Jaunted

Wallace grew up in southern Illinois and taught at Illinois State for a few years, during which time he wrote a cover story for Harper's about the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. You can download his piece "Ticket to the Fair" here, or see it for yourself August 14 to 23. Tickets are $5 ($2 for the under-13 set) and include opportunities to experience a pirate-themed diving exhibition, a cow made of butter and a petting zoo.

Wallace started working on the book while living in Syracuse, somewhat near the town of Ithaca where he was born. A friend from those days described his apartment as containing "towers of manuscripts," so he might have escaped to Second Story Bookstore (550 Westcott St.) for a break and a little inspiration.

Naturally, the bulk of even the paperback version of Infinite Jest makes it slightly less than desirable as a carry-on addition, but all signs point to its being worth the added weight. Besides, as a combination bug killer/towel counterweight/stranger impresser, it can't be beat.

And don't forget to read his Harper's short story "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again," where he hilariously recounts his adventures onboard a cruise ship. If you're not down for 900+ pages of novel goodness over summer, then this brief story is a must-read; it gets our highest recommendation.

Related Stories:
· Still Time To Start Infinite Jest [Infinitesummer.org]
· The Five Must-See Sundance Films of '08 Included A DFW Adaptation [Jaunted]
· How David Foster Wallace Wrote Infinite Jest in Syracuse [Syracuse.com]
· The New Yorker's Roger Angell on reading during the summer [New Yorker]

[Photo: william couch]