Episode 127: No One Knows Where to Shelf This: On Unclassifiable Books

We tend to think of books as belonging somewhere: novel, memoir, biography, fantasy, history. Genre gives us orientation and sets expectations. In this episode Trevor and Paul are joined by Rebeccas Hussey of One Bright Book to talk about books that blur boundaries and resist easy classification. Are these books resisting genre? Or are they resisting certainty itself?

Please make sure to check out One Bright Book Podcast as well!

2026 Novella Book Club

We have announced the four novellas we will be reading for The Mookse and Gripes Novella Book Club in 2026!

* January: Daisy Miller, by Henry James

* April: An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter, by César Aira

* July: The Hour of the Star, by Clarice Lispector

* September: Prelude, by Katherine Mansfield

Discussions will be hosted at The Mookse and the Gripes Discord (see below!).

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 135: William Faulkner

* Episode 145: Elizabeth Taylor

* Episode 155: Naguib Mahfouz

* Episode 165: Annie Ernaux

* Episode 175: Henry James

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

Shownotes

What are you reading?

* Rebecca: Baldwin: A Love Story, by Nicholas Boggs; Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife, by Francesca Wade

* Paul: A Time to Keep Silence, by Patrick Leigh Fermor

* Trevor: Mule Boy, by Andrew Krivak

Works mentinoed

* Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, by Heather Clark

* The Making of Americans, by Gertrude Stein

* The Bear, by Andrew Krivak

* The Sojourn, by Andrew Krivak

* The Art of the Personal Essay, by Phillip Lopate

* The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age, by Sven Bikerts

* Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling with D. H. Lawrence, by Geoff Dyer

* But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz, by Geoff Dyer

* Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, by Herman Melville

* There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, by Hanif Abdurraqib

* Cross-Stitch, by Jazmina Barrera, translated by Christina MacSweeney

* On Lighthouses, by Jazmina Barrera, translated by Christina MacSweeney

* Linea Nigra: Essays on Pregnancy and Earthquakes, by Jazmina Barrera, translated by Christina MacSweeney

* The Long Form, by Kate Briggs

* Drifts, by Kate Zambreno

* Orlando, by Virginia Woolf

* Alphabetical Diaries, by Sheila Heti

* Flights, by Olga Tokaczuk, translated by Jennifer Croft

* Dept. of Speculation, by Jenny Offill

* Erik Satie Three Piece Suite, by Ian Penman

* To Write As If Already Dead, by Kate Zambreno

* Suite for Barbara Loden, by Nathalie Léger, translated by Natasha Lehrer and Cécile Menon

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

* Animal Joy: A Book of Laughter and Resuscitation, by Nuar Alsadir

* Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography, by Roland Barthes, translated by Richard Howard

* Fifty Sounds, by Polly Barton

* Melvill, Rodrigo Fresán, translated by Will Vanderhyden

* Rings of Saturn, by W.G. Sebald, translated by Michael Hulse

* Schattenfroh, by Michael Lenz, translated by Max Lawton

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 about to read the second novella book club book of 2026: An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter, by César Aira, translated by Chris Andrews. 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.

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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