Episode 101: Big News, Short Books

Introducing the Mookse and Gripes Novella Reading Group! Through this year, we’re reading three novellas about love, longing, and leadership gone slightly off the rails. In this episode, we kick things off with some bookish banter before unveiling our new novella reading group on Discord. We have a short intermission for a special new game with a giveaway and then share the three novellas we’ll be reading in 2025, diving into why we chose these books.

Join us as we celebrate the art of the novella. We hope you’ll read along!

Join the Mookse and the Gripes on Discord

We’re creating a welcoming space for thoughtful, engaging discussions about great novellas, starting with First Love by Ivan Turgenev in April. Whether you want to share insights, ask questions, or simply follow along, we’d love to have you. The discussion will unfold gradually, so you can read at your own pace and jump in whenever you're ready. It’s a great way to connect with fellow readers, explore new works together, and deepen your appreciation for the novella form.

For the first book, the schedule will be as follows:

* April 6: Start of the book through Section 9

* April 9: Section 10 through Section 16

* April 13: Section 17 through the end

Shownotes

Books

* Lesser Ruins, by Mark Haber

* Melvill, by Rodrigo Fresán, translated by Will Vanderhyden

* Like a Sky Inside, by Jakuta Alikavazovic, translated by Daniel Levin Becker

* The Case of Cem, by Vera Mutafchieva, translated by Angela Rodel

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

* Small Rain, by Garth Greenwell

* Command Performance, by Jean Echenoz, translated

* Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf

* To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf

* The Waves, by Virginia Woolf

* The Voyage Out, by Virginia Woolf

* Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a Novel, by Mark Hussey

* Trafik, by Rikki Ducornet

* We’re Safe When We’re Alone, by Nghiem Tran

* Cecilia, by K-Ming Chang

* Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan

* Chess Story, by Stefan Zweig, translated by Joel Rotenberg

* The Guest Cat, by Takashi Hiraide, translated by Eric Selland

* The Stepdaughter, by Caroline Blackwood

* Great Granny Webster, by Caroline Blackwood

* So Long, See You Tomorrow, by William Maxwell

* Fever Dream, by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell

* Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson

* The Body, by Stephen King

* The Long Walk, by Stephen King

* First Love, by Ivan Turgenev, translated by Isaiah Berlin

* Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin

* The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark

* The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James

Other

* Episode 27: Short Books, Fiction

* “Ten haunting, atmospheric novellas I highly recommend”: JacquiWine’s Journal

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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