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r/InfiniteJest

just over 250 left - this book has been the highlight of my year
▲ 105 r/InfiniteJest+1 crossposts

just over 250 left - this book has been the highlight of my year

While I’m excited to finish, I just don’t want it to end.

u/Slow_News8594 — 21 hours ago
▲ 12 r/InfiniteJest

it’s too damn big and heavy

has anyone ever found some version of Infinite Jest to buy that’s split into multiple books? has anyone ripped it apart at the seams to not have to carry the whole thing around all the time? what page did you split it on? and any suggestion for then protecting the exposed pages? i wanna read it but i swear the #1 thing getting in the way is that i refuse to carry a book the size of a toddler around in my backpack 24/7. i guess i could get an e-reader but i don’t think it would be the same.

notes: i am small.

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u/ypressays — 19 hours ago
▲ 26 r/InfiniteJest

The Center of Gravity

I'm on my second read for Infinite Summer and I can't get over how incredible the following section of the book is.

Pages 538-619
Starts with "It is starting to get quietly around Ennet House that Randy Lenz..." and ends with "...Lenz and Green's shows coming together..."

This section has no title and just starts with the typographical circle. It has so many rewarding plot points and the section feels like a gravitational pull where all of the stories come together before spinning you back out to the fringes again.

The key stories in this section include:
- Lenz's Animal Killing
- Rodney Tine to Boston
- Pemulis Catches Avril
- Gately Gets Shot
- Orin and the Swiss Hand Model

Within these smaller stories there's other great moments like Wayne sticking his head into Hal's room after the Pemulis incident, Irslandian walking around blindfolded, Gately recognizing Joelle's voice as Madame Psychosis...

I feel like the section is such a payoff. The section in isolation is pure chaos. The section with context of the rest of the book is amazing. It's like being in on a hundred little jokes that only you and DFW are in on.

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u/LimaActual — 23 hours ago
▲ 1.4k r/InfiniteJest+1 crossposts

[REQUEST] Can a human pull more than their bodyweight on a lat pulldown machine if not strapped down?

My friends and I are debating this question. I have seen people ask it online, but I can't find a true mathematical answer, and GPT doesn't get it either.

My claim is that you cannot do a lat pulldown on a perfect 90 degree pulldown machine (with a pulley, like pictured), where the weight on the other end is more than your body weight.

My example is that if you have 175 pounds on the other end, and you weigh 150 pounds, when you do the motion, you will just end up doing a pullup because the weight on the other end counteracts your ability to pull it.

One of my friends is acting like I'm totally braindead, and the other one agreed with me but now seems to have changed his mind, or doesn't know for sure.

If you are NOT strapped down to the earth/machine, and you try to pull down VERTICALLY while the weight on the other side is heavier than you, can you lift the weigh at all if you are strong enough? What is the exact mathematical answer to this?

One friend also said you can't pull your own weight horizontally if you are standing, but he changed his mind, and I think once you go closer to horizontal (blow 90 degrees), you should be able to do it easier.

Sorry, this might be super dumb. But idk

u/LEWDWARD — 4 days ago
▲ 63 r/InfiniteJest+1 crossposts

MOA end of the tour seats

A friend and I who’ve recently been getting into DFW visited the Mall of America today and visited the spot where the MoA scene takes place

And as a bonus I picked up Wallace’s Everything and more at Barnes and noble

u/DesolateDersite — 2 days ago
▲ 18 r/InfiniteJest

Question about The End of the Tour

Just finished the book last night after reading it for the past five weeks. Loved it. My best friend and I meet up every Friday and drink and watch movies and YouTube and generally hang out. I’ve been telling him quite a bit about the book and shown him a couple of DFW interviews on YouTube and he’s really interested in reading it, so I’m going to let him borrow it. I thought for our movie night this week we could watch The End of the Tour, but I’m wondering it there might be spoilers for the book at all, or how difficult it would be to enjoy without having read IF first. Would it be better to wait until after he’s finished with it? Or will it hype him up and help him enjoy the book even more? Thanks y’all. Happy to be in this sub as I didn’t want to engage at all before finishing - there are some really funny memes here.

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u/walrusAssault — 5 days ago
▲ 6 r/InfiniteJest

Hal questioning French Canadian stuff?

I'm trying to find a passage from later in the book where I believe Hal says something along the lines of "What's with all the French Canadian stuff lately". Does anyone happen to know what page this is on?

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u/Sirhc9er — 4 days ago
▲ 2 r/InfiniteJest

Is this a legitimate copy?

I got this as a gift, but online the 1st edition cover books without the dust cover seem to have a much deeper blue than the copy I have got. Is this just how the 28, 2025 printing is?

u/Luna2091 — 5 days ago
▲ 11 r/InfiniteJest

Mad men

I’ve noticed that there’s a pretty big overlap of people who love IJ and people who love Mad Men. Myself included, and this guy: Pure Kino had this take: “The plot is there to serve the characters” and I kinda thought “Bingo” and tho IJ is bigger than that. It’s a good litmus test.

Anyway, thought I’d share.

https://youtu.be/ZRiLlocxzv0?is=Qb1U0DpVFOwVqhX\_

u/OutlandishnessBig527 — 4 days ago