This Is Water: The Original David Foster Wallace Recording Audiobook

" Download the original kenyon speech and weep dfw was a genius: humble and gracious with his ideas and knowledge "

" "'Learning how to think' really means learning how to exercise control over how and what you think." Delivered as a commencement address beseeching to live life consciously, though seemingly difficult. This short essay wasn't about choosing religion, or possession or right vs. wrong... it was simply about self and thought and choice. "

" A-MAZE-ING changed the way i think about life and other people. "

" This is a graduation speech that David Foster Wallace gave in 2005 at Kenyon College. The book is short, with just one sentence on each page, but it shows his clear thinking and talent for discussing important things without pontificating about them. I loved it and want to give to all my friends in their 20s and 30s who are stuck in the daily grind of go to work-go home-get up and go back to work again. It helped to shift my perspective just a little bit. "

" Every time I read something else by David Foster Wallace, I am alternately furious and sad that he is dead. I want to read what else he would have written! I want to be his best friend! This essay was lovely, in a very not sentimental way. I'll never wait in line at the supermarket in the same way again! "

" The small copy that was given to me for my birthday will likely not leave my purse/ tote/ backpack this year. "

" A short, but abundantly sad, funny, and insightful commentary! "

" I'm happy the author stated so clearly and non-condescendingly (to a graduating class) what is truth about the essence of the world, though it was an obvious lesson for those of us who think about the meaning of life and can ask our own questions and learn from those around us. "

" it's kind of depressing to know that he had given a commencement speech which discusses survival and liviing with thoughts of suicide... "

" Now this just needed to be said by someone. Thanks, DFW. "

" This is an unbelievable book -- it presents some truths that are simple yet totally life-changing... the kind of book you wish everyone would read. "

" Finished in about half an hour or so. I cried at the end. Is that water? "

" This is an essay packaged as a book. I had already read the essay online. It was good but I guess the book experience didn't add anything. "

" So, I guess the answer to his own question would be "no"? "

" A must read for anyone who considers themselves sentient. "

" This was rather difficult, how do I rate this book? I ended up rating it based solely on the the speech itself, which is incredible, but please don't let my rating be an endorsement of the book at all; find a copy of the speech online and read it, this is a ridiculous waste of paper. "

" I'm supposed to love this, right? I can't decide. "

" I'm pretty sure I read this online for free, sometime after he gave the speech. "

" Like many of my favorite books, he says nothing new, but what we already knew. But because he is excellent with words, he is able to articulate what I feel but cannot say. "

" This essay was written for a commencement speech and focuses on choosing to live a conscious life. I hate that I can't read anything by Davis Foster Wallace now without seeing it through the fact of his death, but I'm glad that I'm reading it now, just a few days before I'm going back to school. "

" This is a great introduction to Wallace if you want to see what his writing his like. This is a commencement speech he did for a graduating class. It is depressing, brilliant, honest, and heartbreaking. An amazing piece of work that I believe everyone needs to read! "

" Probably the best commencement speech I've read. "

" This isn't a book - it's a commencement address and takes less than 20 minutes to read. If you've never stopped to think about things like empathy, choices, and mindfulness, this isn't a bad place to start. "

" Great stuff, but don't buy the "book". Is a commencement speech, not a book. "

" An insightful and wholly consumable lecture/series of thoughts on a healthy paradigm for approaching life. Very enjoyable. "

" For the past couple of years, I've continued to return and revisit this commencement address, always as a reminder to myself. Wonderfully inspiring. "

" Takes half an hour to read, but you'll think about it for days. "

" Absolutely fantastic commencement address. I read a library copy--must find one for myself to keep. I'm late to the David Foster Wallace fan club, but I am definitely a member. "

" Advice like you wish you would've been given...plus a striking and simple approach to an examined and compassionate life. "

" I wish I heard this commencement address when I graduated, but perhaps I wouldn't appreciate it as much as I do now. Also, this speech made me realize what makes great authors depressed/suicidal. "

" Amazing! Simple and quick to ready but realisticly inspirational! This is a must read for everyone "

" Amazingly simple, direct and right-on target. Wish he were still with us! "