David Foster Wallace
Books by David Foster Wallace
“People can learn to do amazing things with their bodies, and people start honing and developing these skills as an end in itself, a very natural thing for humans to do.” Read more...
The best books on Philosophy and Sport
David Papineau, Philosopher
“Infinite Jest is 1100 pages long, set in the near future and difficult to encapsulate. There are two central protagonists. One is Hal Incandenza, a 17-year old top level tennis player at Enfield Tennis Academy outside of Boston. The other is called Don Gately, who is a recovering alcoholic and counselor at a halfway house. The book is all about addiction in a sense…I think Infinite Jest is the major American novel of the past 25 years…I think it’s the book on which his reputation will rest, and I think people are going to read it for a long time. You never know how something is going to be seen in 50 years, and Infinite Jest is an incredibly long and in some ways difficult book, so it does present some barriers to continued popularity. But I do think he contributes something extremely valuable.” Read more...
Chad Harbach, Novelist
Interviews where books by David Foster Wallace were recommended
Books to Read as Ebooks, recommended by Five Books
If you’re of a certain age, reading a physical, paper book is almost always a more pleasurable experience than reading on an electronic device. Still, ebooks have some advantages that make them difficult to resist, not least of which is cost. Here Five Books editors share tips on when they’ve found ebooks particularly useful.
The Best Philosophical Novels, recommended by Rebecca Goldstein
The skills of a philosopher and those of a novelist are often in tension, but they have much to learn from each other, says novelist and philosopher Rebecca Newberger Goldstein. She chooses her favourite philosophical novels.
Novels with Sporting Themes, recommended by Chad Harbach
Sport is central to American culture but there are surprisingly few great novels devoted to it. Chad Harbach, author of the bestselling novel, The Art of Fielding, picks his favourite ‘novels with sporting themes.’
The best books on Philosophy and Sport, recommended by David Papineau
Sport can offer insights into philosophy and life in general, argues the philosophy professor and sports enthusiast David Papineau. He chooses the best books on philosophy and sport.
