Comments on: Colin Meloy: Thoughts at pg. 750; or, Staying at Pace

By: Maile Meloy–Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It (2009) « I Just Read About That…

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:46:13 +0000

[...] his Infinite Summer post Colin Meloy plugged the new book that his sister had just written. I wasn’t aware of the [...]

By: Sarah L

Sarah L — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:30:19 +0000

I brought IJ to your Pittsburgh show in case I couldn’t get a ticket & had to wait for my friends while they were inside. Luckily I got a ticket and kept IJ for later that night.

By: stephanie

stephanie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:49:48 +0000

Even when it ends though, it doesn’t really end. My friend and I were just discussing how we both have IJ-related dreams. I think about the book all the time.. and plan to re-read it after I read all of the readers guides and philosophy texts it refers to. Plus it’s a way of life, kind of. It’s certainly changed my life, particularly in the way that I try to really put myself in the present. I don’t know how best to articulate it, but I just feel like this book will never really leave me.

By: David Foster Wallace–[Week 11] Infinite Jest (1996) « I Just Read About That…

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:41:40 +0000

[...] Colin Meloy’s fun post on Infinite Summer he jokes ” that I’m well over ¾ of the way through this 1000 page book [...]

By: Infinite Tasks

Infinite Tasks — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:34:03 +0000

Stephanie, I’m already slowing down my reading – hovering, for the first time, right at (and even one day last week a day behind) the spoiler rather than my usual 30-40 pp. ahead – because I don’t want this to end any sooner than it has to. I get afraid when I get engrossed that I’ll read straight through and all of a sudden be done, like a bag of candy at the movies. Not enough M&Ms, I think… Don’t let IJ end…

By: stephanie

stephanie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:11:03 +0000

Well – not all is lost. They can always join the mailing list (which I just did and am very happy about) and engage in discussion.

By: Links for 9.3.09: Let the wild rumpus BEGIN, for god’s sake « the listenerd

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:15:59 +0000

[...] The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy weighs in on David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest” as a part of the reading project [...]

By: Infinite Summer – Week 10 « The Feminist Texican

Infinite Summer – Week 10 « The Feminist Texican — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:24:36 +0000

[...] Colin Meloy’s article snapped me back to reality. Before I did that sewing boot camp at the beginning of August and got so horribly off track, I too was firmly reading at pace. Then I got further and further behind in my reading, which in turn made me come down with a case of I have lots of time. I can catch up. I just want to read something ellllllllse. [...]

By: Max

Max — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:06:14 +0000

I had completely forgotten about anti-confluential – that endnote was such a long time ago – but that sounds like this book. I know no one else who is reading IJ now and I can’t articulate to anyone who dares to ask why I am reading this very heavy book. Not to mention why I am doing it at such a slow pace, following the schedule in my bookmarks and still can’t answer the very simple question – what is the book about??

So it was a private satisfaction to realize, as I attended the awe inspiring Buffalo (etc…) concert – that Colin Meloy was probably right around the same place in this book as I was!

By: Joan

Joan — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:52:57 +0000

I’ve really enjoyed being on schedule – for me it’s made it a larger experience. If I had already finished I don’t think the posts and forums and blogs would have the same impact/hold on me and they’re such a big part of the whole. I also thought that the schedule would leave time for other books as well and that held true at the beginning, but as it became more engrossing the other books have been put on hold.

Regarding the Third Thing – for me it feels as though I’ve become a part of the world that he creates in IJ and regardless of the outcome, plot development, etc. it’s a world I want to stay in. The approach of the end and my memories of approaching fall (in central Florida it doesn’t really happen)lend a bitersweet edge that is at least tempered by the fact that I know I’ll reread it and can re-enter this world whenever I want. In thinking about the “nothing really happens” aspect the comparison that keeps popping into my head is with Seinfield! I remember when the series first started it was described as being about a group of friends but nothing really happens. I think that’s one of the beauties of IJ – it’s so much like real life, made up of moments and vignettes that sometimes relate to each other but often don’t and we swim through it all. To me it’s what he was getting at in This is Water and is the only true way to live – really experiencing all the different moments and getting the most out of them and not being focused on what it will all add up to for me. Hopefully this makes sense!