What does it take to build the perfect first shelf? This week we tackle the joyful—and surprisingly stressful—task of creating a starter library. We’re joined by John Williams, book editor at The Washington Post, to discuss how to choose ten books that someone can use as a starter library, offering comfort, surprise, and a little stretch along the way. We compare approaches, confess our struggles, and share the shelves we’d hand to a friend ready build their personal library.

We’d love to hear from you—what books would make it onto your own starter library?

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

What are we reading?

* Paul: The Endless Week, by Laura Vasquez, translated by Alex Niemi

* John: Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldin

* Trevor: Nadja, by André Breton, translated by Mark Polizzotti

Our Starter Libraries

Paul

* The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Waterson

* Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville

* Finding Beauty in a Broken World, by Terry Tempest Williams

* The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

* Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry

* The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

* The Complete Stories of Clarice Lispector

* To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf

* Kindred, by Octavia Butler

* Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

Trevor

* Ex Libris, by Anne Fademan

* The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas

* A Good Man Is Hard to Find, by Flannery O’Connor

* The Emigrants, by W.G. Sebald, translated by Michael Hulse

* The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkein

* Cockroaches, by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated by Jordan Stump

* So Long, See You Tomorrow, by William Maxwell

* Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard

* The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

John

* The Collected Stories of William Trevor

* The Varieties of Religious Experience, by William James

* The Collected Poems of Philip Larkin

* Notes from Underground, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

* The Book of Disquiet, by Fernando Pessoa

* The Sellout, by Paul Beatty

* The Black Prince, by Iris Murdoch

* Nixon Agonistes: The Crisis of the Self-Made Man, by Garry Wills

* Essays in Disguise, by Wilfrid Sheed

* Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf

* Why Does the World Exist, by Jim Holt

Other

* The Library, Duncan Fallowell

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!

A huge thank you to those who help make this podcast possible! If you'd like to support us, you can do so via Substack or Patreon. Subscribers receive access to periodic bonus episodes and early access to all new episodes. Plus, each supporter gets their own dedicated feed, allowing them to download episodes a few days before they’re released to the public. We’d love for you to check it out!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mookse.substack.com/subscribe

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!

A huge thank you to those who help make this podcast possible! If you'd like to support us, you can do so via Substack or Patreon. Subscribers receive access to periodic bonus episodes and early access to all new episodes. Plus, each supporter gets their own dedicated feed, allowing them to download episodes a few days before they’re released to the public. We’d love for you to check it out!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mookse.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s episode comes with poor sound quality and excellent vibes. For the first time ever, Paul and Trevor met in person! Join us as we take the show on the road—through bookstores, libraries, and one unforgettable day of literary wandering. From the cozy aisles of The King’s English to the rarified shelves of Moon’s Rare Books, with stops at Poppy’s Books and the Salem City Library (Trevor’s wife makes as cameo!), this episode is a roving celebration of bookish friendship. We apologize in advance for the audio, but we hope you enjoy this day out with us. We’ll be back to our usual mischief in the next episode.

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

* Sun City, by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal

* The King of a Rainy Country, by Brigid Brophy

* Rhine Journey, by Ann Schlee

* I Am Alien to Life: Selected Stories, by Djuna Barnes

* Waiting for the Fear, by Oguz Atay, translated by Ralph Hubbell

* Last Stories, by William Trevor

* Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel García Márquez, translated by Gregory Rabassa

* Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel García Márquez, translated by Edith Grossman

* One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel García Márquez, translated by Gregory Rabassa

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

* The Sea, the Sea, by Iris Murdoch

* Schattenfroh, by Michael Lenz, translated by Max Lawton

* Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, by

* The Stronghold, by Dino Buzzati, translated by Lawrence Venuti

* The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* The Unconsoled, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* Nocturnes, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* An Artist of the Floating World, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* A Pale View of Hills, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* When We Were Orphans, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner

* A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean

* On the Clock, by Claire Baglin

* Your Absence Is Darkness, by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, translated by Philip Roughton

* Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

* The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

* Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

* Songs of Innocence, by William Blake

* Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

* Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery

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!

A huge thank you to those who help make this podcast possible! If you'd like to support us, you can do so via Substack or Patreon. Subscribers receive access to periodic bonus episodes and early access to all new episodes. Plus, each supporter gets their own dedicated feed, allowing them to download episodes a few days before they’re released to the public. We’d love for you to check it out!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mookse.substack.com/subscribe

How do you wrap up a great book? in this episode, Paul and Trevor dive into the final sentences that left them stunned, satisfied, or haunted. From quiet farewells to explosive conclusions, we’re celebrating the art of the last line—and how a final passage can reshape everything that came before.

What’s a last line that you’ll never forget?

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 Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin

* The Bell, by Iris Murdoch

* The Sea, the Sea, by Iris Murdoch

* Miaow, by Benito Pérez Galdós, translated by Margaret Jull Costa

* Tristana, by Benito Pérez Galdós, translated by Margaret Jull Costa

* Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir

* The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

* Ulysses, by James Joyce

* Augustus, by John Williams

* Butcher’s Crossing, by John Williams

* Stoner, by John Williams

* The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway

* Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh

* The Dead, by James Joyce

* Finnegans Wake, by James Joyce

* A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce

* Swann’s Way, by Marcel Proust

* A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean

* Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë

* The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

* East of Eden, by John Steinbeck

* Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

* Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West, by Cormac McCarthy

* The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

* Middlemarch, by George Eliot

* The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri

* The Black Prince, by Iris Murdoch

* The Green Knight, by Iris Murdoch

* To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf

* Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence

* The Member of the Wedding, by Carson McCullers

* My Ántonia, by Willa Cather

* The Transit of Venus, by Shirley Hazzard

Other

* Proust Curious Podcast

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!

A huge thank you to those who help make this podcast possible! If you'd like to support us, you can do so via Substack or Patreon. Subscribers receive access to periodic bonus episodes and early access to all new episodes. Plus, each supporter gets their own dedicated feed, allowing them to download episodes a few days before they’re released to the public. We’d love for you to check it out!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mookse.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Paul and Trevor are joined by Kate from The Book Club Review Podcast for a lively discussion about funny books. From dry wit to outright absurdity, we explore the kinds of humor that make us laugh out loud—or quietly smirk into our sleeves—and why comic novels deserve a place on every bookshelf.

We also announce the winner of our June giveaway and introduce a brand-new challenge for July.

Tune in for some laughs and let us know which books have made you laugh the most.

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 gearing up for our second novella book club, where we'll be reading Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin at the start of July. 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

* Lockwood & Co. Series, by Jonathan Stroud

* Alex Verus Series, by Benedict Jacka

* Southern Reach Series, by Jeff VanderMeer

* Slanting Towards the Sea, by Lidija Hilje

* Waiting for the Fear, by Oguz Atay, translated by Ralph Hubbell

* The Pursuit of Love, by Nancy Mitford

* All Systems Red, by Martha Wells

* Hons and Rebels, by Jessica Mitford

* Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy

* Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes

* Middlemarch, by George Eliot

* The Girls, by John Bowen

* Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

* Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach

* Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law, by Mary Roach

* Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, by Mary Roach

* Hyperbole and a Half, by Allie Brosh

* The Book Lover’s Joke Book, by Alex Johnson

* The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

* The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* The Code of the Woosters, by P.G. Wodehouse

* Leave It to Psmith, by P.G. Wodehouse

* Wodehouse: A Life, by Robert McCrum

* A Swim in the Pond in the Rain, by George Saunders

* The Nose, by Nikolai Gogol

* The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them, by Elif Batuman

* War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

* Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller, by Oliver Darkshire

* Greta and Valdin, by Rebecca K. Rilley

* The Literary Conference, by César Aira

* The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks, by E. Lockhart

* A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson

* A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

* The Summer Book, by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal

* The White Bear, by Henrik Pontoppidan, translated by Paul Larkin

Other

* “The Murder of Leo Tolstoy,” by Elif Batuman

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!

A huge thank you to those who help make this podcast possible! If you'd like to support us, you can do so via Substack or Patreon. Subscribers receive access to periodic bonus episodes and early access to all new episodes. Plus, each supporter gets their own dedicated feed, allowing them to download episodes a few days before they’re released to the public. We’d love for you to check it out!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mookse.substack.com/subscribe

Happy Pride Month! In this episode Trevor and Paul share some of our favorite works of LGBTQIA+ literature (and films)—works that have moved us, challenged us, and expanded our sense of the world. We reflect on how queer literature has shaped our understanding over the years and discuss the importance of lifting up these voices—especially in a moment when so many are under threat.

Join us in a heartfelt conversation about storytelling, solidarity, and the power of books to open us up to the lives of others. As two people who don’t speak from within the queer community, we approached this conversation with deep admiration, gratitude, and care, hoping to honor the writers and stories that have meant so much to us.

What are some of your favorite LGBTQIA+ books?

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 gearing up for our second novella book club, where we'll be reading Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin at the start of July. 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 Book of Mutter, by Kate Zambreno

* The Light Room, by Kate Zambreno

* Drifts, by Kate Zambreno

* A House and Its Head, by Ivy Compton-Burnett

* Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot

* The Guermantes Way, by Marcel Proust

* Manservant and Maidservant, by Ivy Compton-Burnett

* Angels in America, by Tony Kushner

* The Hours, by Michael Cunningham

* Brokeback Mountain, by Annie Proulx

* The Song of Achilles, by Madeleine Miller

* Circe, by Madeleine Miller

* Desert of the Heart, by Jane Rule

* The works of David Seders

* Bluets, by Maggie Nelson

* The Argonauts, by Maggie Nelson

* You Better Be Lightning, by Andrea Gibson

* A Single Man, by Christopher Isherwood

* Hearstopper, by Alice Oseman

* The Price of Salt, by Patricia Highsmith

* Strangers on a Train, by Patricia Highsmith

* Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin

* The Line of Beauty, by Alan Holinghurst

* Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel

* Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, by Jeannette Winterson

* The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makai

* I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makai

* All Down Darkness Wide, by Seán Hewitt

* The Night Watch, by Sarah Waters

* The Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters

* Dancer from the Dance, by Andrew Holleran

Films

* The Hours, d. Stephen Daldry

* Brokeback Mountain, d. Ang Lee

* Desert Hearts, d. Donna Deitch

* A Single Man, d. Tom Ford

* Carole, d. Todd Haynes

* Paris Is Burning, d. Jennie Livingston

* All About My Mother, d. Pedro Almodóvar

* Happy Together, d. Wong Kar Wai

* Portrait of a Lady on Fire, d. Céline Sciamma

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!

A huge thank you to those who help make this podcast possible! If you'd like to support us, you can do so via Substack or Patreon. Subscribers receive access to periodic bonus episodes and early access to all new episodes. Plus, each supporter gets their own dedicated feed, allowing them to download episodes a few days before they’re released to the public. We’d love for you to check it out!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mookse.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Paul and Trevor check in on our 2025 reading goals—where we’ve succeeded, where we’ve faltered, and most importantly how our goals are impacting our reading experience. Are we setting ourselves up for success, or are we creating unnecessary pressure? We dive into the positives and potentials pitfalls of reading ambitions, exploring what’s working for us. Tune in for a reflective conversation on how to make reading goals meaningful.

Plus, we announce the winner of our May giveaway and reveal our June giveaway challenge with another silly performance!

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 gearing up for our second novella book club, where we'll be reading Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin at the start of July. 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

* Is a River Alive?, by Robert Macfarlane

* The White Bear, by Henrik Pontoppidan, translated by Paul Larkin

* A Fortunate Man, by Henrik Pontoppidan, translated by Paul Larkin

* Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin

* Deathbed Confessions, by Mark Haber

* Middlemarch, by George Eliot

* Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, by Marguerite Young

* Lies and Sorcery, by Elsa Morante, translated by Jenny McPhee

* In Search of Lost Time, by Marcel Proust

* The Sunlit Man, by Brandon Sanderson

* Suttree, by Cormac McCarthy

* Blood Meridian; or, The Evening Redness in the West, by Cormac McCarthy

* The Prime Minister, by Anthony Trollope

* The Duke’s Children, by Anthony Trollope

* The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope

* Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot

* Schattenfroh, by Michael Lentz, translated by Max Lawton

* Blinding, by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated by Sean Cotter

* Omensetter’s Luck, by William H. Gass

* Herscht 07769, by Lászlo Krasznahorkai, translated by Ottilie Mulzet

* Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

* Mr. Fox, by Barbara Comyns

* A Touch of Mistletoe, by Barbara Comyns

* Melvill, by Rodrigo Fresán, translated by Will Vanderhyden

* On the Calculation of Volume, I, by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J. Haveland

* The Ice-Shirt, by William T. Vollmann

* The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann, translated by John E. Woods

* Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf

* To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf

* The Waves, by Virginia Woolf

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

* Rhine Journey, by Ann Schlee

* Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector’s Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend, by Rebecca Romney

* Evelina, by Frances Burney

* The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* The Unconsoled, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* A Pale View of Hills, by Kazuo Ishiguro

* Your Absence Is Darkness, by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, translated by Philip Roughton

* The Summer Book, by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal

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!

A huge thank you to those who help make this podcast possible! If you'd like to support us, you can do so via Substack or Patreon. Subscribers receive access to periodic bonus episodes and early access to all new episodes. Plus, each supporter gets their own dedicated feed, allowing them to download episodes a few days before they’re released to the public. We’d love for you to check it out!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mookse.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode we’re shaking things up with Bookshelf Roulette! No pre-planned selections—just pure randomness. Using a random number generator, we each pick a few books from our shelves and dive into spontaneous discussions. Did we read them? Do we love them? Do we remember them? From forgotten gems to books we’ve been meaning to get to, we explore what’s lurking in the corners of our collections. Tune in for some unexpected literary discoveries, personal stories, and maybe even a few surprises as we take a fresh, unplanned look at what’s on our shelves.

What surprises are hiding on your bookshelf? Join in the fun—pull out a random book, whether you follow our rules or come up with your own way to pick, and share what you find with us! From forgotten classics to books you’ve been meaning to read, we’d love to hear about the unexpected gems in your collection.

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 gearing up for our second novella book club, where we'll be reading Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin at the start of July. 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

* Lesser Ruins, by Mark Haber

* Your Absence Is Darkness, by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, translated by Philip Roughton

* Three Summers, by Margarita Liberaki, translated by Karen Van Dyck

* Great Granny Webster, by Caroline Blackwood

* The Short Stories of Elizabeth Hardwick

* Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin

* Gould’s Book of Fish, by Richard Flanagan

* Question 7, by Richard Flanagan

* Quartet in Autumn, by Barbara Pym

* Hopscotch, by Julio Cortázar, translated by Gregory Rabassa

* The Nose and Other Stories, by Nikolai Gogol, translated by Susanne Fuso

* Dead Souls, by Nikolai Gogol

* A Swim in the Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Masterclass on Writing, Reading, and Life, by George Saunders

* The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri

* The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov

* First Love, by Ivan Turgenev

* The Forgery, by Ave Barrera, translated by Ellen Jones and Robin Myers

* Cautery, by Lucía Lijtmaer, translated by Maureen Shaughnessy

* On Earth as It Is Beneath, by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Padma Viswanathan

* Chilco, by Daniela Catrileo, translated by Jacob Edelstein

* The World We Saw Burning, by Renato Cisneros, translated by Fionn Petch

* The Oppermanns, by Lion Feuchtwanger, translated by James Cleugh

* The Aesthetics of Resistance, by Peter Weiss, translated by Joachim Neugroschel

* Hotel du Lac, by Anita Brookner

* A Start in Life, by Anita Brookner

* Providence, by Anita Brookner

* Look at Me, by Anita Brookner

* Proustian Uncertainty: On Reading and Rereading In Search of Lost Time, by Saul Friedländer

* Paintings in Proust: A Visual Companion to In Search of Lost Time, by Eric Karpeles

* Monsieur Proust, by Céleste Albaret, translated by Barbara Bray

* Lost Time: Lectures on Proust in a Soviet Prison Camp, by Józef Czapski, translated by Eric Karpeles

* Strike Your Heart, by Amélie Nothomb, translated by Alison Anderson

* Pétronille, by Amélie Nothomb, translated by Alison Anderson

* Life Form, by Amélie Nothomb, translated by Alison Anderson

* The Neapolitan Quartet, by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein

* H Is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald

* Vesper Flights, by Helen Macdonald

* Is a River Alive?, by Robert Macfarlane

Other

* The Eclipse Viewer Podcast

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!

A huge thank you to those who help make this podcast possible! If you'd like to support us, you can do so via Substack or Patreon. Subscribers receive access to periodic bonus episodes and early access to all new episodes. Plus, each supporter gets their own dedicated feed, allowing them to download episodes a few days before they’re released to the public. We’d love for you to check it out!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mookse.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Trevor and Paul are joined by Chris Via of Leaf by Leaf to celebrate the experience of reading big books. From the books that once intimidated us to the ones we now can't imagine our overburdened shelves without, we dive into what makes a book feel "big." Along the way, we share personal stories, favorite strategies for tackling doorstoppers, the books that stretched us as readers, and reflect on why some big books stay with us for life. Whether you're a lifelong lover of big books or someone who's still building up your wrist strength, this is an episode for you.

We’d love to hear from you, too—what are your favorite big books? Which ones are still looming on your to-be-read pile, daring you to pick them up? Let us know!

Join the Mookse and the Gripes on Discord

An easy place to respond to our question above is over on Discord!

We’re creating a welcoming space for thoughtful, engaging discussions about great novellas—and other books things. Whether you want to share insights, ask questions, or simply follow along, we’d love to have you.

Shownotes

Books

* War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Anthony Briggs

* 2666, by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer

* The Guermantes Way, by Marcel Proust

* FEM, by Magda Carneci, translated by Sean Cotter

* Blinding, by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated by Sean Cotter

* Solenoid, by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated by Sean Cotter

* Novel Explosives, by Jim Gauer

* Bookwork: Conversations with Michael Silverblatt

* The Recognitions, by William Gaddis

* The Dying Grass: A Novel of the New Perce War, by William T. Vollmann

* Faust, Part One: A New Translation with Illustrations, by Johann Wolfgang van Goethe, translated by Zsuzsanna Ozsváth and Frederick Turner

* Invidicum, by Michael Brodsky

* The Ice-Shirt, by William T. Vollmann

* The Aesthetics of Resistance, by Peter Weiss, translated by Joachim Neugroschel

* Middlemarch, by George Eliot

* Great Granny Webster, by Caroline Blackwood

* Pilgrimage, by Dorothy Richardson

* Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry

* Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

* Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson

* Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz

* Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre, translated by Richard Howard

* Schattenfroh, by Micheal Lentz, translated by Max Lawton

* The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks

* The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Andrew R. MacAndrew

* It, by Stephen King

* The Stand, by Stephen King

* Shogun, by James Clavell

* Tom’s Crossing, by Mark Z. Danielewski

* Women and Men, by Joseph McElroy

* Swann’s Way, by Marcel Proust

* Lies and Sorcery, by Elsa Morante, translated by Jenny McPhee

* Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, by Marguerite Young

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

* Against the Day, by Thomas Pynchon

* Ulysses, by James Joyce

* 4 3 2 1, by Paul Auster

* Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison

* Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon

* The Tunnel, by William H. Gass

* A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth

* The Golden Gate, by Vikram Seth

* The Story of a Life, by Konstantin Paustovsky, translated by Doug Smith

* The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu, translated by Royall Tylor

* A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara

* The People in the Trees, by Hanya Yanagihara

* Stone Upon Stone, by Wiesław Myśliwski, translated by Bill Johnston

* Needle’s Eye, by Wiesław Myśliwski, translated by Bill Johnston

Other

* Leaf by Leaf

* Episode 1: Bucket List Books

* Episode 99: Books We Think About All the Time, with Elisa Gabbert

* The Untranslated: Schattenfroh by Michael Lentz

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!

A huge thank you to those who help make this podcast possible! If you'd like to support us, you can do so via Substack or Patreon. Subscribers receive access to periodic bonus episodes and early access to all new episodes. Plus, each supporter gets their own dedicated feed, allowing them to download episodes a few days before they’re released to the public. We’d love for you to check it out!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mookse.substack.com/subscribe

What happens when a writer turns silence, fear, grief—and love?—into novels that are barely a couple hundred pages but echo for days? Whether it’s love withheld, misplaced, or mourned, Ørstavik’s novels speak to each other through unspoken longing and the disorienting nature of grief—with a quiet, cumulative power that’s hard to shake. In this episode, we explore the devastating brilliance of Hanne Ørstavik, the Norwegian author whose emotionally precise novels—Love, The Pastor, Ti Amo, and Stay with Me (neither of us has read The Blue Room, but we have it on order)—have deeply moved and unsettled us.

We dig into what makes Ørstavik’s emotional landscapes so haunting, and why these books, though spare on the surface, feel endlessly deep. From unspoken longing to the disorienting nature of grief, these novels speak to each other in unexpected and beautiful ways.

We’d love to hear your thoughts: Have you read any of Ørstavik’s work? Which novel struck you most—or which are you most curious to read?

Join the Mookse and the Gripes on Discord

An easy place to respond to our question above is over on Discord!

We’re creating a welcoming space for thoughtful, engaging discussions about great novellas—and other books things. Whether you want to share insights, ask questions, or simply follow along, we’d love to have you.

Shownotes

Books

* Love, by Hanne Ørstavik, translated by Martin Aitken

* The Pastor, by Hanne Ørstavik, translated by Martin Aitken

* Ti Amo, by Hanne Ørstavik, translated by Martin Aitken

* Stay with Me, by Hanne Ørstavik, translated by Martin Aitken

* The Ice-Shirt, by William T. Vollmann

* The Bear, by Andrew Krivak

* The Sojourn, by Andrew Krivak

* The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

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

* Lesser Ruins, by Mark Haber

* First Love, by Ivan Turgenev

* Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin

* The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark

* Within a Budding Grove, by Marcel Proust

Other

* Reading in Translation: Narrating and Translating Love and Grief in “TI AMO”: Norwegian Author Hanne Ørstavik and English Translator Martin Aitken in Conversation with Nataliya Deleva

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!

A huge thank you to those who help make this podcast possible! If you'd like to support us, you can do so via Substack or Patreon. Subscribers receive access to periodic bonus episodes and early access to all new episodes. Plus, each supporter gets their own dedicated feed, allowing them to download episodes a few days before they’re released to the public. We’d love for you to check it out!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mookse.substack.com/subscribe