Infinite Summer

{{Short description|Online book club–style project and challenge about reading the book "Infinite Jest"}}

Infinite Summer was an online book club–style project started by writer Matthew Baldwin. Sponsored by The Morning News, participants were challenged to read David Foster Wallace's novel Infinite Jest at a rate of about 75 pages a week from June 21 to September 22, 2009.{{cite news|url=http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/afterword/archive/2009/06/22/an-interview-with-infinite-summer-creator-matthew-baldwin.aspx|title=An interview with Infinite Summer creator Matthew Baldwin|date=June 22, 2009|first=Ron|last=Nurwisah|accessdate=August 3, 2009|work=The National Post}}{{dead link|date=March 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/06/infinite-summer-reading-group-kicks-off-june-21.html|title=David Foster Wallace Remembered with Infinite Summer Reading Group|first= Sean|last=Gandert|date= June 8, 2009|accessdate=August 3, 2009|work=Paste Magazine}}{{cite news|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1870628_1904492_1904480,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618154552/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1870628_1904492_1904480,00.html|url-status=live|archive-date=June 18, 2009|title=The Short List of Things to Do|date=June 12, 2009|work=Time magazine|access-date=August 3, 2009}}

Baldwin and three other writers acted as "guides", providing commentary on Infinite Summer's website. Participants also contributed commentary over a variety of social networking services, including Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, where related posts were marked with the hashtag #infsum.

Baldwin said in interviews that the project was prompted in part by Wallace's death in September 2008.{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/06/infinite-summer.html|first=Jacob|last=Silverman|date=June 29, 2009|accessdate= August 3, 2009|work=Los Angeles Times|title=The story behind Infinite Summer}}

Notable participants included Colin Meloy of The Decemberists,{{cite news|url=http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090621/LIVING/906210304|date=June 21, 2009|title=Infinite Summer virtual book group leads a read of David Foster Wallace's lengthy best-seller 'Infinite Jest'|first=Jennifer|last=Peltz|agency=Associated Press|accessdate= August 3, 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://infinitesummer.org/archives/253|first=Colin|last=Meloy|title=Why I am Reading Infinite Jest|date=June 19, 2009|authorlink=Colin Meloy|accessdate=August 3, 2009|work=InfiniteSummer.org}} Ezra Klein of The Washington Post,{{cite news|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/06/a_supposedly_fun_thing_i_plan.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715170113/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/06/a_supposedly_fun_thing_i_plan.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 15, 2012|title=A Supposedly Fun Thing I Plan to Do This Summer|first=Ezra|last=Klein|accessdate=August 3, 2009|authorlink=Ezra Klein|newspaper=Washington Post|date= June 3, 2009}} and John Krasinski, who was about to release his film adaptation of Wallace's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.{{cite news|last1=Ducker|first1=George|title=John Krasinski and David Foster Wallace's endless summer|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/09/david-foster-wallaces-endless-summer.html|accessdate=13 September 2016|work=LA Times Blogs - Jacket Copy|date=21 September 2009}} Though he did not participate, John Hodgman called the project "a noble and crazy enterprise".{{cite web|url=http://infinitesummer.org/about|title=About|work=InfiniteSummer.org|accessdate=August 3, 2009}}

In 2014, the subreddit /r/InfiniteSummer began conducting annual readings, suggesting a pace of 10 pages per day. Discussions occur both on reddit as well as within a private discord server.