There is something especially alluring about long and “challenging” books. I’m thinking of “Infinite Jest” by David Foster Wallace, another 1,000-plus page work with an intricate story and frequently digressive prose that has drawn many a reader into its gravitational pull despite many of us not being entirely sure about everything that’s going on inside that fictional world. I read the book over a span of months the summer after I completed graduate school as I gradually sold down my possessions until all that remained was a lamp, a bedroll, my dog, and my copy of “Infinite Jest.”