We’re back for another round of Women in Translation Month! Each August, readers around the world celebrate books written by women and translated into English, spotlighting voices the too often go unheard. In this episode, we each pick five WIT titles we’re planning to read this month. We promise our goal is not to derail your carefully curated TBR list, but this is an event where we’ll happily take responsibility for your reading detours!

What WIT books are you reading to celebrate?

We’ve got some fantastic author-focused episodes lined up for the foreseeable future, and we want to give you plenty of time to dive in if you’d like to read along with us. These episodes come around every ten episodes, and with our bi-weekly release schedule, you'll have a few months to get ready for each. Here’s what we have in store:

* Episode 115: Kazuo Ishiguro

* Episode 125: Flannery O’Connor

* Episode 135: William Faulkner

* Episode 145: Elizabeth Taylor

* Episode 155: Naguib Mahfouz

There’s no rush—take your time, and grab a book (or two, or three) so you’re prepared for these as they come!

Join the Mookse and the Gripes on Discord

Want to share your thoughts on these upcoming authors or anything else we’re discussing? Join us over on Discord! It’s the perfect place to dive deeper into the conversation—whether you’re reading along with our author-focused episodes or just want to chat about the books that are on your mind.

We’re also just now in our second novella book club, where we're reading Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. It’s a fantastic book, and we’d love to have you join the discussion. It’s a great space to engage with fellow listeners, share your insights, and discover new perspectives on the books you’re reading.

Shownotes

Books

* The Adventures of China Iron, by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated by Fiona Mackintosh and Iona Macintyre

* We Are Green and Trembling, by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated by Robin Myers

* The Ghost Writer, by Philip Roth

* Love in a Cold Climate, by Nancy Mitford

* The Sun King, by Nancy Mitford

* The Pursuit of Love, by Nancy Mitford

* Don’t Tell Alfred, by Nancy Mitford

* Voltaire in Love, by Nancy Mitford

* The Faces, by Tove Ditlevsen, translated by Tiina Nunnally

* The Trouble with Happiness, by Tove Ditlevsen, translated by Michael Favala Goldman

* Killing Stella, by Marlen Haushofer, translated by Shaun Whiteside

* The Wall, by Marlen Haushofer, translated by Shaun Whiteside

* Overstaying, by Ariane Koch, translated by Damion Searls

* In Farthest Seas, by Lalla Romano, translated by Brian Robert Moore

* A Silence Shared, by Lalla Romano, translated by Brian Robert Moore

* Frontier, by Can Xue, translated by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping

* The Last Lover, by Can Xue, translated by Annelise Finegan

* The Blue Room, by Hanne Ørstavik, translated by Deborah Dawkins

* The Taiga Syndrome, by Cristina Rivera Garza, translated by Suzanne Jill Levine and Aviva Kana

* New and Selected Stories, by Cristina Rivera Garza, translated by Sarah Booker with additional translations by Lisa Dillman, Francisca González Arias, and Alex Ross

* Ultramarine, by Mariette Navarro, translated by Eve Hill Agnus

* Voices in the Evening, by Natalia Ginzburg, translated by D.M. Low

* The Dry Heart, by Natalia Ginzburg, translated by Frances Frenaye

* Family Lexicon, by Natalia Ginzburg, translated by Jenny McPhee

* Traces of Enayat, by Iman Mersal, translated by Robin Moger

* Motherhood and Its Ghosts, by Iman Mersal, translated by Robin Moger

* Animal Stories, by Kate Zambreno

* Migratory Birds, by Mariana Oliver, translated by Julia Sanches

Other

* PEN/America: Women in Translation Month Reading Series 2025

* Women in Translation Month website

The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast is a bookish conversation hosted by Paul and Trevor. Every other week, we explore a bookish topic and celebrate our love of reading. We’re glad you’re here, and we hope you’ll continue to join us on this literary journey!

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