David Foster Wallace: The Last Interview

Volumes worth owning, I mean, as much for the sharp design and compact sturdiness of the object as for the relevant wisdom and delights of the text inside.

This one's got the late great DFW in polished journalistic amber. This one is where "In intimate and eloquent interviews, including the last he gave before his suicide, the writer … considers the state of modern America, entertainment and discipline, adulthood, literature, and his own inimitable writing style."

This book is recommended, obviously, for itself and because, 1) Every page of it could spark some of the most interesting discussions you'll ever have. And, 2) People who like talking about stuff like this are the best kind of people to have coffee or maybe alcoholic beverages with*, and the only pity is that none of us will ever be David Foster Wallace again.

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* Or maybe coffee and alcoholic beverages, and some snails in a delicate curry-inflected sauce as an appetizer before a fine meal of banh mi, if you had the sense to be congregating at Elizabeth Street Cafe.