Not long after David FosÂter WalÂlace died, his fans found themÂselves with a new place of pilÂgrimÂage: not his tombÂstone, in the manÂner of a Jim MorÂriÂson or a Kurt Cobain, but his litÂerÂary archives. You’ll find them at the HarÂry RanÂsom CenÂter at the UniÂverÂsiÂty of Texas at Austin. From their colÂlecÂtion, we’ve preÂviÂousÂly feaÂtured WalÂlace’s fall 1994 EngÂlish 102 sylÂlabus from when he taught at IlliÂnois State UniÂverÂsiÂty, his EngÂlish 183A handÂout breakÂing down (in the way that only he could) five comÂmon usage misÂtakes, and the lanÂguage books conÂtained in his perÂsonÂal library.
Any readÂer even casuÂalÂly acquaintÂed with WalÂlace’s novÂels and essays will immeÂdiÂateÂly sense his deep interÂest in lanÂguage. But if you browse through the RanÂsom CenÂter’s colÂlecÂtion of 321 books from the author of InfiÂnite Jest and A SupÂposÂedÂly Fun Thing I’ll NevÂer Do Again’s own shelves (most of them seemÂingÂly well-annoÂtatÂed), you’ll find a good deal of eviÂdence about what else interÂestÂed him. The Awl’s Maria BustilÂlos did a post on the surÂprisÂing variÂety of self-help books found thereÂin. OthÂer repÂreÂsentÂed types of books include:
- Mass-marÂket thrillers like Thomas HarÂris’ The Silence of the Lambs, HanÂniÂbal and HanÂniÂbal RisÂing, and Stephen King’s CarÂrie
- The novÂels of his peers like Rick Moody’s The DivinÂers, Richard PowÂers’ Gain, Galatea 2.2, and OperÂaÂtion WanÂderÂing Soul, Mark LeynÂer’s Et Tu, Babe and My Cousin, My GasÂtroenÂterolÂoÂgist, Jonathan Franzen’s Strong Motion, CorÂmac McCarthy’s Blood MeridÂiÂan and NicholÂson BakÂer’s Room TemÂperÂaÂture
- Books he wrote about like Bryan GarÂner’s A DicÂtioÂnary of ModÂern AmerÂiÂcan Usage, Edwin Williamson’s Borges: A Life, John Updike’s Toward the End of Time
- Books on his own work like William C. DowlÂing’s A ReadÂer’s ComÂpanÂion to InfiÂnite Jest
- Books on the midÂwest from which he came like A Place of Sense: Essays in Search of the MidÂwest
- Books clearÂly used as research mateÂriÂals for his final, incomÂplete, IRS-cenÂtric novÂel The Pale King like Michael J. GraetÂz’s The U.S. Income Tax: What It Is, How It Got That Way, and Where We Go from Here, William L. Raby’s The RelucÂtant TaxÂpayÂer, and MarÂty Kaplan’s What the IRS DoesÂn’t Want You to Know: A CPA Reveals the Tricks of the Trade
- My own favorite novÂels like Joseph Heller’s SomeÂthing HapÂpened, Richard Yates’ RevÂoÂluÂtionÂary Road, and AlexanÂder TherÂoux’s DarÂconville’s Cat
Have a look, and maybe you too can find a few of your own curÂrent or future favorite books. We could all do worse, after all, than to read like David FosÂter WalÂlace did, even if it leads us to the occaÂsionÂal volÂume like MusÂcle: ConÂfesÂsions of an UnlikeÂly BodyÂbuilder; Barbed Wire: A PolitÂiÂcal HisÂtoÂry; or Jack B. NimÂble’s The ConÂstrucÂtion and OperÂaÂtion of ClanÂdesÂtine Drug LabÂoÂraÂtoÂries. And for a weekÂend activÂiÂty, we could do worse than comÂparÂing WalÂlace’s perÂsonÂal library to that of MarÂiÂlyn MonÂroe, which we feaÂtured last year.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
David FosÂter Wallace’s Love of LanÂguage Revealed by the Books in His PerÂsonÂal Library
David FosÂter WalÂlace Breaks Down Five ComÂmon Word Usage MisÂtakes in EngÂlish
David FosÂter WalÂlace: The Big, Uncut InterÂview (2003)
30 Free Essays & StoÂries by David FosÂter WalÂlace on the Web
ColÂin MarÂshall writes on cities, lanÂguage, Asia, and men’s style. He’s at work on a book about Los AngeÂles, A Los AngeÂles Primer, and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.