How to read "Infinite Jest" - for Fiction Writers

I just hit the month mark with it. Might be another two before I finish given all the reading (and novel writing) I'm doing.

My advice for you as a fellow fiction writer:

• don't read it just to get through it - though it's tempting since it's so long
• don't read it just for the story (I'm a 3rd done and the "story" is just now starting to vaguely show itself)
• don't read by chapter or section, just read
• don't take too long of time away from reading it, it only takes a week away for your "Infinite Jest" muscles to atrophy, which means slow going getting back into it (just like going to the gym)

Soak in the sentences. Mark interesting vocab, sentence constructions, and creative use of language (how it's phrased and presented) that standout to you - but don't stop to look up anything. Looking up things leads down rabbitholes that take you away from the book (I've fallen into a few).

But do stop to think about how certain sections, techniques, and presentations made you feel (about the characters, themes, narratives, etc.). Then go experiment with them in your own writing, then go back to the book. Rinse, repeat.

There's a lot of "how to read Infinite Jest" content out there, including videos, wikis, wordlists, an entire subreddit, and books - most are written by people who read the book just to say they read it so they feel smart (it has a kind of obnoxious fanboy/girl following online), most are not fiction writers - ignore em'..

The best way to read it is your way, but not too fast.

This is how I've gotten the most out of it.

Oh and you should definitely read the physical version so you can mark it up. Keep at least three bookmarks handy for going back and forth between the main narrative, endnotes, endnotes' endnotes, and other areas of interest. Don't fuck up like I did and get 100+ pages in before you realize the endnotes are part of the story too.

Enjoy the ride!