[[What do I love?]] I was introduced to DFW by a friend during my undergrad - we watched the film [The End of the Tour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_the_Tour) together and I was absolutely enthralled by it. Shortly after I borrowed [Oblivion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblivion:_Stories) from my university library, and seriously fell in love from page 1. All the short stories in that book are absolutely incredible; I'd never read anything like it, and really felt like I'd found a kindred spirit. > *(I think either DFW scratches an itch for you in an insane way, or you just totally don't vibe with his writing at all - I think a lot of people try to force themselves to read Infinite Jest rather than say trying 50 pages and deciding that it's just not for them, which is of course totally valid)* I then read [Infinite Jest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_Jest) (probably my favourite book, so sincere and earnest and big-hearted and beautiful), then his other short story collections, and eventually the Pale King, which I found super boring in parts (which is part of the point) and also absolutely heart-stopping in other places. And then I re-read IJ -> it rewards re-readings like no other book I've read, it's insane. If you ever read it, make sure to re-read the first chapter straight away, as it's actually the final chapter chronologically. And then of course there's his commencement address [This Is Water](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbGM4mqEVw&pp=ygUNdGhpcyBpcyB3YXRlcg%3D%3D) which is just the most gorgeous thing in the world. And it's very Buddhist - this was long before I discovered [[tpot]] and my soul ached for this kind of stuff. I know he's considered somewhat problematic these days ([[DFW x Mary Karr]] was unhealthy to say the least, but his marriage to Karen seemed very happy), but I see him as someone with an enormous heart and a beautiful amount of sincerity. He really felt like a father figure for me for a while; I listened to all his [interviews](https://www.dfwaudioproject.org/interviews-profiles) and he is by far the thinker who I have "grokked" the most (to use the phrase as it is used in Stranger in a Strange Land) -> he comes up for me in an insane % of my conversations. His suicide is a profound tragedy; I wish he could have been around in the time of [[tpot]]