Welcome to Bookmarker!

This is a personal project by @dellsystem. I built this to help me retain information from the books I'm reading.

Source code on GitHub (MIT license).

View terms by David Foster Wallace (13)
p.ix
mediated »
intervened with, through an intermediary
p.39
figurant »
an originally French word that means extra (as in…
p.64
Georges Perec »
a French experimental novelist; many of his works…
p.64
Honoré de Balzac »
a French novelist and playwright; La Comédie Huma…
p.64
Sherwood Anderson »
an American novelist and short story writer, know…
No notes by David Foster Wallace
View terms by David Foster Wallace (28)
p.10
roughage »
fibrous indigestible material in vegetable foodst…
p.16
anodyne »
(noun) a painkilling drug or medicine
p.21
puerile »
childishly silly and trivial
p.22
ineluctable »
unable to be resisted or avoided; inescapable
p.23
teleological »
the philosophical attempt to describe things in t…
View notes by David Foster Wallace (11)
on Tolstoy
[...] Tolstoy said that the purpose of art was to communica…
TV's real agenda is to be liked
[...] I think it's impossible to spend that many slack-jawe…
on American Psycho and the role of fiction
[...] Look, if the contemporary condition is hopelessly shi…
out of the rubble
[...] My idea in "Westward" was to do with metafiction what…
on rap
[...] Anyway, what rock 'n' roll did for the multicolored y…

5

§1

pastrol. the grass description

0 / 0
5

§1

pastrol. the grass description

0 / 0
7

§2

claude sylvanshine arrives in Peoria

0 / 7
7

§2

claude sylvanshine arrives in Peoria

0 / 7
27

§3

what do you think of when you masturbate (convo at IRS center, presumably)

0 / 0
27

§3

what do you think of when you masturbate (convo at IRS center, presumably)

0 / 0
29

§4

news bulletin about an IRS worker (Frederick Blumquist) dead for four days

0 / 0
29

§4

news bulletin about an IRS worker (Frederick Blumquist) dead for four days

0 / 0
31

§5

about a young boy who everyone hates because he's too, idk, obedient, naive, "good"

0 / 2
31

§5

about a young boy who everyone hates because he's too, idk, obedient, naive, "good"

0 / 2
38

§6

Lane Dean Jr and his gf. reminiscent of Hills Like White Elephants. republished as Good People

0 / 0
38

§6

Lane Dean Jr and his gf. reminiscent of Hills Like White Elephants. republished as Good People

0 / 0
46

§7

Sylvanshine in the vehicle that used to belong to Mister Squishee

0 / 2
46

§7

Sylvanshine in the vehicle that used to belong to Mister Squishee

0 / 2
55

§8

Toni Ware's backstory

3 / 1
55

§8

Toni Ware's backstory

3 / 1
68

§9
Author's Foreword

the "author" explaining that it's all true. about how he got paid to write essays for other people in college, then got expelled, then ended up joining the IRS

0 / 0
68

§9
Author's Foreword

the "author" explaining that it's all true. about how he got paid to write essays for other people in college, then got expelled, then ended up joining the IRS

0 / 0
88

§10

two short paragraphs: "The bureaucracy is not a closed system; it is this that makes it a world instead of a thing."

0 / 0
88

§10

two short paragraphs: "The bureaucracy is not a closed system; it is this that makes it a world instead of a thing."

0 / 0
89

§11

weird, jargon-filled internal IRS memo listing various types of medical conditions associated with prolonged IRS posting

0 / 0
89

§11

weird, jargon-filled internal IRS memo listing various types of medical conditions associated with prolonged IRS posting

0 / 0
91

§12

Stecyk saying hello to a neighbour and this is really the most cringe-worthy scene in the whole book

0 / 0
91

§12

Stecyk saying hello to a neighbour and this is really the most cringe-worthy scene in the whole book

0 / 0
93

§13

David "Sweatman" Cusk and his superhero origin story

0 / 2
93

§13

David "Sweatman" Cusk and his superhero origin story

0 / 2
102

§14

the IRS interviewing employees (transcripts, with empty Q's, as in Brief Interviews)

0 / 2
102

§14

the IRS interviewing employees (transcripts, with empty Q's, as in Brief Interviews)

0 / 2
120

§15

Claude Sylvanshine being a fact psychic (this chapter is clearly about the overwhelming amount of information we all face in this era of late capitalism)

0 / 0
120

§15

Claude Sylvanshine being a fact psychic (this chapter is clearly about the overwhelming amount of information we all face in this era of late capitalism)

0 / 0
124

§16

Lane Dean Jr. goes on his break and wants to flap his arms

0 / 1
124

§16

Lane Dean Jr. goes on his break and wants to flap his arms

0 / 1
129

§17

a short monologue (unnamed speaker) on IRS employees as small-h heroes

0 / 0
129

§17

a short monologue (unnamed speaker) on IRS employees as small-h heroes

0 / 0
130

§18

from the filmed IRS interviews, someone talking about Desk Names (Mike Hunt, Phil Mypockets, etc)

0 / 0
130

§18

from the filmed IRS interviews, someone talking about Desk Names (Mike Hunt, Phil Mypockets, etc)

0 / 0
132

§19

elevator convo about civics and selfishness

0 / 1
132

§19

elevator convo about civics and selfishness

0 / 1
152

§20

Toni Ware moves into a new neighborhood and scares her neighbor

0 / 0
152

§20

Toni Ware moves into a new neighborhood and scares her neighbor

0 / 0
154

§21

Some unnamed IRS employee confronts an unnamed entrepreneur who has been falsifying his W2s

0 / 0
154

§21

Some unnamed IRS employee confronts an unnamed entrepreneur who has been falsifying his W2s

0 / 0
156

§22

Chris Fogle on his conversion from nilhilism

0 / 5
156

§22

Chris Fogle on his conversion from nilhilism

0 / 5
255

§23

(unnamed) first-person recounting of a dream about boredom?

0 / 0
255

§23

(unnamed) first-person recounting of a dream about boredom?

0 / 0
258

§24

another Author Here section. about his arrival for intake processing (sitting next to David Cusk, special welcome from Ms. Neti-Neti)

1 / 7
258

§24

another Author Here section. about his arrival for intake processing (sitting next to David Cusk, special welcome from Ms. Neti-Neti)

1 / 7
312

§25

two columns. people turn pages, etc

0 / 1
312

§25

two columns. people turn pages, etc

0 / 1
316

§26

third-person narrator on ghosts in the IRS office

0 / 0
316

§26

third-person narrator on ghosts in the IRS office

0 / 0
319

§27

Third person. David Cusk is in orientation and imagines that the woman behind him is unspeakably gorgeous. Sylvanshine is in the same room. David Wallace is in a different room (for the Alternative Tax/Shelters Immersive Group)

1 / 1
319

§27

Third person. David Cusk is in orientation and imagines that the woman behind him is unspeakably gorgeous. Sylvanshine is in the same room. David Wallace is in a different room (for the Alternative Tax/Shelters Immersive Group)

1 / 1
348

§28
10 Laws of IRS Personnel

All GS-9 Examiners want to be GS-11 Examiners, etc

0 / 0
348

§28
10 Laws of IRS Personnel

All GS-9 Examiners want to be GS-11 Examiners, etc

0 / 0
349

§29

people talking about shit (Fat Marcus the Moneylender)

0 / 0
349

§29

people talking about shit (Fat Marcus the Moneylender)

0 / 0
358

§30

convo at the IRS office with Claude, Reynolds, etc about Glendenning and various other employees.

0 / 0
358

§30

convo at the IRS office with Claude, Reynolds, etc about Glendenning and various other employees.

0 / 0
373

§31

weird short one about someone named Shinn leaving the IRS van? ends with him ruminating on what birds are really saying

0 / 0
373

§31

weird short one about someone named Shinn leaving the IRS van? ends with him ruminating on what birds are really saying

0 / 0
375

§32

first-person, on the phone with his sister Julie, asking her to do an impression from The Exorcist (i think)

0 / 0
375

§32

first-person, on the phone with his sister Julie, asking her to do an impression from The Exorcist (i think)

0 / 0
378

§33

third-person, about Lane Dean Jr in the absolute depths of boredom in the wiggle room. ghost shows up

0 / 3
378

§33

third-person, about Lane Dean Jr in the absolute depths of boredom in the wiggle room. ghost shows up

0 / 3
388

§34

one paragraph from an internal memo about the AMT formula

0 / 0
388

§34

one paragraph from an internal memo about the AMT formula

0 / 0
389

§35

the group manager's fierce infant. first-person but unnamed narrator

0 / 0
389

§35

the group manager's fierce infant. first-person but unnamed narrator

0 / 0
396

§36

the boy who tries to press his lips to every square inch of his body

0 / 1
396

§36

the boy who tries to press his lips to every square inch of his body

0 / 1
410

§37

awkward convo between a Russell and an unnamed speaker at a restaurant

0 / 0
410

§37

awkward convo between a Russell and an unnamed speaker at a restaurant

0 / 0
412

§38

third-person, explaining the bug that conflated the two David Wallaces in the IRS' systems

0 / 1
412

§38

third-person, explaining the bug that conflated the two David Wallaces in the IRS' systems

0 / 1
417

§39

ostensibly about Claude but really focuses on Leonard Stecyk's backstory (the severed-thumb incident)

0 / 1
417

§39

ostensibly about Claude but really focuses on Leonard Stecyk's backstory (the severed-thumb incident)

0 / 1
425

§40

David Cusk is enumerating his (water-based) fears in a therapist's office

0 / 0
425

§40

David Cusk is enumerating his (water-based) fears in a therapist's office

0 / 0
427

§41

dialogue between Charlie? and an unnamed speaker about sending Cardwell to get 'him'?

0 / 0
427

§41

dialogue between Charlie? and an unnamed speaker about sending Cardwell to get 'him'?

0 / 0
428

§42

people talking about drugs (incl "Colorado Todd")

0 / 1
428

§42

people talking about drugs (incl "Colorado Todd")

0 / 1
433

§43

first person, by David Wallace. about a terrorist attack in another IRS center

0 / 1
433

§43

first person, by David Wallace. about a terrorist attack in another IRS center

0 / 1
439

§44

first person, unnamed narrator who spent two summers as a cart boy in the Peoria office at 21/22: "I learned that the world of men as it exists today is a bureaucracy." (437) "If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you cannot accomplish." (438)

0 / 0
439

§44

first person, unnamed narrator who spent two summers as a cart boy in the Peoria office at 21/22: "I learned that the world of men as it exists today is a bureaucracy." (437) "If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you cannot accomplish." (438)

0 / 0
441

§45

about Toni's mom and playing dead. "this girl is damaged goods"

0 / 0
441

§45

about Toni's mom and playing dead. "this girl is damaged goods"

0 / 0
446

§46

third person. happy hour at Meibeyer's. Meredith Rand and Shane Drinion talk about her beauty and her institutionalization.

0 / 0
446

§46

third person. happy hour at Meibeyer's. Meredith Rand and Shane Drinion talk about her beauty and her institutionalization.

0 / 0
512

§47

Toni Ware investigating some gas station? don't really understand the context but it's beautifully written

0 / 0
512

§47

Toni Ware investigating some gas station? don't really understand the context but it's beautifully written

0 / 0
519

§48

someone (Sylvanshine?) talking about the picnic with some special agents from Chicago. don't really get this one

0 / 0
519

§48

someone (Sylvanshine?) talking about the picnic with some special agents from Chicago. don't really get this one

0 / 0
529

§49

Fogle being coached by Reynolds and Sylvanshine for his meeting with Dr Lehrl (Blue Devils)

0 / 0
529

§49

Fogle being coached by Reynolds and Sylvanshine for his meeting with Dr Lehrl (Blue Devils)

0 / 0
539

§50

really weird but kinda poetic. second-person? in an office, being told you do have a body

0 / 0
539

§50

really weird but kinda poetic. second-person? in an office, being told you do have a body

0 / 0
541

Notes and Asides

a sample of the notes DFW left that weren't incorporated in the main text

0 / 0
541

Notes and Asides

a sample of the notes DFW left that weren't incorporated in the main text

0 / 0
View terms by David Foster Wallace (16)
p.36
hellaciously »
very great, bad, or overwhelming
p.46
peripatetic »
traveling from place to place, especially working…
p.87
nexes »
plural of nexus
p.92
jongleur »
an itinerant minstrel
p.93
lapidary »
relating to stone and gems and the work involved …
View notes by David Foster Wallace (9)
I'm a writer, I'm a writer, I'm a writer
_Then you're deriving your satisfaction from talking about …
Educated Republicans
Educated Republicans: the racism here is very quiet, very s…
affirmation from the exterior
[...] And then you get, like, you start being able to make …
candy
Y'like candy? _Yeah. Of course._ What if you ate it a…
empty and unhappy
You know, why are _we_--and by "we" I mean people like you …
View terms by David Foster Wallace (7)
p.54
fronds »
the leaf or leaflike part of a palm, fern, or sim…
p.148
caballero »
a Spanish or Mexican gentleman (the Spanish word …
p.150
prolegomena »
a critical or discursive introduction to a book (…
p.212
lacuna »
an unfilled space; a gap (plural: lacunae)
p.227
manse »
the house occupied by a minister of a Presbyteria…
No notes by David Foster Wallace
View terms by David Foster Wallace (1)
p.17
petitio principii »
"assuming the initial point"; a fallacy of circul…
No notes by David Foster Wallace

0

A Radically Condensed History of Postindustrial Life

two paragraphs about a man and a woman who meet and care more about being liked than about liking

0 / 0
0

A Radically Condensed History of Postindustrial Life

two paragraphs about a man and a woman who meet and care more about being liked than about liking

0 / 0
1

Death Is Not the End

basically one long sentence about an old and distinguished poet and his disgustingly decadent life. not fun to read but very ripe for analysis

0 / 0
1

Death Is Not the End

basically one long sentence about an old and distinguished poet and his disgustingly decadent life. not fun to read but very ripe for analysis

0 / 0
4

Forever Overhead

boy turns 13 and climbs up the diving board (as a metaphor for puberty, etc)

0 / 0
4

Forever Overhead

boy turns 13 and climbs up the diving board (as a metaphor for puberty, etc)

0 / 0
14

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

  • 14, St. Davids PA: guy who has to shout "Victory for the Forces of Democratic Freedom"
  • 15, Bridgewater MA (institution): guy whose father had anger management issues so he had to be gagged
  • 11, Vienna VA: Q's bf or exbf hating that he's on eggshells all the time (due to Q, in his POV, being overly paranoid?) and thus leaving Q because of her fears that he'll leave
  • 3, Trenton NJ: overheard dialogue about a guy who sees a stood-up girl at an airport and guess what he does
  • 30, Drury UT: guy who married someone who had a good body even after giving birth and is now worried about how that looks to Q
  • 31, Roswell GA: a guy talking about "Great Lovers" being another type of notcher--selfish about being generous--while giving Q weed
  • 36: Aurora IL (domestic violence center): on how his victim was clearly just playing the victim and he was unable to change her, so he got help for himself
0 / 0
14

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

  • 14, St. Davids PA: guy who has to shout "Victory for the Forces of Democratic Freedom"
  • 15, Bridgewater MA (institution): guy whose father had anger management issues so he had to be gagged
  • 11, Vienna VA: Q's bf or exbf hating that he's on eggshells all the time (due to Q, in his POV, being overly paranoid?) and thus leaving Q because of her fears that he'll leave
  • 3, Trenton NJ: overheard dialogue about a guy who sees a stood-up girl at an airport and guess what he does
  • 30, Drury UT: guy who married someone who had a good body even after giving birth and is now worried about how that looks to Q
  • 31, Roswell GA: a guy talking about "Great Lovers" being another type of notcher--selfish about being generous--while giving Q weed
  • 36: Aurora IL (domestic violence center): on how his victim was clearly just playing the victim and he was unable to change her, so he got help for himself
0 / 0
31
0 / 0
31
31

The Depressed Person

such a bitch to read but so, so real

0 / 0
31

The Depressed Person

such a bitch to read but so, so real

0 / 0
59

The Devil is a Busy Man

first person, about "Daddy" and how he would sell things for $5 or $10

0 / 0
59

The Devil is a Busy Man

first person, about "Daddy" and how he would sell things for $5 or $10

0 / 0
61

Think

a man being seduced by the younger sister of his wife's college roommate but he can't because it feels too artifical

0 / 0
61

Think

a man being seduced by the younger sister of his wife's college roommate but he can't because it feels too artifical

0 / 0
63

Signifying Nothing

first person, a guy who remembers his father wagging his dick at him one day when he was 8 or 9, but his dad steadfastly denies it. idk if i like the ending

0 / 0
63

Signifying Nothing

first person, a guy who remembers his father wagging his dick at him one day when he was 8 or 9, but his dad steadfastly denies it. idk if i like the ending

0 / 0
69

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

  • 40, Benton Ridge OH: the guy with the arm (the Asset)
  • 42, Peoria Heights IL: his father worked as a hotel bathroom attendant
  • 2, Capitola CA: some guy telling Q that he's worried she'll get hurt because he wants her to fall in love with him more than he wants to fall in love with her. this one resonated with me in a pretty uncomfortable way
  • 48, Appleton WI: the pretentious af guy who talks about chicken-sexing and bonded play and then weeping
  • 51, Fort Dodge IA: short one; guy worries that he won't be able to get it up (I assume) but then he does
  • 19, Newport OR: some guy trying to hit on Q by telling her she's smart
  • 46, Nutley NJ: the Holocaust/bottle rape guy
0 / 0
69

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

  • 40, Benton Ridge OH: the guy with the arm (the Asset)
  • 42, Peoria Heights IL: his father worked as a hotel bathroom attendant
  • 2, Capitola CA: some guy telling Q that he's worried she'll get hurt because he wants her to fall in love with him more than he wants to fall in love with her. this one resonated with me in a pretty uncomfortable way
  • 48, Appleton WI: the pretentious af guy who talks about chicken-sexing and bonded play and then weeping
  • 51, Fort Dodge IA: short one; guy worries that he won't be able to get it up (I assume) but then he does
  • 19, Newport OR: some guy trying to hit on Q by telling her she's smart
  • 46, Nutley NJ: the Holocaust/bottle rape guy
0 / 0
106

Datum Centurio

set in the future. definitions of the word "date" in a much more technocratic world. didn't care for this one

0 / 0
106

Datum Centurio

set in the future. definitions of the word "date" in a much more technocratic world. didn't care for this one

0 / 0
111

Octet

LOVED THIS ONE. Pop quizzes.

  • 4: two drug addicts sharing a coat; which one lives?
  • 6: X and Y are close friends but then something happens and X stops being friendly but Y keeps cuckily hanging around; ends with the author concluding this is a bad question
  • 7: mother gives up custody of her child to ensure the child has a trust fund
  • 6(a): X's father in law, whom X hates, dies, and he weeps at his funeral due to his distress at how bad it looks to hate his father-in-law. (A) how does he eulogize him; (B) evaluate X being angry at his wife for not catching on despite him making every effort to prevent her from catching on
  • 9: you are DFW and trying to make the reader feel something. this one is like 90% footnotes. ends with "So decide."
0 / 0
111

Octet

LOVED THIS ONE. Pop quizzes.

  • 4: two drug addicts sharing a coat; which one lives?
  • 6: X and Y are close friends but then something happens and X stops being friendly but Y keeps cuckily hanging around; ends with the author concluding this is a bad question
  • 7: mother gives up custody of her child to ensure the child has a trust fund
  • 6(a): X's father in law, whom X hates, dies, and he weeps at his funeral due to his distress at how bad it looks to hate his father-in-law. (A) how does he eulogize him; (B) evaluate X being angry at his wife for not catching on despite him making every effort to prevent her from catching on
  • 9: you are DFW and trying to make the reader feel something. this one is like 90% footnotes. ends with "So decide."
0 / 0
137

Adult World (I)

Jeni worries that her forex trader husband isn't happy with their sex life despite all evidence to the contrary, and has unsettling dreams about the two of them (involving ambulances, sneezing, and the like), resulting in her turning to her ex-boyfriend (who realises he still loves her). a warning about the dangers of solipsism

0 / 0
137

Adult World (I)

Jeni worries that her forex trader husband isn't happy with their sex life despite all evidence to the contrary, and has unsettling dreams about the two of them (involving ambulances, sneezing, and the like), resulting in her turning to her ex-boyfriend (who realises he still loves her). a warning about the dangers of solipsism

0 / 0
156

Adult World (II)

written as notes/schemata. ex proposes they have a tryst, Jeni just goes home and realises that her husband is a chronic masturbator. not a huge fan of this one or its overly deconstructive nature

0 / 0
156

Adult World (II)

written as notes/schemata. ex proposes they have a tryst, Jeni just goes home and realises that her husband is a chronic masturbator. not a huge fan of this one or its overly deconstructive nature

0 / 0
162

The Devil is a Busy Man

first-person narrator does a charitable thing and really wants no one to know about it and in fact goes to such extremes to ensure no one knows about it because of, essentially, second-order vanity

0 / 0
162

The Devil is a Busy Man

first-person narrator does a charitable thing and really wants no one to know about it and in fact goes to such extremes to ensure no one knows about it because of, essentially, second-order vanity

0 / 0
165

Church Not Made With Hands
for E. Shofstahl, 1977-1987

about a ten-year-old girl named Esther who drowns, interspersed with her stepfather(?) Day and Eric Yang (good at rotating). really beautifully written though i'd have to re-read it to make more sense of it

0 / 0
165

Church Not Made With Hands
for E. Shofstahl, 1977-1987

about a ten-year-old girl named Esther who drowns, interspersed with her stepfather(?) Day and Eric Yang (good at rotating). really beautifully written though i'd have to re-read it to make more sense of it

0 / 0
280

Yet Another Example of the Porousness of Certain Borders (vi)
Reconstructed Transcript of Mr. Walter D. ("Walt") DeLasandro Jr.'s Parents' Marriage's End, May 1956

very short, just dialogue. they flip a coin for custody of their son

0 / 0
280

Yet Another Example of the Porousness of Certain Borders (vi)
Reconstructed Transcript of Mr. Walter D. ("Walt") DeLasandro Jr.'s Parents' Marriage's End, May 1956

very short, just dialogue. they flip a coin for custody of their son

0 / 0
181

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

  • 59, Eastchester NY: guy who watched Bewitched a lot and as a result had this fantasy of freezing time, but then got lost in the logical and metaphysical paradoxes thereof (loved this)
  • 72, North Miami Beach FL: guy who loves women and ends with "oh no not again behind you look out!" wat
  • 28, Ypsilanti MI: dialogue between two guys talking about what women want (i.e., to be rescued)
0 / 0
181

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

  • 59, Eastchester NY: guy who watched Bewitched a lot and as a result had this fantasy of freezing time, but then got lost in the logical and metaphysical paradoxes thereof (loved this)
  • 72, North Miami Beach FL: guy who loves women and ends with "oh no not again behind you look out!" wat
  • 28, Ypsilanti MI: dialogue between two guys talking about what women want (i.e., to be rescued)
0 / 0
200

Tristan: I Sold Sissee Nar To Ecko

Ovid's Metamorphoses set in Hollywood? I don't know enough about the source material so I didn't really get this one

0 / 0
200

Tristan: I Sold Sissee Nar To Ecko

Ovid's Metamorphoses set in Hollywood? I don't know enough about the source material so I didn't really get this one

0 / 0
218

On His Deathbed, Holding Your Hand, The Acclaimed New Young Off-Broadway Playwright's Father Begs a Boon

a sort of play, written in the second person, about a father on his deathbed (visibly and eventfully about to die) who hated his sickly son for occupying his wife's attention. you (the son) interject near the end (cruelly): "But Father it's me. Your own son. All of us, standing here, loving you so."

0 / 0
218

On His Deathbed, Holding Your Hand, The Acclaimed New Young Off-Broadway Playwright's Father Begs a Boon

a sort of play, written in the second person, about a father on his deathbed (visibly and eventfully about to die) who hated his sickly son for occupying his wife's attention. you (the son) interject near the end (cruelly): "But Father it's me. Your own son. All of us, standing here, loving you so."

0 / 0
241

Suicide as a Sort of Present

about a mother who hated her child and also herself for hating her child and i don't really know tbh. i guess the child commits suicide

0 / 0
241

Suicide as a Sort of Present

about a mother who hated her child and also herself for hating her child and i don't really know tbh. i guess the child commits suicide

0 / 0
245

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

  • 20, New Haven CT: Crunchy Granola story that devolves into him insulting Q: "Judge me, you chilly cunt. You dyke, you bitch, cooze, cunt, slut, gash. Happy now?"
0 / 0
245

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

  • 20, New Haven CT: Crunchy Granola story that devolves into him insulting Q: "Judge me, you chilly cunt. You dyke, you bitch, cooze, cunt, slut, gash. Happy now?"
0 / 0
272

Yet Another Example of the Porousness of Certain Borders (xxiv)

no clue what this one is about. narrator is in a kitchen, with his (?) family, his brother making a face?

0 / 0
272

Yet Another Example of the Porousness of Certain Borders (xxiv)

no clue what this one is about. narrator is in a kitchen, with his (?) family, his brother making a face?

0 / 0

5

Federer Both Flesh and Not

on the unparalleled kinetic beauty of Roger Federer. well-written even if I personally don't really care for tennis

3 / 2
5

Federer Both Flesh and Not

on the unparalleled kinetic beauty of Roger Federer. well-written even if I personally don't really care for tennis

3 / 2
37

Fictional Futures and the Conspicuously Young

Published 1998, written late 1987. On the recent spate of "Conspicuously Young" writers (aka the Brat Pack): Bret Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero, David Leavitt's Family Dancing, Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City. How they were initially lauded by the media, then derided by it for being empty, trashy, etc. DFW explores the temporal reasons their writing has a tendency to be this way and why it's important to overcome it

11 / 8
37

Fictional Futures and the Conspicuously Young

Published 1998, written late 1987. On the recent spate of "Conspicuously Young" writers (aka the Brat Pack): Bret Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero, David Leavitt's Family Dancing, Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City. How they were initially lauded by the media, then derided by it for being empty, trashy, etc. DFW explores the temporal reasons their writing has a tendency to be this way and why it's important to overcome it

11 / 8
73

The Empty Plenum: David Markson's Wittgenstein's Mistress

written in 1990. an adulatory review of David Markson's Wittgenstein's Mistress that briefly discusses Wittgenstein's theories. lovely to read.

17 / 5
73

The Empty Plenum: David Markson's Wittgenstein's Mistress

written in 1990. an adulatory review of David Markson's Wittgenstein's Mistress that briefly discusses Wittgenstein's theories. lovely to read.

17 / 5
121

Mr. Cogito

a one-page review of the English translation of Zbigniew Herbert's Mr. Cogito (Polish book of poems). DFW considers him one of the best living poets, and definitely the best of the postmodern poets

0 / 0
121

Mr. Cogito

a one-page review of the English translation of Zbigniew Herbert's Mr. Cogito (Polish book of poems). DFW considers him one of the best living poets, and definitely the best of the postmodern poets

0 / 0
127

Democracy and Commerce at the U.S. Open

an investigative journalism piece on the 1996 U.S. Open. some funny moments but nothing special

6 / 2
127

Democracy and Commerce at the U.S. Open

an investigative journalism piece on the 1996 U.S. Open. some funny moments but nothing special

6 / 2
167

Back in New Fire

short but interesting, though it felt weird without the context. about AIDS, and how the erotic will really only exists because of impediments (the knight's desire for the maiden in the castle is heightened by the presence of the dragon, etc)

1 / 1
167

Back in New Fire

short but interesting, though it felt weird without the context. about AIDS, and how the erotic will really only exists because of impediments (the knight's desire for the maiden in the castle is heightened by the presence of the dragon, etc)

1 / 1
177

The (As It Were) Seminal Importance of Terminator 2

from 1998. about the release of Terminator 2. no real takeaways

1 / 1
177

The (As It Were) Seminal Importance of Terminator 2

from 1998. about the release of Terminator 2. no real takeaways

1 / 1
193

The Nature of the Fun

short but great (and very relevant) one about writing! starts off with a metaphor from Don DeLillo's Mao II (writing a book is like having a hideous infant following you around).

1 / 2
193

The Nature of the Fun

short but great (and very relevant) one about writing! starts off with a metaphor from Don DeLillo's Mao II (writing a book is like having a hideous infant following you around).

1 / 2
203

Overlooked: Five direly underappreciated U.S. novels >1960

  • Omensetter's Luck by William H. Gass
  • Steps by Jerzy Kosinski
  • Angels by Denis Johnson
  • Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
  • Wittgenstein's Mistress by David Markson
0 / 0
203

Overlooked: Five direly underappreciated U.S. novels >1960

  • Omensetter's Luck by William H. Gass
  • Steps by Jerzy Kosinski
  • Angels by Denis Johnson
  • Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
  • Wittgenstein's Mistress by David Markson
0 / 0
209

Rhetoric and the Math Melodrama

about how math has found its way into popular culture and entertainment (see: Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, etc). reviews two math genre books: The Wild Numbers by Philibert Schogt (apparently awful) and Uncles Petros & Goldbach's Conjecture by Apostolos Doxiadis (apparently less awful). both, however, have a problem with defining their audience (i.e., it's unclear for whom the books are written: people who love math? people who know nothing about math?). mostly just DFW showing off how much he knows about math, but not terrible.

7 / 0
209

Rhetoric and the Math Melodrama

about how math has found its way into popular culture and entertainment (see: Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, etc). reviews two math genre books: The Wild Numbers by Philibert Schogt (apparently awful) and Uncles Petros & Goldbach's Conjecture by Apostolos Doxiadis (apparently less awful). both, however, have a problem with defining their audience (i.e., it's unclear for whom the books are written: people who love math? people who know nothing about math?). mostly just DFW showing off how much he knows about math, but not terrible.

7 / 0
243

The Best of the Prose Poem

a fairly silly book review where he makes a bulleted list of things he wants to say about The Best of The Prose Poem in order to get in under the word limit. mostly just him belittling the idea of a prose poem and the contributors to the volume (possibly deserved, idk) while praising a few of them (Jon Davis, David Ignatow, and some others)

6 / 0
243

The Best of the Prose Poem

a fairly silly book review where he makes a bulleted list of things he wants to say about The Best of The Prose Poem in order to get in under the word limit. mostly just him belittling the idea of a prose poem and the contributors to the volume (possibly deserved, idk) while praising a few of them (Jon Davis, David Ignatow, and some others)

6 / 0
261

Twenty-Four Word Notes

  • Utilize: don't use it
  • If vs whether
  • Pulchritude: stupid word
  • Toward (US) vs towards (UK)
  • That vs which / that vs whom
  • Effete's connotations
  • Dialogue is not a verb
  • Privilege as a verb: only in academic environments (the sort DFW doesn't like)
  • Myriad: may or may not be followed by an of (people disagree)
  • Dysphesia: appropriate for GWB
  • Unique is an incomparable
  • Beg the question: only in the case of petitio principii
  • "To criticize" over "to critique" despite its present negative connotations
  • Focus: not sure what his point is here
  • Impossibly: an adverb that can only modify adjectives
  • Individual: not a synonym for person unless you're a bureaucracy
  • Fervent: synonymous with ardent; weaker than fervid (and perfervid)
  • Loan: not a verb (lend)
  • Feckless: instead of effete
  • All of: usually unnecessary (note 510)
  • Bland: historically different meaning
  • Noma: icky
  • Hairy: enumerating the many words used to describe hair (I zoned out)
3 / 6
261

Twenty-Four Word Notes

  • Utilize: don't use it
  • If vs whether
  • Pulchritude: stupid word
  • Toward (US) vs towards (UK)
  • That vs which / that vs whom
  • Effete's connotations
  • Dialogue is not a verb
  • Privilege as a verb: only in academic environments (the sort DFW doesn't like)
  • Myriad: may or may not be followed by an of (people disagree)
  • Dysphesia: appropriate for GWB
  • Unique is an incomparable
  • Beg the question: only in the case of petitio principii
  • "To criticize" over "to critique" despite its present negative connotations
  • Focus: not sure what his point is here
  • Impossibly: an adverb that can only modify adjectives
  • Individual: not a synonym for person unless you're a bureaucracy
  • Fervent: synonymous with ardent; weaker than fervid (and perfervid)
  • Loan: not a verb (lend)
  • Feckless: instead of effete
  • All of: usually unnecessary (note 510)
  • Bland: historically different meaning
  • Noma: icky
  • Hairy: enumerating the many words used to describe hair (I zoned out)
3 / 6
285

Borges on the Couch

a book review of Borges: A Life by Edwin Williamson, but really an excuse to talk about the genius of Jorge Luis Borges and how it's silly to try and relate everything in his work to his life story (as Williamson does in the biography)

7 / 1
285

Borges on the Couch

a book review of Borges: A Life by Edwin Williamson, but really an excuse to talk about the genius of Jorge Luis Borges and how it's silly to try and relate everything in his work to his life story (as Williamson does in the biography)

7 / 1
299

Deciderization 2007--A Special Report

intro to The Best American Essays 2007. explaining the general process of choosing essays and also describing how the current political sentiment has influenced his choices

10 / 1
299

Deciderization 2007--A Special Report

intro to The Best American Essays 2007. explaining the general process of choosing essays and also describing how the current political sentiment has influenced his choices

10 / 1
321

Just Asking

very short. about 9/11 and whether the lives lost are "sacrifices on the altar of freedom" (Lincoln's words) the same way car accidents are an acceptable trade-off for the convenience of cars. i basically agree with everything he says here

0 / 0
321

Just Asking

very short. about 9/11 and whether the lives lost are "sacrifices on the altar of freedom" (Lincoln's words) the same way car accidents are an acceptable trade-off for the convenience of cars. i basically agree with everything he says here

0 / 0
No terms by David Foster Wallace
View notes by David Foster Wallace (1)
so excruciatingly alive
He had to build a wall around each second just to make it. …

3

1
1981

Lenore visits Mount Holyoke as a 15-year-old and is confronted with the full force of toxic masculinity (i.e., Biff Diggerence and Andrew Lang asking them to sign their bottoms)

0 / 0
3

1
1981

Lenore visits Mount Holyoke as a 15-year-old and is confronted with the full force of toxic masculinity (i.e., Biff Diggerence and Andrew Lang asking them to sign their bottoms)

0 / 0
22

2
1990

Rick tells Lenore a story about second-order vanity

0 / 1
22

2
1990

Rick tells Lenore a story about second-order vanity

0 / 1
28

3
1990

Lenore Sr. is missing. The phone lines at Frequent and Vigorous are mixed up. Rick has a dream about Queen Victoria. the shape of East Corinth (as Jayne Mansfield) is revealed.

2 / 3
28

3
1990

Lenore Sr. is missing. The phone lines at Frequent and Vigorous are mixed up. Rick has a dream about Queen Victoria. the shape of East Corinth (as Jayne Mansfield) is revealed.

2 / 3
53

4
1972

a transcript detailing the creation of the Great Ohio Desert (basically it's because people were getting too soft)

0 / 1
53

4
1972

a transcript detailing the creation of the Great Ohio Desert (basically it's because people were getting too soft)

0 / 1
57

5
1990

Rick explains his life story (Mindy, Vince, Lenore) in POV subsections interspersed with the plot (i.e., Lenore answering phones)

4 / 7
57

5
1990

Rick explains his life story (Mindy, Vince, Lenore) in POV subsections interspersed with the plot (i.e., Lenore answering phones)

4 / 7
81

6
1990

Norman Bombardini has 9 steaks while Rick and Lenore watch in horror

2 / 5
81

6
1990

Norman Bombardini has 9 steaks while Rick and Lenore watch in horror

2 / 5
94

7
1990

Vlad the Impaler starts to speak (very inappropriately); Rick tells Lenore a story about a man with a temper problem and a woman who overeats and their greedy therapist (they eventually all die); Lenore finds Mrs. Yingst's walker in her room

0 / 1
94

7
1990

Vlad the Impaler starts to speak (very inappropriately); Rick tells Lenore a story about a man with a temper problem and a woman who overeats and their greedy therapist (they eventually all die); Lenore finds Mrs. Yingst's walker in her room

0 / 1
116

8
1990

transcript between Dr. Jay and Lenore in which Lenore expresses her anxiety about words and language; Rick begins the Fiedbinder collection; Rick has a dream about a hotel room with no sheets on the bed, which he tells Dr Jay; Lenore meets Mr. Bloemker's inflatable doll, Brenda

2 / 3
116

8
1990

transcript between Dr. Jay and Lenore in which Lenore expresses her anxiety about words and language; Rick begins the Fiedbinder collection; Rick has a dream about a hotel room with no sheets on the bed, which he tells Dr Jay; Lenore meets Mr. Bloemker's inflatable doll, Brenda

2 / 3
146

9
1990

Lenore finally talks to her father, who explains what's going on re: Gramma and the pineal gland experiment

1 / 3
146

9
1990

Lenore finally talks to her father, who explains what's going on re: Gramma and the pineal gland experiment

1 / 3
159

10
1990

Lenore visits Clarice Spaniard and watches Kopek Spasova and then the Spaniard family theatre performance; Rick continues the Fieldbinder collection and has a dream about infinite urine streams; Rick is offered a generous contract from Stonecipheco in exchange for allowing Lenore to visit her brother

0 / 2
159

10
1990

Lenore visits Clarice Spaniard and watches Kopek Spasova and then the Spaniard family theatre performance; Rick continues the Fieldbinder collection and has a dream about infinite urine streams; Rick is offered a generous contract from Stonecipheco in exchange for allowing Lenore to visit her brother

0 / 2
175

11
1990

Andy leaves Mindy; Rick tells Lenore a story about a man who falls in love with a woman a toad in her neck (she dies); John LaVache is revealed to think of himself as a game show contestant; Lenore and Rick arrive at Amherst; Rick tells the story of his first and only attempt at approaching a woman (Janet) at a hors d'oeuvre bar, which ended with a Ritz cracker and bologna landing on Janet's nose; Lenore watches LaVache support his leg; Rick meets Andy Lang at The Flange, which is now a gay bar, and discovers Andy's coincidental experience on Corfu; LaVache shows Lenore the drawing of a man climbing a slope.

2 / 7
175

11
1990

Andy leaves Mindy; Rick tells Lenore a story about a man who falls in love with a woman a toad in her neck (she dies); John LaVache is revealed to think of himself as a game show contestant; Lenore and Rick arrive at Amherst; Rick tells the story of his first and only attempt at approaching a woman (Janet) at a hors d'oeuvre bar, which ended with a Ritz cracker and bologna landing on Janet's nose; Lenore watches LaVache support his leg; Rick meets Andy Lang at The Flange, which is now a gay bar, and discovers Andy's coincidental experience on Corfu; LaVache shows Lenore the drawing of a man climbing a slope.

2 / 7
257

12
1990

On the jet, Rick tells Andy the tragic tale of Lenore's family while she sleeps; Lenore et co meet Reverend Hart Lee Sykes.

0 / 0
257

12
1990

On the jet, Rick tells Andy the tragic tale of Lenore's family while she sleeps; Lenore et co meet Reverend Hart Lee Sykes.

0 / 0
281

13
1990

Rick tells Lenore his fear of Andy taking Lenore away

0 / 4
281

13
1990

Rick tells Lenore his fear of Andy taking Lenore away

0 / 4
293

14
1990

Candy tells Lenore that Andy is into her; Neil Obstat and Andy discuss Lenore; Rick gives Lenore a promotion; Dr Jay gets instructions from Lenore Sr., via a proxy.

0 / 1
293

14
1990

Candy tells Lenore that Andy is into her; Neil Obstat and Andy discuss Lenore; Rick gives Lenore a promotion; Dr Jay gets instructions from Lenore Sr., via a proxy.

0 / 1
312

15
1990

The Fieldbinder collection story "LOVE", in which Monroe Fieldbinder tells the Slotniks about Mr. Costigan's obsession with their son

0 / 0
312

15
1990

The Fieldbinder collection story "LOVE", in which Monroe Fieldbinder tells the Slotniks about Mr. Costigan's obsession with their son

0 / 0
324

16
1990

Rick has a frightening dream involving Lenore, Andy, and urine; Lenore has a session with Dr Jay in which he pretends that he's a sperm cell; Lenore and Rick discuss the Fieldbinder story and its excess of wry grins; Rick has a session with Dr Jay in which he grows increasingly hostile; Rick decides that Lenore and Lang are inevitable; Rick exacts revenge on Dr Jay in his next Fieldbinder story; Candy and Mindy meet

1 / 4
324

16
1990

Rick has a frightening dream involving Lenore, Andy, and urine; Lenore has a session with Dr Jay in which he pretends that he's a sperm cell; Lenore and Rick discuss the Fieldbinder story and its excess of wry grins; Rick has a session with Dr Jay in which he grows increasingly hostile; Rick decides that Lenore and Lang are inevitable; Rick exacts revenge on Dr Jay in his next Fieldbinder story; Candy and Mindy meet

1 / 4
362

17
1990

Lenore and Bloemker read to Concardine, who can only say "roughage"; Rick details the story of his fascination with Mindy Metalman, beginning with her at 13; Mindy explains to Candy her quest for a violet dress like the one Lenore had in chapter 1; Andy and Lenore fail to see Kopek Spasova; Mindy and Rick catch up and discuss Lenore and Andy; Andy comes clean (though probably manipulatively) to Lenore; Rick probably fails to satisfy Mindy; Lenore and Andy cuddle in a scene that's surprisingly sweet considering the rest of the book

0 / 4
362

17
1990

Lenore and Bloemker read to Concardine, who can only say "roughage"; Rick details the story of his fascination with Mindy Metalman, beginning with her at 13; Mindy explains to Candy her quest for a violet dress like the one Lenore had in chapter 1; Andy and Lenore fail to see Kopek Spasova; Mindy and Rick catch up and discuss Lenore and Andy; Andy comes clean (though probably manipulatively) to Lenore; Rick probably fails to satisfy Mindy; Lenore and Andy cuddle in a scene that's surprisingly sweet considering the rest of the book

0 / 4
418

18
1990

Andy and Neil (in a rowboat) follow Lenore and Rick as they trudge along the shores of a strangely situated lake in the middle of the desert; Lenore tries to talk to Rick but is instead forced to listen to an extremely allegorical story about a woman with no self esteem and a dentist who can only communicate by Morse code after an accident; Rick has perhaps transcended sanity at this point and handcuffs Lenore to himself, which Andy is able to easily rectify

0 / 4
418

18
1990

Andy and Neil (in a rowboat) follow Lenore and Rick as they trudge along the shores of a strangely situated lake in the middle of the desert; Lenore tries to talk to Rick but is instead forced to listen to an extremely allegorical story about a woman with no self esteem and a dentist who can only communicate by Morse code after an accident; Rick has perhaps transcended sanity at this point and handcuffs Lenore to himself, which Andy is able to easily rectify

0 / 4
443

19
1990

two sentences about Lenore rarely crying and Rick crying a lot

0 / 0
443

19
1990

two sentences about Lenore rarely crying and Rick crying a lot

0 / 0
444

20
1990

Lenore returns to the office and is confronted with: Peter Abbott explaining the problem with the tunnels; Dr Jay warning about Norman Bombardini coming to eat Lenore; Bloemker, Alvin Spaniard, and Lenore's father all trying to get her attention

0 / 0
444

20
1990

Lenore returns to the office and is confronted with: Peter Abbott explaining the problem with the tunnels; Dr Jay warning about Norman Bombardini coming to eat Lenore; Bloemker, Alvin Spaniard, and Lenore's father all trying to get her attention

0 / 0
458

21
1990

a transcript of Vlad the Impaler helping Reverend Sykes to get donations; Rick is with Mindy and in a state of denial; Rick is a man of his

0 / 1
458

21
1990

a transcript of Vlad the Impaler helping Reverend Sykes to get donations; Rick is with Mindy and in a state of denial; Rick is a man of his

0 / 1
View terms by David Foster Wallace (2)
p.119
cathexis »
(psychoanalysis) the process of investment of men…
p.158
lallate »
to speak like a baby (technically: pronouncing th…
No notes by David Foster Wallace

3

Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley

about playing tennis as a child in Philo, IL. 1990.

0 / 0
3

Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley

about playing tennis as a child in Philo, IL. 1990.

0 / 0
21

E Unibus Pluram
television and U.S. fiction

on television and irony, and the struggles faced by a fiction writer growing up in a hyperconsumerist culture, and the failings of postmodernism as a response to that. mentions My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist.

0 / 0
21

E Unibus Pluram
television and U.S. fiction

on television and irony, and the struggles faced by a fiction writer growing up in a hyperconsumerist culture, and the failings of postmodernism as a response to that. mentions My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist.

0 / 0
83

Getting Away From Already Pretty Much Being Away From It All

the Illinois State Fair essay. August 5, 1993.

0 / 0
83

Getting Away From Already Pretty Much Being Away From It All

the Illinois State Fair essay. August 5, 1993.

0 / 0
138

Greatly Exaggerated

on H. L. Hix's Morte d'Author: An Autopsy (a Ph.D dissertation in literary theory). 1992. need to read the source and then re-read this

0 / 0
138

Greatly Exaggerated

on H. L. Hix's Morte d'Author: An Autopsy (a Ph.D dissertation in literary theory). 1992. need to read the source and then re-read this

0 / 0
146

David Lynch Keeps His Head

on Lost Highway (really weird film with Patricia Arquette and lizards) and why David Lynch is a genius. DFW gets to visit the set but doesn't interview David Lynch. his main reason for liking his films is the bothness factor (characters can be both good and bad). for Premiere magazine. 1995.

0 / 1
146

David Lynch Keeps His Head

on Lost Highway (really weird film with Patricia Arquette and lizards) and why David Lynch is a genius. DFW gets to visit the set but doesn't interview David Lynch. his main reason for liking his films is the bothness factor (characters can be both good and bad). for Premiere magazine. 1995.

0 / 1
213

Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff about Choice, Freedom, Discipline, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness

on a very capable but apparently not especially intelligent tennis player named Michael Joyce from LA. about the sacrifice professional athletes have to make for their craft. really sad, and veering on mean-spirited tbh. DFW has said that he regrets the tone and liberties he took with this one, especially since he got to know Michael Joyce pretty well. 1995.

0 / 0
213

Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff about Choice, Freedom, Discipline, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness

on a very capable but apparently not especially intelligent tennis player named Michael Joyce from LA. about the sacrifice professional athletes have to make for their craft. really sad, and veering on mean-spirited tbh. DFW has said that he regrets the tone and liberties he took with this one, especially since he got to know Michael Joyce pretty well. 1995.

0 / 0
256

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again

the famous cruise ship essay. March 11 to 18, 1995. really about sadness and loneliness and this ridiculous idea that you can ever defeat desire by submitting to it

0 / 1
256

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again

the famous cruise ship essay. March 11 to 18, 1995. really about sadness and loneliness and this ridiculous idea that you can ever defeat desire by submitting to it

0 / 1
View terms by David Foster Wallace (33)
p.20
chiaroscuro »
(noun, Italian for light and dark) an oil paintin…
p.27
prenominate »
(adjective) previously mentioned / (verb) to ment…
p.27
sedulous »
(adjective) involving or accomplished with carefu…
p.28
baling »
(verb) to make up into a bale
p.29
syncopated »
(adjective) cut short; abbreviated / (adjective) …
View notes by David Foster Wallace (16)
everyone's a yuppie
No one's a yuppie because _everyone's_ a yuppie, a consumma…
the Great White Male is rap's Grand Inquisitor
Serious rap's a musical movement that seems to revile white…
sex and violence and yuppie toys
[...] how sex and violence and yuppie toys represent perfec…
who exactly sealed the lid, this time?
[...] Rap's highly self- and history-conscious unfamiliarit…
just a false synecdoche
[...] A stereotype [...] is just a false synecdoche, a toke…

3

Big Red Son

investigative journalism piece for Premiere magazine in 1998 about the AVN Awards (i.e., for pornographic movies). Originally published under a pseudonym.

0 / 6
3

Big Red Son

investigative journalism piece for Premiere magazine in 1998 about the AVN Awards (i.e., for pornographic movies). Originally published under a pseudonym.

0 / 6
51

Certainly the End of Something or Other, One Would Sort of Have to Think
Re John Updike's Toward the End of Time

about John Updike's tendency to write protagonists who are all the same sort of guy and really just reflections of himself, and how sometimes Updike has moments where he's able to write really great prose but lately it's all been the same narcissistic crap

3 / 1
51

Certainly the End of Something or Other, One Would Sort of Have to Think
Re John Updike's Toward the End of Time

about John Updike's tendency to write protagonists who are all the same sort of guy and really just reflections of himself, and how sometimes Updike has moments where he's able to write really great prose but lately it's all been the same narcissistic crap

3 / 1
60

Some Remarks on Kafka's Funniness from Which Probably Not Enough Has Been Removed

From a speech given in March at "Metamorphosis: A New Kafka," a symposium for celebrating a new translation of The Castle. 1999. loved this one.

2 / 1
60

Some Remarks on Kafka's Funniness from Which Probably Not Enough Has Been Removed

From a speech given in March at "Metamorphosis: A New Kafka," a symposium for celebrating a new translation of The Castle. 1999. loved this one.

2 / 1
66

Authority and American Usage
or, "Politics and the English Language" is Redundant

in praise of Bryan A. Gardner's A Dictionary of Modern American Usage and his masterful blend of the prescriptivist and descriptivist. so good

3 / 1
66

Authority and American Usage
or, "Politics and the English Language" is Redundant

in praise of Bryan A. Gardner's A Dictionary of Modern American Usage and his masterful blend of the prescriptivist and descriptivist. so good

3 / 1
128

The View from Mrs. Thompson's

about 9/11 as experienced from DFW's community in Bloomington, Illinois

0 / 1
128

The View from Mrs. Thompson's

about 9/11 as experienced from DFW's community in Bloomington, Illinois

0 / 1
141

How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart

about the horribly written (ghost-written) sports memoir by tennis player Tracy Austin (Beyond Center Court: My Story), and what it tells us about the choice top athletes must make between their athletic prowess and their intellect

1 / 0
141

How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart

about the horribly written (ghost-written) sports memoir by tennis player Tracy Austin (Beyond Center Court: My Story), and what it tells us about the choice top athletes must make between their athletic prowess and their intellect

1 / 0
156

Up, Simba
Seven Days on the Trail of an Anticandidate

an investigative journalism piece for Rolling Stone in 1999 in which he trailed John McCain's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination (which of course he lost to Bush Jr). very long and very good

1 / 7
156

Up, Simba
Seven Days on the Trail of an Anticandidate

an investigative journalism piece for Rolling Stone in 1999 in which he trailed John McCain's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination (which of course he lost to Bush Jr). very long and very good

1 / 7
235

Consider the Lobster

an investigative journalism piece about the Maine Lobster Festival held every July that turns into a metaphysical inquiry into the ethics of boiling creatures alive so we can eat them

0 / 0
235

Consider the Lobster

an investigative journalism piece about the Maine Lobster Festival held every July that turns into a metaphysical inquiry into the ethics of boiling creatures alive so we can eat them

0 / 0
255

Joseph Frank's Dostoevsky

a review of a five-volume study of Dostoyevsky's life and times and writing, written by Comparative Lit professor at Princeton Joseph Frank. interspersed with agonising metaphysical questions within asterisks that aren't explained until later on in the text (and only as an aside on p271). loved this one

0 / 0
255

Joseph Frank's Dostoevsky

a review of a five-volume study of Dostoyevsky's life and times and writing, written by Comparative Lit professor at Princeton Joseph Frank. interspersed with agonising metaphysical questions within asterisks that aren't explained until later on in the text (and only as an aside on p271). loved this one

0 / 0
275

Host

this was a massive bitch to read because of the crazy footnote scheme. about John Ziegler, a sort of former Rush Limbaugh figure (radio personality in Southern California). makes some good points about the political landscape at the time (points that are still relevant today) but it was hard to enjoy this piece that much just because of the format.

0 / 1
275

Host

this was a massive bitch to read because of the crazy footnote scheme. about John Ziegler, a sort of former Rush Limbaugh figure (radio personality in Southern California). makes some good points about the political landscape at the time (points that are still relevant today) but it was hard to enjoy this piece that much just because of the format.

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Sonora Review DFW Tribute
by multiple authors

View terms by David Foster Wallace (2)
p.61
kismet »
destiny; fate
p.61
schizogenic »
asexual reproduction by fission of the parent org…
View notes by David Foster Wallace (2)
this new Al Franken book
[...] Everybody's pissed off and exasperated and impervious…
across the divides of radical specialization
[...] It might be that one of the really significant proble…

5

The Planet Trillaphon as it Stands in Relation to the Bad Thing

wish I could write like this when I was in college

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5

The Planet Trillaphon as it Stands in Relation to the Bad Thing

wish I could write like this when I was in college

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1

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5 /a/

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11 /c/

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122

Year of Glad
Infinite Jest

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Year of Glad
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149

"In the eighth ..."
Infinite Jest

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149

"In the eighth ..."
Infinite Jest

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Winter B.S. 1960--Tucson Az
Infinite Jest

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182

"Here is how..."
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182

"Here is how..."
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"But there's this ..."
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"If by the ..."
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194

"If by the ..."
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"The bathroom has ..."
Infinite Jest

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215

14 November
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215

14 November
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8 November
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8 November
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"It is starting ..."
Infinite Jest

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275

"As at all ..."
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275

"As at all ..."
Infinite Jest

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296

"And re Ennet ..."
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"And re Ennet ..."
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"Joelle used to ..."
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317

11 November
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11 November
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"The ceiling was ..."
Infinite Jest

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362

Notes and Errata
Infinite Jest

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362

Notes and Errata
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§1

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§33

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§36

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606

English 64A
Teaching Materials

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English 64A
Teaching Materials

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609

English 170R, Spring 2003
Teaching Materials

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609

English 170R, Spring 2003
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620

English 183A, Fall 2004
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620

English 183A, Fall 2004
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622

English 183D, Spring 2008
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English 183D, Spring 2008
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View terms by David Foster Wallace (35)
p.13
enfilade »
(noun) an interconnected group of rooms arranged …
p.39
anfractuous »
(adjective) full of windings and intricate turnin…
p.62
bolection »
a decorative moulding above or around a panel or …
p.64
recondite »
(adjective) hidden from sight; concealed / (adjec…
p.71
plangent »
loud, reverberating, and often melancholy
View notes by David Foster Wallace (26)
over an ounce a day
[...] He would make it his business to create a really bad …
the umpire whispers Please Play
In this dream, which every now and then still recurs, I am …
athletics was just training for citizenship
[...] Schtitt was educated in pre-Unification _Gymnasium_ u…
tennis's beauty
[...] The true opponent, the enfolding boundary, is the pla…
the light saddening outside
And time in the P.M. locker room seems of limitless depth; …

Nothing by this author

Nothing by this author


73

The Fictional Future

excerpt from fictional futures and the conspicuously young

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73

The Fictional Future

excerpt from fictional futures and the conspicuously young

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