Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

• January - February -- Chapters 1 - 15
(pp. 3 - 181, 179 pages + Notes 1-59)

Am I the 1st post?! What an honor ;)
I've read the 1st sixty or so pages (so maybe 5 chapters) and am finding it pretty easy reading so far. Having to look at the footnotes in back is a little tedious but they are interesting.
I previously read Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments and This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life.

I’m only at Chapter 3 (page 27) because I’m a very very slow reader; I savor every word - which is quite a challenge, but thankfully we have a wiki and even a dedicated blog for DFW neologisms like magisculed (https://definitivejest.blogspot.com/2...).
I’m cheating a bit because at the start of each chapter I look up in which year the story takes place.

So far the novel feels fresh and actual, but the descriptions of technology makes me aware of how dramatically technology has evolved since 1995, especially since the emergence of smartphones and the rise of streaming services. It’s hard to remember how different life was even 15 years ago before YouTube existed.

I love how meticulously DFW uses words to describe whatever he sees in his mind’s eye. Not pretentious and purple prosaic like Proust, but with a laser-sharp eye for detail, a wide but refreshing vocabulary, and also a sprinkle of humor. I also enjoy how Orin’s narrator and Erdedy’s narrator use a completely different voice.

I stand corrected, YouTube was founded in 2005, and the first iPhone was launched in 2007. I remember how flabbergasted I was when my father (who worked in IT) told me in 2002 that the future mobile phones would have no buttons but only a touch screen. Of course DFW could never imagine such a future in 1995.

Here is a map of the ETA building as described on page 51:

https://janetopping.co.uk/wp-content/...

I finally made it through the first part of the reading yesterday. I am enjoying it, but I find it difficult to read more than 10-12 pages at a time. It really takes a lot of my concentration. But I am intrigued to see where the story will go.

I will say though, I am learning more about drugs than I ever wanted to know lol

Okay, I'm out. I'm glad some folk love this book with a passion, but I'm 105 pages and the thought of grinding through another 900 pages was severely depressing me.

I've finished Finnegans Wake, I can get through difficult books, but this feels like 1000 pages of self-indulgent old wank. The doctor interview with Kate Gompert was an all too brief ray of sunshine when reading was easy and entertaining, but all too brief.

So, I'm out. This is a DNF for me.