The Infinite Library

We begin our Summer 2026 series on "The Tunnel" by William Gass. Topics of conversation include, literary Big Boys, Gass' problematizing of academic humanism, and The Fasicism of the Heart. As always, we hope that you enjoy the conversation.

We're back and it's Pride! As is tradition, John has made Ben read a big gay book, in this case Anne Rice's classic "Interview with the Vampire". Before we discuss the book, we do a brief debrief on last season and Woke 2. Then we dig into the goth gayness of Anne Rice's bloodsuckers. Topics of conversations include the life and times of Anne Rice, the figure of the vampi...

We close out this season by discussing "Rakesfall" by Vajra Chandrasekera. This might be one of the toughest books to have a straightforward conversation about that we've done, but we hope our chit chat is still enjoyable to listen to. Vajra's Unbuddhism essay: https://vajra.me/2021/10/27/%E0%B6%85%E0%B6%B6%E0%B7%9E%E0%B6%AF%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%B0%E0%B6%9A%E0%B6%B8-unbuddhism/ WE'...

This week, John and Ben discuss Xiaolu Guo's "A Concise-Chinese Dictionary for Lovers". Topics of conversation include the Guo's use of film references, use of non-standard English in fiction, and the arc of modern Chinese history as observed in the show. As always, we hope you enjoy our conversation!

This week, we're wrapping up our Modernist mini-season by reading "Three Lives" by Gertrude Stein. We discuss our relationships with Stein and other Lost Generation writers, Stein's tactile language, and why something so well written is also so painfully racist. As always, we hope that you enjoy the conversation.

Our modernism mini-season starts with a conversation about "Dunfords Travels Everywheres" by William Melvin Kelley. Topics of conversation include the differences between modernism and post-modernism, the way Kelley pushes the English language, and the role language can play in liberation. As always, we hope you enjoy the conversation!

This week we continue our exploration of the Gen X Horror guys by reading "Wormwood" by Poppy Z. Brite. As always, we hope that you enjoy our conversation!

This week, John and Ben are joined by friend of the pod, Kara, to discuss Stephen Graham Jones' love letter to the Slasher genre: "My Heart is a Chainsaw". Topics of conversation include SGJ's background, the slasher's place in American mythology, and the cyclical nature of violence. As always, we hope you enjoy the conversation!

Friend-of-the-Pod Claire is back in the stacks to discuss the grandmommy of the Romantasy genre: "A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas. Topics of discussion include the genealogy of Romantasy as a genre, the politics of when and where sex appears on the page, and how many male writers can't write about women. As always, we hope you enjoy the conversation!

What do you do if you live in the Electric Psychadelic Pussycat Swinger's Club, but you're the one cat too un-groovy to find it shagadelic? This is the vital question at the heart of Samuel R. Delany's "Trouble on Triton". John and Ben get weird, discussing science fiction, the nature of desire, and how this book compares to "The Dispossessed". As always, we hope yo...

It's the first episode of the Spring 2026 Season, and John and Ben are blasting off to the moon of Annares to discuss "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin. We discuss this classic of science fiction with a little help from "To Read 'The Dispossessed'" by Samuel Delany. Topics of conversation include John & Ben's relationship with Le Guin's work, her a...

John and Ben cruise down the California highway to the end of this season of The Infinite Library as they read Joan Didion's "Play It As It Lays". Topics of conversation include the portrayal of California in literature, mimesis, and Didion's place as a literary "cool girl". As always, we hope that you enjoy the conversation!

Another year comes to a close and, as is tradition, John and Ben get together to tell you about their favorite books they read in 2025.

Happy (almost) New Year! We're closing out our Thomas Pynchon mini-revue with his latest novel, "Shadow Ticket". Along for the ride is friend of the pod, author TJ Martinson! Topics of discussion include Pynchon's relationship to pop culture, the use of alternate history in literature, and whether Pynchon offers us as readers an 'out' to our present circumstances. As alwa...

This week, we jump forward over 50 years into Thomas Pychon's career (and over all his most read books) to discuss 2013's "Bleeding Edge"! Along for the ride through Y2K is friend of the pod, Dan. Topics of discussion include reading the 2010s through the 2000s, the role of technology and espionage in Pynchon's works, and 9/11. As always, we hope you enjoy the conversations.

This week, we start our mini-revue of the works of Thomas Pynchon with his first novel: "V." We discuss our individual relationships with Pynchon's writing, his place in the larger world of contemporary literature, and what we liked and disliked about this strange first novel of his. As always, we hope that you enjoy the conversation!

This week, we conclude our discussion of John Pistelli's "Major Arcana". We hope you enjoy another two-parter!

We accidentally did another two parter, but we had a lot of thoughts about "Major Arcana" by John Pistelli. As always, we hope that you enjoy our conversation!

The conclusion to our discussion on "The Return of the King", featuring Nate from Gamers with Glasses. As always, we hope that you enjoy the conversation.

This week on The Infinite Library, we answer Gondor's call for aid and discuss "The Return of the King" with Nate Schmidt of Gamers with Glasses. We've been there and we're nearly ready to go back again, so please join us to discuss the conclusion of The Lord of the Rings! As always, we hope that you enjoy the conversation.

Our continued conversation with Claire on "The Two Towers". As always, we hope that you enjoy the conversation.

This week, Ben's pal Claire joins us to discuss "The Two Towers". As always, we hope that you enjoy the conversation!

We discuss the latter part of "The Fellowship of the Ring" by JRR Tolkien. As always, we hope that you enjoy the conversation.

We begin our Fall season with a discussion of the first book of The Lord of the Rings. Topics of discussion include Tolkien's background and how it may have impacted his writing, "Concerning Hobbits", and what a cool guy Tom Bombadil is. As always, we hope that you enjoy the show!

The week, Book Boys say goodbye to the Summer of Bad Vibes by discussing Don DeLillo's opus "Libra". We discuss paranoid reading, Lee Harvey Oswald as American everyman, Hysterial Realism. At the end, we even take a brief detour to Tinsel Town and chat a bit about Oliver Stone's "JFK". As always, we hope that you enjoy our conversation! Works Cited "Paranoid and Re...