Episode 116: A World Brimming Over: Abundant Literature and The Portrait of a Lady

We’ve all been there: the books are piled high, but nothing calls out. In this episode, Trevor and Paul talk about reading slumps—what they look like, what brings them on, and how to find the spark again. From work stress to life interruptions to simple reader fatigue, we explore how to rediscover the joy of the page and the role of community in keeping reading alive.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 125: Flannery O’Connor* Episode 135: William Faulkner* Episode 145: Elizabeth Taylor* Episode 155: Naguib MahfouzThere’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 DiscordWant 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 third novella book club, where we’re reading The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark. 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.ShownotesWhat are we reading?* Paul:* The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark* Trevor:* Vaim, by Jon Fosse, translated by Domion SearlsThe 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

Some books are long, some are short, but certain works feel abundant—overflowing with rhythm, atmosphere, and depth that can’t be exhausted in a single reading. In this episode we are joined by Lori Feathers, and we set as our foundation Henry James’s The Portrait of a Lady to explore what makes a work abundant. We move through other examples, asking what defines abundances, how it differs from size or ambition, and why these books matter.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 125: Flannery O’Connor* Episode 135: William Faulkner* Episode 145: Elizabeth Taylor* Episode 155: Naguib MahfouzThere’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 DiscordWant 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 third novella book club, where we’re reading The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark. 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.ShownotesWhat are we reading?* Lori: * The Ambassadors, by Henry James* Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, by Marguerite Young* The Logos, by Mark De Silva* Paul: * My Heart Is a Chainsaw, by Stephen Graham Jones* Seeing Further, by Esther Kinsky, translated by Caroline Schmidt* Not Even the Dead, by Juan Gómez Bárcena, translated by Katie Whittemore* Trevor: * Good and Evil, and Other Stories, by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell* The Secret of Secrets, by Dan BrownOther* The Republic of Consciousness Prize* Across the Pond Podcast* The Big Book Project* Involutions of the SeashellThe 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 turn their attention to Nobel Prize–winner Kazuo Ishiguro, whose eight novels over the past forty years have earned both admiration and debate. Together, we trace Ishiguro’s remarkable range: the restrained heartbreak of Remains of the Day, the dream-logic labyrinth of The Unconsoled, the quiet devastation of Never Let Me Go, the ambitious allegory of The Buried Giant, and the AI exploration of Klara and the Sun. Along the way, we weigh Ishiguro’s signature themes of memory, regret, art, and the stories we tell ourselves—and ask what makes him one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary literature, even when his experiments don’t always succeed.Whether you’re a longtime devotee or just curious where to begin, we hope you’ll join us for a conversation about masterpieces and misfires.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 125: Flannery O’Connor* Episode 135: William Faulkner* Episode 145: Elizabeth Taylor* Episode 155: Naguib MahfouzThere’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 DiscordWant 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.ShownotesWhat are we reading?* Paul: A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry* Trevor: The Ice Palace, by Tarjei Vesaas, translated by Elizabeth RokkanBooks by Kazuo Ishiguro* A Pale View of Hills* An Artist of the Floating World* The Remains of the Day* The Unconsoled* When We Were Orphans* Never Let Me Go* The Buried Giant* Klara and the SunThe 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 we are joined by translator Max Lawton to celebrate the release of Michael Lenz’s Schattenfroh from Deep Vellum. But rather than focus only on this one book, we open the conversation to a wider theme: the joy of reading books that resist. These are works that don’t give themselves up on a first pass, that refuse to be solved, that instead teach us how to read them as we go. With Schattenfroh as our starting point, we wander through the labyrinths of these kinds of books, asking why surrounding to the unknown might be one of the great rewards of reading.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 MahfouzThere’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 DiscordWant 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.ShownotesWhat are we reading?* Max: An Outcast of the Islands and The Rescue, by Joseph Conrad* Paul: Frontier, by Can Xue, translated by Karen Gernant & Chen Zeping, and The Stronghold, by Dino Buzzati, translated by Lawrence Venuti* Trevor: The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann, translated by John E. WoodsOn the Web:* Deep Vellum: Schattenfroh, by Michael Lenz, translated by Max Lawton* The Untranslated on Schattenfroh* The Untranslated: A Visual Guide to SchattenfrohThe 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 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 MahfouzThere’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 DiscordWant 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.ShownotesWhat 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 PolizzottiOur Starter LibrariesPaul* 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 AustenTrevor* 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 DickinsonJohn* 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 HoltOther* The Library, Duncan FallowellThe 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 MahfouzThere’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 DiscordWant 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.ShownotesBooks* 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 SanchesOther* PEN/America: Women in Translation Month Reading Series 2025* Women in Translation Month websiteThe 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 MahfouzThere’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 DiscordWant 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.ShownotesBooks* 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. MontgomeryThe 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 MahfouzThere’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 DiscordWant 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.ShownotesBooks* 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 HazzardOther* Proust Curious PodcastThe 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 MahfouzThere’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 DiscordWant 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.ShownotesBooks* 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 LarkinOther* “The Murder of Leo Tolstoy,” by Elif BatumanThe 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 MahfouzThere’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 DiscordWant 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.ShownotesBooks* 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 HolleranFilms* 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 SciammaThe 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