Happy 30th Birthday, Infinite Jest!

Even if you don't know me personally, if you know I'm a Gen-X dude who loves literary fiction, you could probably safely infer that Infinite Jest is a foundational text for me. And you'd be right. Don't worry, I'm not here to rehash my long history with the novel (you can read a little more about that in this post if you're interested) and you certainly don't need a plot summary or discussion of prominent themes. 

Instead, as the novel turns 30 years old (published Feb. 1, 1996), I wanted to commemorate this moment and talk about two things:

1) Quickly, my experience reading the novel for a second time late last year.

2) More importantly, Hermione Hoby's absolutely WONDERFUL essay in the New Yorker, “Infinite Jest” Has Turned Thirty. Have We Forgotten How to Read It?

First...people saying: Wow, you re-read a 1,079-page novel? Are you f#$king insane? Haha. Yes. Yes, I am. But I had help this time -- a bunch of book nerd friends and I read the novel as a group last fall. Of course, yes I noticed a ton I missed previously. Of course, yes, it was a totally different novel 17 years after the first time I'd read it -- not because the novel changed but because I did, and the world did. And of course, yes, I still loved it. (Here is a short post on the re-read, if you're interested.)

Sure, a small part of me was a little anxious that it wouldn't live up to the hype in my own brain the second time. I needn't have feared.

And that brings us to Hermione Hoby's New Yorker piece. When I first saw the image of a young DFW and the headline implying we've lost the ability to read long and difficult books, I was like "great, another DFW takedown piece. Groundbreaking." But it is exactly the opposite. Hoby FEROCIOUSLY defends not just the novel, but also its length, complexity, and even DFW's exalted status, and the silly trend toward demonizing DFW fans. 

I loved her piece, and would encourage you to go read it. And though I understand the tl;dr irony of picking out a few passages from a long essay defending a long novel, here are four parts of Hoby's piece I thought were particularly great. 

1. On reading Infinite Jest after DFW died by suicide, which was my experience, as well -- and how that couldn't help but shade Hoby's reading of the novel: 

Death casts an ennobling sheen on any writer, but especially on one who, to use another “Infinite Jest”-ism, eliminated his own map—a coinage that tells us something about Wallace’s aversion to treacly solemnity, even the trace amount present in the euphemism “took his own life.”

2. Yes, Infinite Jest is inarguably male-coded and male-centric. Hoby writes that, as one small piece of evidence of this, the two female main characters -- Avril Incandenza and Joelle Van Dyen -- are both absolute smoke shows. But Hoby also notes that the 30th anniversary edition of Infinite Jest includes a forward by Michelle Zauner (of Crying in H-Mart and Japanese Breakfast fame). And also, Hoby herself loved it, despite the fact she's not "supposed to." 

Encountering the novel in my twenties, I was unaware that I was committing a form of gender treason; I knew only that little or nothing I’d read had come close in terms of sheer pleasure. The book had more brio, heart, and humor than I thought possible on the page. It was bizarrely grotesque and howlingly sad; it was sweet, silly, and vertiginously clever. 

3. I've spent the last 20 years telling anyone who will listen that I love DFW's writing because he's the perfect mix of the high- and low-brow. Hoby puts it even better: 

The blend of brainy and base is typical Wallace. Here is a guy anxious to assure you that he may have produced a Dostoyevskian work of profligate genius, but he’s also just a regular dumbass like you.

4. Finally, here is Hoby's case for reading fiction generally, but Infinite Jest specifically...and especially why reading is important now. This is SO well said.

His great novel proposed that the compulsive, addictive character of America, not least its addiction to entertainment, could best be resisted through the engaged reading of fiction. Here is a book about addiction that offers itself as a kind of counter-addiction, an example of the compounding value of sustained attention. The infamous length of “Infinite Jest” is, in this sense, a central feature of its ethic: not bigness as brag but duration as discipline.

RIP, DFW. 

Vigil, by George Saunders: A Life, Examined...

The mark of a truly magnificent writer is the ability to take a tried-and-true trope and give it fresh life. In his new novel, Vigil, George Saunders makes the Christmas Carol story of examining a life poorly lived feel fully original. Therefore, George Saunders is a magnificent writer.

Few would dispute that conclusion, is my guess. I certainly would not. And Vigil is magnificent, too. Vigil is a short novel about many things -- but perhaps most notably, it's about coming to terms with mortality, looking back on your life, and simply asking yourself (or, in this case, being forced to answer by a liminal being tasked with ushering you into the afterlife), "How did I do?" 

The fellow being forced to examine his life is an oil executive named KJ Boone who spent his career funding and spreading climate change misinformation. For Boone (a fictional stand-in for T. Boone Pickens?), who made money hand over fist selling pollution, protecting his company and his own wealth meant "refuting" all the evidence that how he spent his life's work was innately harmful. But as he's lying on his deathbed, and Jill "Doll" Blaine is summoned to usher him into the next life, he's confronted with the harm, death, and destruction his company has caused, as well as the truth that, yes, climate change is in fact real. Will he repent?

So yes, Vigil is also Saunders's take on an environmental (political?) novel. 

Environmentalists are often derided by critics as acting with the same zeal and fervor as religious fundamentalists. But what if environmentalism being like religion is actually a good thing? If one of the "benefits" of religion is that it gives people hope, what could be more hopeful than the idea that the planet is still worth saving? What could be more beneficial than true faith in the beauty and dignity of Mother Earth? 

And further, if environmentalism is a religion, can it also be a vehicle for death-bed conversions? And thus, to find the answer to this question is why we rip through this slim novel: Will this asshole Boone have a moment of clarity at the end? And if he has a moment of clarity at the end, will he, with his last breaths, try to make amends for all the damage he's done? Or will he dig in further? 

This novel calls to mind one of my favorite 2020-election era jokes. Two MAGAts die and, for some reason, get to go heaven. At the pearly gates, they encounter St. Peter, who asks them if they have any questions before entering paradise. One MAGAt glances at the other, and then says to St. Peter, "So, who reeaaaalllly won the 2020 election?" St. Peter, without hesitation, tells them: "Joe Biden." Both MAGAt snort-laugh, and the other one says, "Wow, this conspiracy goes even higher than we thought."

Vigil is also about the idea of being willing to change your mind when presented with new information. Human nature makes us not good at this. BUT, the better we learn to be at processing ideas and evidence that contradict what we previously thought, and adjusting our opinions accordingly, the better humans we can be.

So yes, there is a LOT going on in Vigil's 172 pages. It's quirky and funny, it's profound and sad, and magnificently imaginative. I really loved it! 

New Dork Review's Most Anticipated Books of 2026

A new bookish year is upon us and it promises to be a banger. Anytime you get a new George Saunders in January, that portends a pretty good reading year. Plus, Colson Whitehead, Ann Patchett, Dave Eggers, Richard Russo, and a lot more. 

The list of 14 books below is, of course, hardly a complete list -- I tried to make my list a mix of the "big" books of 2026 and the ones with special interest for me, personally. If you want a more complete list, check the Chicago Review of Books, or Lit Hub, or Book Riot. 

Quick note: This is your annual reminder that The New Dork Review of Books is and will always be free. But if you want to help support my tiny corner of the internet, preorder any of these books from the Bookshop affiliate links. I get a small (legal) kickback and it also immensely helps the authors.

Anyway...here's my list of 14 great upcoming books: 

Football, by Chuck Klosterman (January 20) -- Who better than one of our best cultural critics to write about our (crazy?) cultural obsession. (🐻⬇️)  

Vigil, by George Saunders (January 27) -- Another slim novel from Saunders with a wild treatment of the liminal space between life and death? YES YES! There isn't a single "most anticipated" list that hasn't included this book. 

Kin, by Tayari Jones (February 24) -- If you read and loved An American Marriage, and I did, this book must also be on your most anticipated list. 

Brawler: Stories, by Lauren Groff (February 24) -- Gotta maintain my Lauren Groff Completist status. 

For the Love of the Grind, by Sarah Hall (April 21) -- Woohoo, after last year's book from Keira D'Amato, we get a memoir this year from another top-tier marathoner. I'm here for any and all running books, and what a great title! 

This Is Not About Running, by Mary Cain (April 28) -- This is yet another tell-all book (sad that there has to be more than one, much less several) about the abuse at the Nike Oregon Project under disgraced coach Alberto Salazar. I'll read every single one of them, and continue to be inspired by these athletes. 

How We See the Gray, by Rachel León (May 15) -- Rachel is a friend and colleague at the Chicago Review of Books, and this is her debut novel. Rachel is tremendous writer, interviewer, and book reviewer, a fierce advocate for indie presses, and a passionate and astute literary citizen. But I've never had the privilege to read her fiction -- so I cannot WAIT for her novel! 

Whistler, by Ann Patchett (June 2) -- This may be a book I take a long summer read-cation day and just absorb in a sitting or two. I love Ann Patchett's writing so much, and this story about "bravery, memory, the often small yet consequential moments that define our lives" sounds like Wheelhouse Ann.

Contrapposto, by Dave Eggers (June 9) -- Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, but make it Eggers! That's what this novel sounds like: Two art students spend their lives together in friendship and love and everything in between. 

We Will See You Bleed, by Ron Currie (July 7) -- Babs is back! This book is a prequel to one of my favorite 2025 books, The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne. Babs of course died at the end of that one (not a spoiler, it's in the title), but she's back running Waterville, Maine several decades earlier in this new installment.

Man Overboard!, by Kathleen Rooney (July 7) -- Chicago author Rooney has written about a sentient messenger pigeon, a rapacious oil company, a fierce woman walking around New York City, and more, and they're all absolutely fascinating. RANGE! This book is about a college swimmer who falls off a cruise ship and contemplates his life. Quirky and fun!  

Tenderness, Rowan Beaird (July 21) -- Beaird's debut The Divorcées was such a fun book. Really looking forward to what she's up to next with this novel about a 1970s wedding on a small island. 

Cool Machine, by Colson Whitehead (July 21) -- Don't you love it when the title of a novel also describes its author. 😎 With this book ,Whitehead wraps up the brilliant Ray Carney Harlem Trilogy. I may go back and read the first two again this summer -- they're sooo good. 

Under the Falls, by Richard Russo (August 11) -- Russo is a "phone book" author for me, so of course I'm going to read his new novel, and his first standalone book in a while, about a crime in a small town. 

The New Dork Review Year In, Um, Review: Most-Read Posts of 2025

Welp, we've all but 2025'ed as much 2025 as can be 2025'ed. But before we go on to a new year, let's take a quick look back at some of the most-read posts from a year in which I wrote more here than I have in more than a decade.

Let me just say quickly, too: THANK you all so much for reading this thing here at my quiet little corner of the internet. Can you believe this has been going for 16 years now? Your comments and feedback still make this a whole lot of fun. On to year 17!

And but so, here are the most-read posts of 2025: 

1. The Definitive Ranking of Dan Brown's Six Robert Langdon Novels -- Symbology, hell yeah! Robert Langdon (mostly because people found it from Google) is the most-viewed (I say "most-viewed" instead of "most-read" because, again, people found this from Google😅) post of 2025.

2. Top 8 Ways Reading is Like Running -- Shout out to Rebecca at Book Riot for including this post in the Book Riot Newsletter. If you're not subscribed to the Book Riot Newsletter, you should DEFINITELY SUBSCRIBE TO THE BOOK RIOT NEWSLETTER. 

3. The New Dork Review Top 10 of 2025 -- Out last week, ICYMI.

4. 8 Really Great Debut Novels You Should Read Right Now -- People like book lists. Give the people what they want. 

5. Shelf Lives, Vol. 4: A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving -- The fourth of five Shelf Lives posts this year definitely struck a nerve with you, dear readers. It was so much fun hearing how many of you have read and loved this book. 

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This year was also the first full year of being a daily editor and occasional contributor to the Chicago Review of Books. I really love this publication, and its mission is more vital than ever as review pages are being cut in major newspapers everywhere. Subscribe to the CHIRB newsletter here. 

5. Review of Jess Walter's So Far Gone -- But for real, who hasn't wanted to just haul off and cold-cock a MAGA jerk and then go live in the woods for seven years? 

4. Interview with Jonathan Evison -- The Heart of Winter was the first 2025 book I read, and it wound up as a favorite. Loved hearing about Evison's inspirations for this novel. 

3. Interview with Nickolas Butler -- Mr. Butler is one of the nicest people in publishing. I've read every word he's written. And it was so much fun to get to talk to him about his new novel, A Forty-Year Kiss.

2. Review of Pynchon's probably last novel, Shadow Ticket -- So Pynchonian. 

1. Interview with Samira Ahmed about book bans -- "Samira, how can I be brave?" a teacher asked Samira when a school district tried to soft ban one of Samira's novels. This interview was the single-most inspiring thing I had the privilege to be a part of this year. Samira is absolutely incredible, a whirlwind force for good. In fact, she was recently awarded the 2025 Adam Morgan Literary Leadership Award from the Chicago Review of Books for her work with Authors Against Book Bans.

The New Dork Review 10 Best Books of 2025

My assessment of the year in books 2025 is this: There were many very, very good books. But there was not a single great one. But that's okay. It's not every year a book like, say, James in 2024, comes along.

A definite plus for 2025, though, was that several writers I've read and admired for a long time put out their best book yet. Karen Russell, Jonathan Evison, and Ron Currie, for example. There were some other personal highlights, as well, including: 

• I finally read Lonesome Dove
• I finally reread Infinite Jest (and loved it just as much -- if not more -- the second time)
• I've published here 45 times, which is the most since 2013! 
• I'll either break my record or come in second this year for pages read in a year (north of 27,000)

But so, onward! In no particular order, here are my 10 favorite books of 2025: 

The Antidote, by Karen Russell -- I don't know if you classify this as magical realism, sci-fi, historical speculative fiction, or something else, and that's okay. This is the one book this year that surprised me most for how much I liked it. I've read everything Russell's written, and I love her short stories, and very much did not love her first novel, Swamplandia! But this book, I think, is the best thing she's written -- a wholly original story that constantly had me thinking, "How the hell did she conceive of this?"

The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne, by Ron Currie -- A literary thriller with the eponymous feisty old broad who bears more than a passing resemblance to Tony Soprano in thoughts and deeds, this was Currie's first novel in nearly a decade. And it's his best one yet, in my opinion. And even better news: He has a prequel or companion, We Will See You Bleed, coming out next summer! 

Paper Girl, by Beth Macy -- The only nonfiction entry on my list, this book is the most clear-eyed and insightful thing I've read about how small-town American has turned into the Cult of MAGA, how opportunities that existed for low-income people in the 1980s no longer do, and some of the dreadful impacts of people being brainwashed to vote against their own interests has had on their own communities. Authentic and real. Everything Hillybilly Elegy is not. 

Deep Cuts, by Holly Brickley -- This story about collaboration, creativity, inspiration and young love  is just an absolute delight. But the strength of this debut is how astutely Brickley writes about music -- she is able to completely deconstruct a song and make us understand why it works (or doesn't). The novel is also of such a specific time (the early 2000s) that the nostalgia is fierce!

Pan, by Michael Clune -- This novel is a delectable splatter pattern of descriptions of images and light and color literally unlike anything I've ever read. Language in Clune's writing is malleable, formable, turn-able, twistable, and the result is writing so unexpectedly fresh and original, it was hard for me to put this book down. Not because the plot was riveting, but just because I couldn't wait to see what new joys the next sentence would bring

The Heart of Winter, by Jonathan Evison -- The third entry in this year's "best book by I writer I've been reading for years" list, this is a heartwarming tale of a 70-year marriage. Back in early January, I got to interview Evison for the Chicago Review of Books about this book, its inspiration, and fancy hats. Evison, as always, is charming and funny. Have you checked out his podcast, A Fresh Face in Hell? I'm not a podcast person, but I listen to this one as much as I can.

Home of the American Circus, by Allison Larkin -- If you have not yet read Allison Larkin, what are you waiting for?! Her novel The People We Keep was an absolute revelation, and this, her latest is just as good. I love stories about returning home when you're at the end of your rope, and I just love the warmth and humor Larkin writes with. 

So Far Gone, by Jess Walter -- Yes, of course the new Jess Walter would make the list. A novel very much of our times, it's about an old guy who has just had enough and goes and lives by himself in the woods for seven years. But then he is drawn back into the current political hellscape to take care of his grandkids. My favorite podcast episode of the year, by the way, is Jonathan Evison talking with Jess Walter on A Fresh Face in Hell. 

The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong -- This was my first time reading literary darling Vuong, and I went in a little skeptical. But this novel surprised me for its range. Yes, it's a mostly sad story of a young man and an old woman forming an unlikely symbiotic relationship. But there is beauty in the sorrow here. 

Heart the Lover, by Lily King -- I guess if really pressed to pick my favorite of the year, this would be it. Slim in size but immense in emotion and wisdom, I really tried to not speed through and instead slow down and savor this book. But King doesn't make that easy. Such an incredible writer. Such an incredible novel about how choices we make when we're young ripple through our whole lives.