A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallaceby David Foster Wallace
Shares rank 9 of 10 essay collections by recommenders
Recommended for its funny, sharp writing, especially the account of a cruise ship trip, and as a starting point for Wallace's journalism.
Recommended for its funny, sharp writing, especially the account of a cruise ship trip, and as a starting point for Wallace's journalism.
2 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 2
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 2 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Funny cruise ship anecdote
“a hilarious anecdote and commentary about his trip aboard a cruise liner”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket” Good entry point to journalism
“read some of his journalism”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel”
Other essay collections people recommend
The four most recommended other essay collections, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slouching Towards Bethlehemby Joan Didion | 8 | 1 | 89% | 3 | — | — |
| Why I Writeby George Orwell | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Letters to a Young Poetby Rainer Maria Rilke | 5 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Paul Graham essays | 5 | 7 | 42% | 3 | — | — |
| A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Againby David Foster WallaceThis page | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 2 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“a hilarious anecdote and commentary about his trip aboard a cruise liner”
“read some of his journalism”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.