Alright. So I guess I'll start......

But damn, it feels pretty intimidating to start ANY kind of discussion on IJ.

Year of Glad. Hal is a pretty major character in the book, maybe the most important. He's sort of the co-protagonist, if you want to get fancy about it.

And I remember that the first time I ever started this book I was pretty wary of this opening section as I was reading it. It always struck me, and still does, as being overly "writerly". Like DFW is just flexing his muscles here, showing off a little. But what hit me this time around is that it completely fits. Because it's Hal's voice. When the deans start reading off the list of Hal's papers, and the titles just veer off into the most arcane academic subject imagineable, it fits. It seems to function both as authorial showboating and a kind of self-indictment. It's funny because it's true. (I figure pop culture references will abound in this discussion. How can they not?)

But even in the midst of all of it, you can start to get a sense of what this is all about. This whole first bit is a teaser, as is the second bit.

I used to think the book should have opened with this epic pot/paranoia/preparation episode. I had completely forgotten about this part until that first sentence. And it had me laughing out loud almost the whole time. The insane rituals, all the elaborate justifications and fears. Just awesome. And it lays down the foundation for the main focus of this whole gigantic thing: addiction. Addiction and how all sorts of different people deal with it, fight against it, live with it, and lose to it. Half of the time its funny, if dark; the other half is just plain dark.


Now, the more concrete, how-in-the-hell do i manage this unwieldy beast advice:

- Use 2 bookmarks. One for the book, one for the endnotes. And don't skip out on the endnotes, they're worth it.

- I think I read 5 or 6 other books over the course of IJ the first time around. While there are going to be times when this book will definitely sweep you up and you'll cruise through huge chunks of text, there will also be times when you'll have to force yourself to get through it. And sometimes it helps to have a distraction to clear your head. Kinky Friedman mysteries, essay collections, rock music bios (yeah i'm looking at you, Keef), etc.

- Its sometimes a little complicated to try and keep track of who's who, and what year happens when, and how all of these people relate to eachother. I've never picked up any of the IJ "guides" but i imagine they might be helpful on some very basic levels. Anyone have one? Or recommend one?

- Lastly, keep in touch. I know this went up one day late, but let's aim for a Monday afternoon posting every week.
I don't know if this seems like a good jumping-off post or not, so feel free to write whatever you like. As long as the discussion happens, it doesn't really matter what form it takes.