What Do You Think I Should Do, Darlings???????????

I know, the first answer, before I even pose the situation to you all, is an unlimited vacation, but, hell, it's not like I am Lindsay Lohan, with just time on my hands, besides which, if I were Lindsay, my mind would not be as razor sharp and cogent enough to do this, which, you know, girls, being the Raving Queen that I am, it certainly is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Several postings back, I mused upon Fall's Literary Events, one of which turned out to be a novel published earlier this year, and which I managed to buy in a nice, formatted trade paperback edition--"The Instructions," by Adam Levin. At 1,027 pages it is one of the heaviest tomes I have lifted, but not the longest I have read, having successfully read Tolstoy's "War And Peace" twice (and looking forward to a third, maybe a fourth time!), and ALL (yes, darlings ALL) of Marcel Proust's "In Search Of Lost Time," or, as it is more popularly known, "Remembrance Of Things Past." The last I did over a period of five summers--a volume a summer. I started at the age of 46, and finished when I was 51!!!!!!! A volume a summer was all I could handle of this massive work, but the result was a reading experience that, if you care about literature, you owe it to yourselves to make the effort to have!!!!!!

Just about the only so-called classic I have left to crack is James Joyce's "Ulysses." My plan has always been to take a summer, read Homer's "The Odyssey" (which I have not read since high school) first, then on to Joyce, who uses Homer structurally for his work. Time will tell how I do!!!!!!!!!!

But, getting back to "The Instructions." I am not nearly ready to read this yet, having some other works on the back burner, so to speak. However, everything I read about this work references one other in relation to it--"Infinite Jest," by David Foster Wallace, which I have had sitting on my shelf for at least ten years, and which I figure, before I do read "The Instructions," I should take the opportunity to experience, as it could enrich my reading of the more recent work????

BUT--But--This is the question, darlings--When should I do this???????? Should I wait till next summer???????? Take a chance???????? Start the coming year off with it???????? Because, in addition to the momumentality of the book, there are, as I have found out, any number of ways to read it. Very few people say to just read it like every other book. The best assesment I have read suggests reading it, using three bookmarks simultaneously--one for the main text, one for the footnotes, and one for (I have no idea of the why of this, having read nary a word!!) for page 223 alone!!!!!!!!!!!

In addition, among my friends--a pretty erudite group, they, none of them have EVER read "Infinite Jest." In fact, I know people out there have read it--but no one, absolutely NO ONE in my circle of friends or even casual acquaintances--has read it!!!!!!!!!!

So I am posing these questions to my girls, in the hope that some of you out there have read it, or may know others who have. In which case--

When should I start reading it?

What is the best way to go about reading it??????

I will up the ante on this one, loves!!!!!!!! The winner of the most sensible answer gets dinner with moi, The Raving Queen, darlings, at One If By Land, Two If By Sea!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, tell me about your "Infinite Jest" experiences!!!!!! And help me decide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!