Being the consumate nerd that I am, I'm always on the look out for new reading material (and now that I think of it, I have some reading material that needs to make its way back to the library before the library police come knocking...). I try to alternate between brain building, non-fiction stuff because, well, I'm a nerd. And kitschy, popular fiction novels that I like to call my junk-food lit. Here's where I admit that junk-food lit is much higher on my priority reading list than brain building non-fiction stuff. To which I will also admit that in the name of book snobbery and personal vanity the brain building stuff just looks much classier (read: smarter) on my bookshelves.
So, in an effort look smart while also getting in my junk-food lit (now that I think about it, I suppose this can also be described as binge reading - where the addict reads junk lit in private while trying to portray a publicly wholesome reading practice) I've found myself craving a Kindle for quite some time. The idea of an e-reader was both compelling for the cheaper boooks and instant gratification factor, and repellant because the thing I really like about books is the book-ishness of them - folding the paper, smelling the pages, something which the Kindle just wasn't.
But then, oh but then. One wonderful night my fantastically amazing fiancee brought home the best surprise ever. My very own, very awesome Kindle. I was beside myself glee. And now I'm totally addicted and potentially a much bigger book nerd than ever before.
My friend at work has been urging me to read David Foster Wallace for quite some time, and since one of the wonderful things about the Kindle is the ability to download a sample of a book (kind of like browsing in a book store from the comfort of your own couch) for free. So I went sample book download happy and got instantly(!) received the first chapter of Consider the Lobster, by David Foster Wallace.
Three pages in and I had to purchase the book. It's that good. To envision the mind of David Foster Wallace one would need to picture the following: one evil genius marries Woodly Allen's neurotic artistry and their child ends up marrying the child of Philip Seymour Hoffman's dry parlance and Seth McFarland's quirky sense of humour. Their child would end up being something like David Foster Wallace on a bad day. He's that awesome.
Consider the Lobster is a collection of David Foster Wallace's essays that have appeared in publications like Gourmet Magazine, Harpar's Bazaar and Vanity Fair. He writes about subjects like: being behind the scenes at the 1998 Adult Video Awards, what it's like to ride the McCain's 2000 campaign tour bus, and a lenghtly critique of Bryan Garner's Dictionary of Moderan American Usage which explores the debate behind American lexicography. And that's not all. His essay Consider the Lobster is an ontological argument about lobsters - whether they feel pain and ultimately how he should feel about eating them. The awesomeness of this is only fully appreciated when one realizes that this article was published in Gourmet Magazine - a now defunct culinary magazine for people who love eating food, especially animals.
David Foster Wallace is one of those few authors who is able to write fiction and non-fiction exceedingly well. His like his non-fiction, DFW's fictional stories are exceedingly detailed and incredibly nuanced. He has this way of putting you right in the moment that makes his stories a little distburing to read sometimes.
He said somewhere that he once had a teacher who said that 'good fiction's job was to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.' Which is pretty accurate portrayal of what a DFW short story will do to you. His stories have a way of planting themselves in your subconscious and sprouting freakishly beautiful thoughts in your dreams. Which is exactly what I am beginning to discover as I read Brief Interviews with Hideous Men before bedtime - which may or may not be a big mistake...
So, in an effort look smart while also getting in my junk-food lit (now that I think about it, I suppose this can also be described as binge reading - where the addict reads junk lit in private while trying to portray a publicly wholesome reading practice) I've found myself craving a Kindle for quite some time. The idea of an e-reader was both compelling for the cheaper boooks and instant gratification factor, and repellant because the thing I really like about books is the book-ishness of them - folding the paper, smelling the pages, something which the Kindle just wasn't.
But then, oh but then. One wonderful night my fantastically amazing fiancee brought home the best surprise ever. My very own, very awesome Kindle. I was beside myself glee. And now I'm totally addicted and potentially a much bigger book nerd than ever before.
My friend at work has been urging me to read David Foster Wallace for quite some time, and since one of the wonderful things about the Kindle is the ability to download a sample of a book (kind of like browsing in a book store from the comfort of your own couch) for free. So I went sample book download happy and got instantly(!) received the first chapter of Consider the Lobster, by David Foster Wallace.
Three pages in and I had to purchase the book. It's that good. To envision the mind of David Foster Wallace one would need to picture the following: one evil genius marries Woodly Allen's neurotic artistry and their child ends up marrying the child of Philip Seymour Hoffman's dry parlance and Seth McFarland's quirky sense of humour. Their child would end up being something like David Foster Wallace on a bad day. He's that awesome.
Consider the Lobster is a collection of David Foster Wallace's essays that have appeared in publications like Gourmet Magazine, Harpar's Bazaar and Vanity Fair. He writes about subjects like: being behind the scenes at the 1998 Adult Video Awards, what it's like to ride the McCain's 2000 campaign tour bus, and a lenghtly critique of Bryan Garner's Dictionary of Moderan American Usage which explores the debate behind American lexicography. And that's not all. His essay Consider the Lobster is an ontological argument about lobsters - whether they feel pain and ultimately how he should feel about eating them. The awesomeness of this is only fully appreciated when one realizes that this article was published in Gourmet Magazine - a now defunct culinary magazine for people who love eating food, especially animals.
David Foster Wallace is one of those few authors who is able to write fiction and non-fiction exceedingly well. His like his non-fiction, DFW's fictional stories are exceedingly detailed and incredibly nuanced. He has this way of putting you right in the moment that makes his stories a little distburing to read sometimes.
He said somewhere that he once had a teacher who said that 'good fiction's job was to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.' Which is pretty accurate portrayal of what a DFW short story will do to you. His stories have a way of planting themselves in your subconscious and sprouting freakishly beautiful thoughts in your dreams. Which is exactly what I am beginning to discover as I read Brief Interviews with Hideous Men before bedtime - which may or may not be a big mistake...
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