Infinite Summer & a little news.

Starting tomorrow, this is what I'll be doing:

You’ve been meaning to do it for over a decade. Now join endurance bibliophiles from around the web as we tackle and comment upon David Foster Wallace’s masterwork over the summer of 2009. The festivities begin on June 21st and run through September 22nd. (image & text from infinitesummer.org)

I've had this book for about three years and haven't read it yet-- shame, shame, shame. So when John Green mentioned on blogtv that he was rereading this as part of the ongoing reading project Infinite Summer, I got embarrassingly excited. I love reading projects. The website has all kinds of encouraging things, like a syllabus and progress tracker and reference links (and you can follow their twitter), because this book is huge. And a bit intimidating. And apparently quite worth it.

Besides his 2005 commencement speech from Kenyon College, I haven't read anything from David Foster Wallace (despite owning Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and meaning to get to it already). But that speech is one of the most inspirational and real things that I've ever read, which has me looking forward to Infinite Jest. I couldn't make up my mind what section to use as an excerpt because it's all so relevant and good, so you can read it here.

The reading timetable isn't super strict and is just a kind of fun group challenge, so I encourage you to read/reread! We were allowed to begin earlier, but I've been scrambling to finish my current book, Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette.

♥ ♥ ♥

And the second thing- I'm starting a vintage Etsy shop soon! I know, I know, everyone has one.. I've wanted to do it for so long, but was afraid that it wouldn't be good enough or I wouldn't have the time or be willing to put the effort in. And while it's true that school takes up a lot of my time, there's really no reason that I can't give it a shot, especially since thinking about it makes me so excited. Strawberrykoi's announcement that she's starting one really inspired me to stop worrying so much and just go for it.

I've been collecting things and so far I have some really fun stuff, mostly shoes and bags (and quite a few things that I'm tempted to keep but won't!) and a '70s handmade cheerleading uniform that fits like a lovely above-the-knee dress! I want to wait another week or two and gather more things, and then I'll set it up. I hope everyone doesn't roll their eyes at the ubiquity of it, but really- there can never be enough vintage around, right?