The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast

For this final episode of 2023, we finish our annual two episode best of the year extravaganza! Here we count down our top five favorite reads of 2023—and again we are joined by a cast of listeners who share some of their top books and best reading experiences of the year! Happy New Year! We will see you in 2024!Shownotes* Roman Stories, by Jhumpa Lahiri, translated by Jhumpa Lahiri and Todd Portnowitz* Disruptions, by Steven Milhauser* The Last Devil to Die, by Richard Osman* Solenoid, by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated by Sean Cotter* Blinding, by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated by Sean Cotter* After the Funeral, by Tessa Hadley* The Dry Heart, by Natalia Ginzburg, translated by Frances Frenaye* Short stories of Djuna Barnes* Nightwood, by Djuna Barnes* Collected Works, by Lydia Sandgren, translated by Agnes Broomé* Forbidden Notebooks, by Alba de Céspedes, translated by Ann Goldstein* The House on the Hill, by Cesare Pavese, translated by Tim Parks* Conversations in Sicily, by Elio Vittorini, translated by Alane Salierno Mason* Nonfiction, by Julie Myerson* Wound, by Oksana Vasyakina, translated by Elina Alter* The Most Secret Memory of Men, by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, translated by Laura Vergnaud* Bound to Violence, by Yamboi Oulologuem* My Rivers, by Faruk Šehić, translated by S.D. Curtis* The Woman Who Borrowed Memories, by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal and Silvester Mazzarella* The Story of a Life, by Konstantin Paustovsky, translated by Doug Smith* The Light Room, by Kate Zambreno* Drifts, by Kate Zambreno* A Ghost in the Throat, by Doireann Ní Ghríofa* Elena Knows, by Claudia Piñeiro, translated by Frances Riddle* Die, My Love, by Ariana Harwicz, translated by Sarah Moses and Carolina Orloff* The Long Form, by Kate Briggs* Territory of Light, by Yuki Tsushima, translate by Geraldine Harcourt* Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, by Heather Clark* Indeterminate Inflorescence, by Lee Seong-bok, translated by Anton Hur* If I Had Not Seen Their Sleeping Faces: fragments on death After Anna de Noailles, by Christina Tudor-Sideri* In Ascension, by Martin MacInnes* The Day The Call Came, by Thomas Hinde* The Peasants, by Władysław Reymont, translated by Anna Zaranko* Basic Black with Pearls, by Helen Weinzweig* The Young Bride, by Alessandro Baricco, translated by Ann Goldstein* Whale, by Cheon Myeong-Kwan, translated by Chi-Young Kim* Not Even the Dead, by Juan Gomez Barecna, translated by Katie Whittemore* Losing Music, by John Cotter* Denmark: Variations, by James Tadd Adcox* Rabbit Is Rich, by John Updike* Blind Rider, by Juan Goytisolo, translated by Peter Bush* Exiled from Almost Everywhere, by Juan Goytisolo, translated by Peter Bush* The Garden of Secrets, by Juan Goytisolo, translated by Peter Bush* The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy* Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy* When We Cease to Understand the World, by Benjamin Labatut, translated by Adrian Nathan West* The Last Chronicle of Barset, by Anthony Trollope* Barchester Towers, by Anthony Trollope* The Warden, by Anthony Trollope* Can You Forgive Her?, by Anthony TrollopeAbout the PodcastThe Mookse and the Gripes Podcast is a book chat podcast. Every other week Paul and Trevor get together to talk about some bookish topic or another.Please join us! You can subscribe at Apple podcasts or go to the feed to import to your favorite podcatcher.Many thanks to those who helped make this possible! If you’d like to donate as well, you can do so on Substack or on our Patreon page. Patreon subscribers get regular bonus episode and early access to all episodes! Every supporter has their own feed that he or she can use in their podcast app of choice to download our episodes a few days early. Please go 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 kicks off our annual two episode best of the year extravaganza! Trevor and Paul count down the first part of their ten favorite reads of 2023—and they’re joined by a cast of listeners who share some of their top books and best reading experiences of the year! We dare you to not add a book (or more!) to your 2024 TBR!Giveaway DetailsWe are excited to give away three Dalkey Archive books to a lucky listener with a U.S. address*.Please send us an email (or dm on Instagram or Twitter) telling us your interest in The Dalkey Archive! That’s it! We recommend getting these to us by the end of day Friday, December 15 because we will be drawing the winner early the next day!*Unfortunately, due to high shipping costs, this giveaway is limited to U.S. addresses. We are sorry! We do love our international listeners!Shownotes* Eastbound, by Maylis De Kerangal, translated by Jessica Moore* The Sorrow of Others, by Ada Zhang* A Horse at Night: On Writing, by Amina Cain* Rattlebone, by Maxine Clair* Midnight in theGarden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt* Trust, by Hernan Diaz* Fire Rush, Jacqueline Crooks* Makeshift, by Sarah Campion* Joseph and His Brothers, by Thomas Mann, translated by John E. Woods* Love, by Hanne Ørstavik, translated by Martin Aitken* Foster, by Claire Keegan* Women Talking, by Miriam Toews* Five Little Indians, by Michelle Good* Trieste, by Daša Drndić, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursać* The Springs of Affection, by Maeve Brennan* The Unreality of Memory, by Elisa Gabbert* The Infatuations, by Javier Marías, translated by Margaret Jull Costa* Missing Out: In Praise of the Unlived Life, by Adam Phillips* Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison* American Fantastica, by Tim O’Brien* The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien* Kindred, by Rebecca Wragg Sykes* The Birthday Party, by Laurent Mauvignier, translated by Daniel Levin Becker* The Sunlit Man, by Brandon Sanderson* Tress of the Emerald Sea, by Brandon Sanderson* Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson* Open City, by Teju Cole* School for Love, by Olivia Manning* The Balkan Trilogy, by Olivia Manning* The Levant Trilogy, by Olivia Manning* Ex-Wife, by Ursula Parrott* The Feast, by Margaret Kennedy* The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood* Time Shelter, by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel* The Physics of Sorrow, by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel* Lesser Ruins, by Mark Haber* The Guest Lecture, by Martin Riker* The Box, by Mandy-Suzanne Wong* The Rainbow, by D.H. Lawrence* Abigail, by Magda Szabo, translated by Len Rix* Zaddik, by David Rosenbaum* Five Decembers, by James Kestrel* The Lost Man, by Jane Harper* Lone Women, by Victor Lavalle* The Strange, by Nathan Ballingrud* March’s End, by Daniel Polanski* Brother of the More Famous Jack, by Barbara Trapido* Alfred Ollivant’s Bob, Son of Battle, a new version by Lydia Davis* Gentleman Overboard, by Herbert Clyde Lewis* The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Michael R. KatzAbout the PodcastThe Mookse and the Gripes Podcast is a book chat podcast. Every other week Paul and Trevor get together to talk about some bookish topic or another.Please join us! You can subscribe at Apple podcasts or go to the feed to import to your favorite podcatcher.Many thanks to those who helped make this possible! If you’d like to donate as well, you can do so on Substack or on our Patreon page. Patreon subscribers get regular bonus episode and early access to all episodes! Every supporter has their own feed that he or she can use in their podcast app of choice to download our episodes a few days early. Please go 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 publisher episode focuses on one of our very favorites: Dalkey Archive. Founded nearly 40 years ago, Dalkey specializes in “lesser-known and often avant-garde works.” Trevor and Paul each share a few of their favorite titles and announce an exciting Dalkey giveaway. Be sure to share your favorite for a chance to win!Giveaway DetailsWe are excited to give away three Dalkey Archive books to a lucky listener with a U.S. address*.Please send us an email (or dm on Instagram or Twitter) telling us your interest in The Dalkey Archive! That’s it! We recommend getting these to us by the end of day Friday, December 15 because we will be drawing the winner early the next day!*Unfortunately, due to high shipping costs, this giveaway is limited to U.S. addresses. We are sorry! We do love our international listeners!Shownotes* Basic Black with Pearls, by Helen Weinzweig* The Woman Who Borrowed Memories, by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal and Sylvester Mazzarella* The Summer Book, by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal* Fair Play, by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal* The True Deceiver, by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal* Joseph and His Brothers, by Thomas Mann, translated by John E. Woods* Afterword, by Nina Schuyler* Christmas at Thompson Hall: And Other Christmas Stories, by Anthony Trollope* A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens* The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, by L. Frank Baum* A Merry Christmas: And Other Christmas Stories, by Louisa May Alcott* The Night Before Christmas, by Nikolai Gogol, translated by Konstantin Makovsky* The Nutcracker, by E.T.A. Hoffmann, translated by Joachim Neugroschel* The Warden, by Anthony Trollope* Can You Forgive Her?, by Anthony Trollope* The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Michael R. Katz* Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, by Heather Clark* Vlad, by Carlos Fuentes, translated by E. Shaskan Bumas and Alejandro Branger* Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, by Marguerite Young* Atagony, by Luis Goytisolo, translated by Brendan Riley* Götz and Meyer, by David Albahari, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursac* Bottom’s Dream, by Arno Schmidt, translated by John E. Woods* At Swim-Two-Birds, by Flann O’Brien* The Dalkey Archive, by Flann O’Brien* Reticence, by Jean-Philippe Toussaint, translated by John Lambert* Europeana: A Brief History of the 20th Century, by Patrik Ouredník, translated by Gerald Turner* Suicide, by Edouard Levé, translated by Jan Steyn* Through the Night, by Sting Sæterbakken, translated by Seán Kinsella* Autoportrait, by Edouard Levé, translated by Lorin Stein* Trilogy, by Jon Fosse, translated by May-Brit Akerholt* Demolishing Nisard, by Eric Chevillard, translated by Jordan Stump* Eros the Bittersweet, by Anne CarsonAbout the PodcastThe Mookse and the Gripes Podcast is a book chat podcast. Every other week Paul and Trevor get together to talk about some bookish topic or another.Please join us! You can subscribe at Apple podcasts or go to the feed to import to your favorite podcatcher.Many thanks to those who helped make this possible! If you’d like to donate as well, you can do so on Substack or on our Patreon page. Patreon subscribers get regular bonus episode and early access to all episodes! Every supporter has their own feed that he or she can use in their podcast app of choice to download our episodes a few days early. Please go 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

For many of us, reading is like taking a holiday. But this week, we dive into true literary holidays as we discuss some of our favorite bookish destinations, as well as a few that are on our bucket lists. Where are your top literary destinations?ShownotesBooks* Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, by Heather Clark* The Bridge of Beyond, by Simone Schwarz-Bart, translated by Barbara Bray* Shady Hollow, by Juneau Black* The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Michael R. Katz* War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Anthony Briggs* Divorcing, by Susan Taubes* Transit, by Anna Seghers, translated by Margaret Bettauer Dembo * Lies and Sorcery, by Elsa Morante, translated by Jenny McPhee* The Expendable Man, by Dorothy B. Hughes* Thus Were Their Faces, by Silvina Ocampo, translated Daniel Balderston* Motley Stones, by Adalbert Stifter, translated by Isabel Fargo Cole* Rock Crystal, by Adalbert Stifter, translated by Elizabeth Mayer and Marianne Moore* Temptation, by János Székely, translated by Mark Baczoni* Mary Olivier: A Life, by May Sinclair* Hons and Rebels, by Jessica Mitford* Virgin Soil, by Ivan Turgenev, translated by Constance Garnett* The Selected Works of Cesare Pavese, translated by R.W. Flint* The Moon and the Bonfire, by Cesare Pavese, translated by R.W. Flint* Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole* The Shining, by Stephen King* Carrie, by Stephen King* ‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King* Centennial, by James Michener* Augustus, by John WilliamsOther* PEG the Book Prize Addict’s YoutubeAbout the PodcastThe Mookse and the Gripes Podcast is a book chat podcast. Every other week Paul and Trevor get together to talk about some bookish topic or another.Please join us! You can subscribe at Apple podcasts or go to the feed to import to your favorite podcatcher.Many thanks to those who helped make this possible! If you’d like to donate as well, you can do so on Substack or on our Patreon page. Patreon subscribers get regular bonus episode and early access to all episodes! Every supporter has their own feed that he or she can use in their podcast app of choice to download our episodes a few days early. Please go 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

They trade stories about when and where they read, from commutes and stolen moments to family routines. They talk strategies for pacing big books, juggling audiobooks and physical pages, and photographing text for reading on the go. They also explore rituals, music, online book communities, and how podcasting reshaped their reading choices.

Jon Fosse is the newest winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, and for this week’s episode we are joined by Fosse’s translator Damion Searls to discuss Fosse’s work and the art of translation.Substack Is Now Our HostWhen we released Episode 64: Victorian Literature, we experimented by releasing it through Substack rather than the host we had used since starting the show. We had transferred all of the files over and changed all the doo-dads and bee-bops (we hoped) to make it so that no one would even notice. It seems to have worked as planned! Consequently, we are moving forward with Substack from now on. This shouldn’t affect you at all.However, by switching to Substack, listeners who have become paid Substack subscribers can now start getting the same bonus episodes and early releases as Patreon supporters! So, if you’re looking for an opportunity to support the show financially, and Substack works for you, we are excited to have you aboard and to send you the same benefits our Patreon supporters get.We will continue to use Patreon as well, so if you’re there or want to be there, you won’t be affected either.Thanks everyone!ShownotesBooks* The Inkblots: Hermann Rorschach, His Iconic Test, and the Power of Seeing, by Damion Searls* A Shining, by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls* Anniversaries: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl, by Uwe Johnson, translated by Damion Searls* Sundays in August, by Patrick Modiano, translated by Damion Searls* Dora Bruder, by Patrick Modiano, translated by Joanna Kilmartin* Bambi, by Felix Salten, translated by Damion Searls* Thomas Mann: New Selected Stories, translated by Damion Searls* My Men, by Victoria Kielland, translated by Damion Searls* Amsterdam Stories, by Nescio, translated by Damion Searls* Trilogy, by Jon Fosse, translate by May-Brit Akerholt* Breaking and Entering, by Don Gillmor* Killing Commendatore, by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen* Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin* Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel* Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin* 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen * Septology, by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls* Melancholy I-II, by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls and Grethe Kvernes* Morning and Evening, by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls* Scenes from a Childhood, by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls* Aliss at the Fire, by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion SearlsAbout the PodcastThe Mookse and the Gripes Podcast is a book chat podcast. Every other week Paul and Trevor get together to talk about some bookish topic or another.Please join us! You can subscribe at Apple podcasts or go to the feed to import to your favorite podcatcher. You can also listen to us on YouTube, if that’s your thing.Many thanks to those who helped make this possible! If you’d like to donate as well, please visit our Patreon page. Patreon subscribers get a monthly bonus episode and early access to all episodes! Every supporter has their own feed that he or she can use in their podcast app of choice to download our episodes a few days early. Please go 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 has a lot in common with Victorian literature: long, sometimes digressive and (we hope) filled with fun topics and interesting characters!We’re joined by Victorian expert extraordinaire Rohan Maitzen for a fun discussion about this wonderful era, including some of our favorite titles and authors. And no, we weren’t paid by the word.Patreon Bonus EpisodeAfter a summer with no bonus episodes (an unplanned break!), Paul and I put together a rather lengthy bonus episode for Patreon. This was released last week, and it was so much fun to just sit down and chat about fall reading and relaxing! If you’re interested, Patreon supporters of all tier levels get these bonus episodes! Check it out!Substack OptionsI didn’t even know it was possible until it started to happen, but some of you have supported the podcast via Substack by becoming paid subscribers. It has taken me a while to research and understand a few things that I think will make the podcast better while not changing it for regular listeners.First, I have switched to hosting the podcast on Substack. This episode is a bit of an experiment to see if it all worked the way it is supposed to. Hopefully, even if you’ve never opened the newsletter, you are seeing this episode in your podcast feed.Second, by switching to Substack, paid listeners here can now start getting the same bonus episodes and early releases as Patreon supporters! I will keep dabbling with this to make sure it is working well. And I welcome your feedback!ShownotesBooks* Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen* Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë* North Woods, by Daniel Mason* A Little Luck, by Claudia Piñeiro, translated by Frances Riddle* Elena Knows, by Claudia Piñeiro, translated by Frances Riddle* Landscapes, by Christine Lai* The Overstory, by Richard Powers* Bewilderment, by Richard Powers* War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Anthony Briggs* The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Michael R. Katz* The Voyage Out, by Virginia Woolf* A Fairly Good Time, by Mavis Gallant* The Sunlit Man, by Brandon Sanderson* The Limit, by Rosalind Belben* Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë* The Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot* Middlemarch, by George Eliot* History of the French Revolution, by Thomas Carlyle* David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens* Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens* Hard Times, by Charles Dickens* A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens* Aurora Leigh, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning* Ulysses, by James Joyce* In Memoriam A.H.H., by Alfred, Lord Tennyson* Tess of the d’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy* Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy* The Chosen, by Elizabeth Lowry* Mary Barton, by Elizabeth Gaskell* North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell* Wive and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell* The Last Chronicle of Barset, by Anthony Trollope* The Warden, by Anthony Trollope* Barchester Towers, by Anthony Trollope* The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins* Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickins* The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins* Bleak House, by Charles Dickens* Silas Marner, by George Eliot* The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne BrontëAbout the PodcastThe Mookse and the Gripes Podcast is a book chat podcast. Every other week Paul and Trevor get together to talk about some bookish topic or another.Please join us! You can subscribe at Apple podcasts or go to the feed to import to your favorite podcatcher. You can also listen to us on YouTube, if that’s your thing.Many thanks to those who helped make this possible! If you’d like to donate as well, please visit our Patreon page. Patreon subscribers get a monthly bonus episode and early access to all episodes! Every supporter has their own feed that he or she can use in their podcast app of choice to download our episodes a few days early. Please go 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, we’re talking about our favorite passages from literature. You know, those sentences, paragraphs or even pages that take your breath away and send you scrambling for the closest highlighter? We discuss the types of language that catches our eye and each share some of our all-time favorite passages. What are yours?   For complete shownotes, 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

This week, we celebrate Spinster September by discussing spinster lit with Nora (pear.jelly). We chat about spinster tropes and stereotypes, ways in which the term is evolving, and dig into why these women appeal to so many of us. And, of course, we each share some of our favorite examples from literature.   For complete shownotes, 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

This week is all about the most intimidating books on our TBR piles. You know, the ones you really want to read someday and yet never quite seem to make it to the top of the pile? We each share five of the most terrifying tomes on our shelves, and share some some listener input as well. Oh, and we each *gulp* commit to read one book from our list! Want to join us by committing to read a formidable title from your own list? For complete shownotes, 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