I really don't mind going to the library, I just have to figure out which one is closest. princessbunny's former local branch is out of walking-with-Laurel but within biking-with-Laurel range; I think one Dallas branch and one Carrollton branch (which she'll be eligible for a card at once she's in kindergarten) may be closer. Looking at Yahoo! Maps now.

On first glance, it's in near-mint condition aside from an easily-repaired dust jacket tear.

It's one of the best books ever written. If you haven't read anything by David Foster Wallace before, you might want to pick up, say, "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" first, to make sure the style doesn't make you want to throw him against a wall.

(Whatever you do -- do NOT get Broom Of The System. That one was his first, and he wrote it really young, and it's really not good. Girl With Curious Hair is OK; it's also a lot of early stuff, but it's got some really good stuff, but it's much more uneven. I'd probably recommend either Brief Interviews or his essay collection "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again". His new one, Oblivion, is really good too. But Infinite Jest is 1000 pages, with about 100 of endnotes. So it can be a little daunting, especially because his style is Different. Really, really good, but different.

Also, IJ is incredibly addictive. I've read it twice, within about a couple months of each reading. So, uh, yeah. But it's SO GOOD. And I recommend the Hardcover if you have a choice.)

Keen!

I just mention it, because the first time I started IJ, I got about 20 pages in before I gave up. Of course, this probably has more to do with starting it on a flight, rather than somewhere else. Because I cannot for the life of me read on a plane. I went back to it after I read Brief Interviews and really liked it (I especially recommend the story "Forever Overhead" from that collection, for what it's worth), and that caused me to pick up another copy (having given away my other one), which turned out to be a hardback this time anwyay (because, seriously? 1000 page paperbacks?), and I was all "EEE, book GOOD."

Also: It helps to read it with three bookmarks. Just so you know.

....somethign else I was going to add, but I forgot what it was, since I just woke up. Ah well.

SEMI-SPOILER



One of the notes (#24, IIRC), is a filmography of one of the characters. Without going into detail (anyway, it'll be obvious once you start the book and get that far), it's _real_ handy to have ready.

I've toyed with actually making Special IJ Bookmarks for todcra, just because my three stay with my copy of IJ, because they're covered in notes and jots to myself.

It really is. And it's incredibly addictive as I've said. But yeah... you tend to feel sad when it's over, just because you've spent so much time with all of these people. So, uh, yeah. It's really good!