The Infinite Library

Bonus Episode #10 - "The Odyssey" (2026)

John and Ben get topical and talk about John's #1 Op's new movie: Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey". We chat about our relationships with the source material, Christopher Nolan's aesthetic sensibility (or lack thereof), Emily Wilson's translation and thoughts on translation, and how good Robert Pattinson is. As always, we hope you enjoy the conversation.

Episode 68 - "The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge" by Rainer Maria Rilke (feat. Ben Rosenzweig)

This week, we have two Bens! Ben's friend Ben Rosenzweig joins us to discuss "The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge" by Rainer Maria Rilke. We discuss our personal relationships with Rilke's work, love and death, and how this book smacks of gender. As always, we hope that you enjoy the conversation.

Episode 67 - "The Tunnel" by William Gass, Part 1

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.

Episode 66 - "Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice

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 vampire in literature, and the recent adaptation of IWTV. As always, we hope you enjoy the conversation! We'll be back in two weeks with our first episode on William Gass' "The Tunnel"!

Episode 65 - "Rakesfall" by Vajra Chandrasekera

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/ [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'RE TAKING A VACATION! The Infinite Library will return in mid-June. We'll share next season's schedule before then. Stay Cool, Bookheads!