String Theory

Another Read Harder Challenge book: “Read a book about sports.” I know nothing about most sports, but I do like David Foster Wallace's writing. This book was excellent, even for someone who doesn't know zip about tennis. I didn't know anything about lobsters either, but the essay he wrote for Gourmet ([b:Consider the Lobster and Other Essays 6751 Consider the Lobster and Other Essays David Foster Wallace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388854217s/6751.jpg 2207382]) is one of the best things I've ever read.

Okay, I'm all in on David Foster Wallace! I actually went in to this set of essays with little to no knowledge about Tennis and very little interest in the sport. Despite my previous indifference the author kept me invested from cover to cover.

I don't know if I'd recommend this to everyone. It's not exactly thrilling, and it's dense with facts and footnotes that were sometimes overwhelming.

Overall I'd say this collection is like a long road trip with the author. He takes you on a journey through a place he loves and points out all the important bits along the way. Parts of it are a slog and you just need to get through them because you have a destination he wants you to get to, but overall the journey is something you look back on fondly and really there was no other way to get where you were going anyway.

Anyway, yeah, 5/5 and I want more.

I read half of this, set it down, and made myself pick it back up. It didn't grab me, and I feel like this is probably what happened with Infinite Jest way back when I was 22 or so. For me, David Foster Wallace wrote Girl With Curious Hair, a story I read riding trains in Europe and for which I am forever grateful - that's enough.