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Definitive Jest is a vocabulary-building and SNOOT-approved word-of-the-day blog centered around David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest.*

Infinite Jest is, in my mind, a nearly-incomparable novel.  It is rich and dense, and also challenging.  The determined reader is well-rewarded for her/his efforts.  Plot-structure complications aside, one of the difficulties is the work's extremely erudite vocabulary.

As I re-read Infinite Jest, I've noted interesting or unusual words.  These words form the content of Definitive Jest.

Reader suggestions, comments, or feedback on any content or features are greatly appreciated.

Jarett Myskiw

*Also: apparently an over-hyphenated blog.

10 comments:

  1. so glad you are doing this. it has been on my mind as i read infinite jest for the first time. i spend as much time looking words up and reading the appendix as i do the text. it is definitely going to several readings before i have a sense of things.

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    1. You're welcome and I'm glad you're finding the project useful!

      I found Infinite Jest really opened up after I'd pushed through the first couple hundred pages and got a sense of the characters and connections. It is definitely a different read the second time, though, and I'm loving it just as much.

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  2. Great idea. I decided to look up each term I came across that I was unfamiliar with this time through. Voila--this popped up. Awesome work.

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  3. Thanks for validating my recent use of the word "thanatopic" -- Dr. Pablito

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  4. Jarett, thanks for the blog. I've just linked to your blog from my own (http://chapterthis.blogspot.com), where I've posted about my recently completed journey through Infinite Jest. Compliments on your idea and your entries.

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  5. on p. 547, Randy Lenz thinks killing Pat's dogs "would be tattlemount to legal suicide"

    "tattlemount"--is this just his malapropism for "tantamount," or..?

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    1. Never mind--I see it's just part of his character! (p. 717 "amonymous streets")

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  6. I wish I could get a word a day emailed to me from this! Huge fan

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