The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast

Please welcome Brian Berrett, Trevor's brother, back to The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast! Back, you ask? Yes! Brian started the original iteration of the podcast in 2012 with Trevor, and it's nice to have him back as a guest. In this episode we chat generally about loving books and then Brian shares three books with us. Please sign up for The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast Newsletter. If you'd like to support the show, visit The Mookse and the Gripes Patreon. Visit our blog at http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews. Follow us on Twitter @mookse and @bibliopaul. Email mookseandgripes@gmail.com. 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

The official start of summer is just around the corner, but with kids finishing school and Memorial Day in the past, it feels like summer is already here. Warmer weather, longer evenings, outdoor eating . . . it can be such a lovely time of year. In this episode, Paul and Trevor devote a good chunk to discussing summer reading in general and plans for our own hot months of 2022. And part of those plans include a Mookse and Gripes Podcast bookclub! Help us choose which of these four books to read: Speedboat, by Renata Adler; Ficciones, by Jorge Luis Borges; The Children of Dynmouth, by William Trevor; or A Lost Lady, by Willa Cather. We also come together in this episode and talk about our second batch of assigned reading, which includes Mauro Javier Cárdenas's Aphasia and Jean Giono's Ennemonde, translated by Bill Johnston. Please sign up for The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast Newsletter. If you'd like to support the show, visit The Mookse and the Gripes Patreon. Visit our blog at http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews. Follow us on Twitter @mookse and @bibliopaul. Email mookseandgripes@gmail.com. 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

If you're like us, sometimes you go buy a book you are so excited to read, only to then leave it unread on the shelf for . . . well, years maybe! In this episode Trevor and Paul look at some of their dustiest unread books.   Also, listen up for the winner of our short books episode giveaway!   If you'd like to support the show, visit The Mookse and the Gripes Patreon. Visit our blog at http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews. Follow us on Twitter @mookse and @bibliopaul. Email mookseandgripes@gmail.com. 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, Paul and Trevor discuss short books (fiction): what makes them special? Which authors specialize in brevity? How have short books impacted our lives as readers?  We each share five or our favorites, as well as a ton of great listener recommendations. And be sure to stick around for a fun giveaway and a preview of an upcoming episode where we each assign the other a short novel. We hope you'll read along with us!  If you'd like to support the show, visit The Mookse and the Gripes Patreon. Visit our blog at http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews. Follow us on Twitter @mookse and @bibliopaul. Email mookseandgripes@gmail.com.   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

If you're a bibliophile, what could be better than a book about books? This week, Trevor and Paul are joined by their good friend Simon Thomas to talk about their favorite novels set in the world of books, authors, libraries, and bookstores. We each choose three favorites, but we certainly don't limit our discussion to those nine choices. From Matilda and Bunnicula to Umberto Eco and Rose Macauley (and many, many more), this is another episode that is sure to bolster your TBR pile! If you'd like to support the show, visit The Mookse and the Gripes Patreon. Visit our blog at http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews. Follow us on Twitter @mookse and @bibliopaul. Email mookseandgripes@gmail.com. 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 mega-episode is all about one of our very favorite authors. Trevor and Paul discuss Austen’s six major novels, chat about what makes her work so special and even take a crack at ranking their favorites!  We also share listener feedback about favorite title and chat about various adaptions, both good and bad.  And a special treat this week: an interview with Jane Austen scholar (and fan) Joan Klingel Ray, Ph.d, former president of the Jane Austen Society of North America and author of several books on Jane Austen. If you'd like to support the show, visit The Mookse and the Gripes Patreon. Visit our blog at http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews. Follow us on Twitter @mookse and @bibliopaul. Email mookseandgripes@gmail.com. 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 discuss great literary years. What have been some of the most noteworthy bookish years so far? What made them so special? They also travel back 100 years to arguably the greatest literary year in history and explore the works that changed literature forever.  And they share readers‘ entries for the Archipelago Books contest and announce the lucky winner! If you'd like to support the show, visit The Mookse and the Gripes Patreon. Visit our blog at http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews. Follow us on Twitter @mookse and @bibliopaul. Email mookseandgripes@gmail.com. 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 spend some time talking about one of their favorite publishers, Archipelago Books. They each share three of their favorite Archipelago titles and talk about a few they want to read soon. This episode also includes an amazing giveaway that will supply one lucky winner with a year's worth of translated fiction! For a list of all Archipelago books, click here. For a list of Archipelago's upcoming publications, click here and scroll down. If you'd like to support the show, visit The Mookse and the Gripes Patreon. Visit our blog at http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews. Follow us on Twitter @mookse and @bibliopaul. Email mookseandgripes@gmail.com. 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, Trevor and Paul have a little fun with assigned reading. Yes, you heard that right! First they chat a bit about their histories with assigned reading, both in school and in reading groups, before diving into a couple of short stories they assigned each other. The second half of the episode is a deep dive into two stunning stories: "A Manual for Cleaning Women" by Lucia Berlin and "The Ice Wagon Going Down the Street" by Mavis Gallant. If you want to read along before listening, you can find links to the full text of both stories in the show notes. You won't regret it! If you'd like to support the show, visit The Mookse and the Gripes Patreon. Visit our blog at http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews. Follow us on Twitter @mookse and @bibliopaul. Email mookseandgripes@gmail.com. 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 chat about their criteria for a good comfort read: Nostalgia? Escapism? … Murder? They each share a few of their go-to comfort books, along with plenty of wonderful listener suggestions (a few of which might just surprise you). So grab a cup of tea or glass of wine and get ready to bolster your cozy TBR pile! Spoiler alert: You might want to have a pen and paper handy. For shownotes, including a list of all of the books we talk about in this episode, please go to our shownotes. If you'd like to support the show, visit The Mookse and the Gripes Patreon. Visit The Mookse and the Gripes blog. Follow us on Twitter @mookse and @bibliopaul. Email mookseandgripes@gmail.com. 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