Hello all,

I got into DFW after watching "The End of the Tour." I bought Infinite Jest and started reading it immediately, footnotes n all. Half the time I didn't know what I was reading, enjoying it here and there but skimming a lot. I continued reading knowing the reward from a book this size might not payoff until I finish it. I stopped reading at around page 350.

Over the course of the next seven or so years, I tried reading it again on and off, ultimately quitting at page 416 where its bookmark currently still resides.

Last winter I finished The Pale King and loved it. The only other DFW I have read. I treated it like a big book of short stories, so I didn't read it front-to-back but intermittently over the course of about five years--although I finished the last half of the book in about two weeks once I fell into a groove.

I want to feel the magic of Infinite Jest so I am going to try reading it again. After many years away from it, should I start over or just continue reading from page 416 and hope to still "get it"?Also, would it hurt if I skip the footnotes?

If it matters, I consider myself well-read and I am not new to reading post-modernism, just DFW. I have a difficult time getting into his work more than other authors in the PM movement/genre.

Thanks!