OPEN COURT: Summer reading club

Believe it or not, people are reading more today than they ever have in the past.

The information cycle runs constantly. People’s eyes absorb more data than they’ll ever know what to do with.

However, the quality of what they’re reading has sadly been neglected. In today’s “now, now, now” culture, speed and brevity is of primary importance. Longer-form stories and in-depth coverage has taken a backseat to 140-character “tweets” and stream-of-conscious updates.

Sportswriting used to produce wonderful features from some of the best writers on the planet. Today, it seems as most publications don’t have the time or the budget to produce these types of stories. Even more depressing, it seems as if a large chunk of the audience doesn’t have the attention span to read them.

In 2009, I’ve come across only two meaningful long-form sports features (both from the New York Times Magazine): Michael Lewis’ superb profile on Shane Battier (“The No-Stats All-Star, Feb. 15) and Cynthia Gorney’s eye-opening essay on Rafael Nadal’s violent tennis style (“Ripped. (Or Torn Up?),” June 17).

I feel like this type of sports journalism is too important to neglect. That’s why I plan to use this space to promote some of my all-time favorite pieces of long-form sportswriting.

I came up with the idea while I was sitting down with David Foster Wallace’s epic novel “Infinite Jest.” A friend of mine came across a Web site called Infinitesummer.org, where thousands of people from across the world decided to form the Internet’s largest interactive book club. At 1,079 pages, Wallace’s magnum opus is a massive undertaking. This isn’t light reading fare. It’s a mind expanding, occasionally frustrating but perpetually rewarding journey through the mind of this generation’s most talented and troubled author.

Sometimes, it’s good to give one’s brain a workout, even if the material is dense and difficult.

Early in Wallace’s novel, he describes the trials and tribulations of tennis prodigy Hal Incandenza, which got me thinking of two of Wallace’s best nonfiction pieces.

No writer has ever explored tennis with more passion and detail. If you haven’t already read his legendary piece on Roger Federer (“Federer as a Religious Experience” Aug. 20, 2006), please do so. It’s especially timely now, given Federer’s charge toward a remarkable sixth Wimbledon title today.

His essay on lesser-known Michael Joyce (“The String Theory,” Esquire, July 1996) may have even surpassed the brilliance of his Federer piece. Trust me, after reading Wallace’s essays, you’ll watch tennis in a completely different way.

So those are my first two recommendations. During the next few weeks, I’ll be discussing pieces by David Halberstam, Norman Mailer, Jim Murray, Red Smith, W.C. Heinz, Hunter S. Thompson, Rick Reilly, Bill Simmons, Ralph Wiley, Frank Deford, Gary Talese, Richard Ben Cramer and a few under-the-radar gems.

If you have any suggestions, please e-mail them to me. I want this to be a community project.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747