not giving up, but I need to be bolstered to continue. Dad, are you still going? Mom? Sara, have you gotten any further? I need to hear the voice of my family! I'm sliding off the glacier and I need a rope to help me continue. I just read this list of upcoming books and I'm starting to wonder whether my time wouldn't be better spent reading the books on my nightstand.

I started to read this book because I wanted to, but also because I wanted a family activity while I'm so far away from you all. My question is: is it still a family activity?

Let me know! Talk amongst yourselves!

A word on why I wanted to read this book...

I have not had many mental exercises since I left school. Working for Apple was sort of difficult on some days, and the several dozen days I had as a Substitute teacher in San Francisco were challenging in their own way...

But reading Infinite Jest reminds me of reading the unfinished German novel A Man Without Qualities or stumbling my way through Stendhal's The Red and the Black, two books that I struggled with, wrote 20 page essays about, and put away without finishing. I was challenged, but I was also busy, back then.

It's weird to think I read those books 3 and 4 years ago, respectively.

Anyway.

I need a mental exercise. I need something that tries my patience a little bit, that makes me want to guess at themes and structure and characterization and time period. And Infinite Jest is fitting the bill.

I usually read and listen to music at the same time - I can't do that with Infinite Jest. Is anyone else having that same difficulty?

And as for reading posts, stop around page 300 and let everyone catch up.