Josh is again joined by literary Professor Chris Ingraham from the University of Utah –– this time to discuss Don DeLillo's body of work. They engage in a fantasy draft of DeLillo's top 10 books and answer the pressing question of whether you should read Underworld before you die. 

Emily Holleman, author of Cleopatra's Shadows and The Drowning King, joins Josh to talk about Homer's The Odyssey. Emily Wilson's translation makes the literary epic easier to enjoy, but is it still worth reading for before you die? Tune in and find out. 

Is Thomas Pynchon's classic actually worth reading? Josh tries to demystify the opus and come down with an official verdict. In the process he nerds out and ranks all the Pynchon books.  

Filmmaker Rom Kim talks with Josh about his favorite book: Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son. They contextualize the literary book alongside other "drug books" and Johnson's own epic Tree of Smoke -- to answer which are worth reading before you die. 

In this episode, Josh welcomes Alex Sarlin to discuss Paul Bowles' mini-classic with a small but passionate following. 

In this episode, Josh answers the most frequently-asked question on listeners' minds: Should you read Leo Tolstoy's mammoth 1869 classic War and Peace, or is it a huge, 1269-page waste of time? 

Josh is joined by Professor Chris Ingraham from the University of Utah to discuss the Norwegian literary event of the 21st Century. But, more importantly, they give their opinions on whether it's worth reading at all.