Episode 72: Characters on Holiday

So many great books have been published only to go out of print, for whatever reason. But they still have things to say to contemporary readers. Thankfully, there are several publishers whose work focuses on bringing these books back to us grateful readers. In this episode, we are are joined by Jacqui, who blogs at JacquiWine’s Journal, to discuss some of our favorite publishers who help us all rediscover gems. What are some of your favorite publishers and the gems they helped you rediscover?ShownotesBooks* And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie* In the Distance, by Hernan Diaz* Nothing to See Here, by Kevin Wilson* Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maude Montgomery* The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood* Things We Lost in the Fire, by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell* Our Share of Night, by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell* Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia, by Rebecca West* Lesser Ruins, by Mark Haber* A Strange and Sublime Address, by Amit Chaudhuri* Friend of My Youth, by Amit Chaudhuri* Sojourn, by Amit Chaudhuri* Calcutta, by Amit Chaudhuri* The Immortals, by Amit Chaudhuri* A New World, by Amit Chaudhuri* Odysseus Abroad, by Amit Chaudhuri* Stoner, by John Williams* The Bloater, by Rosemary Tonks* Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, by Marguerite Young* Mrs. Caliban, by Rachel Ingalls* The Mountain Lion, by Jean Stafford* Hackenfeller’s Ape, by Brigid Brophy* Summer in Baden-Baden, by Leonid Tsypkin, translated by Roger Keys and Angela Keys* Neighbors and Other Stories, by Diane Oliver* January, by Sara Gallardo, translated by Frances Riddle and Maureen Shaughnessy* The Feast, by Margaret Kennedy* Troy Chimneys, by Margaret Kennedy* Rhine Journey, by Ann Schlee* The Stepdaughter, by Caroline Blackwood* I Am Alien to Live: Selected Stories, by Djuna Barnes* Constant Reader, by Dorothy Parker* The Glass Pearls, by Emeric Pressburger* Eline Vere, by Louis Couperus, translated by Ina Rilke* The Girls, by John BowenLinks* JacquiWine’s Journal* Episode 37: Hotel Novels* 1001 Novels: A Library of America* Episode 74: Canadian Literature* Bonus Episode: April 2024* Episode 73: Hidden Gems* Faber Editions* Archipelago Books* McNally EditionsThe 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. We hope you’ll continue to join us!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. These subscribers get periodic 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

The idea of the Great American Novel is controversial, passé, hubristic, and . . . always fascinating to talk about. This week, inspired by a recent list of potential candidates for the Great American Novel published in The Atlantic, we dive in and talk about the concept, the history, the list, and our votes for other contenders. What book(s) would get your vote?ShownotesBooks* The MANIAC, by Benjamin Labatut* Lesser Ruins, by Mark Haber* Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe, by Kapka Kassabova* Elixir: In the Valley at the End of Time, by Kapka Kassabova* To the River: A Balkan Journey of War and Peace, by Kapka Kassabova* Anima: A Wild Pastoral, by Kapka Kassabova* Dante: The Inferno, translated by Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander* Phineas Finn, by Anthony Trollope* The Eustace Diamonds, by Anthony Trollope* Phineas Reduce, by Anthony Trollope* Mortal Leap, by MacDonald Harris* Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville* Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe* James, by Percival Everett* The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain* Augustus, by John Williams* Butcher’s Crossing, by John Williams* Absalom, Absalom!, by William Faulkner* Passing, by Nella Larsen* The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald* So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures, by Maureen Corrigan* The Making of Americans, by Gertrude Stein* An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser* Light in August, by William Faulkner* The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner* Nightwood, by Djuna Barnes* I Am Alien to Life: Selected Stories, by Djuna Barnes* Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston* The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler* Ask the Dust, by John Fante* Wait Until Spring, Bandini, by John Fante* U.S.A., by John Dos Passos* The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck* In a Lonely Place, by Dorothy B. Hughes* All the King’s Men, by Robert Penn Warren* The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers* The Street, by Ann Petry* The Mountain Lion, by Jean Stafford* A Time to Be Born, by Dawn Powell* The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger* Fahrenheit 451, by Raymond Bradbury* Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison* Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White* The Adventures of Augie March, by Saul Bellow* Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov* The Bookshop, by Penelope Fitzgerald* Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin* The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson* No-No Boy, by John Okada* Peyton Place, by Grace Metalious* Pale Fire, by Vladimir Nabokov* Another Country, by James Baldwin* Catch-22, by Joseph Heller* One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey* A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle* The Zebra-Striped Hearse, by Ross MacDonald* The Group, by Mary McCarthy* The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath* The Crying of Lot 49, by Thomas Pynchon* A Sport and a Pastime, by James Salter* Couples, by John Updike* Portnoy’s Complaint, by Philip Roth* Sabbath’s Theater, by Philip Roth* American Pastoral, by Philip Roth* The Human Stain, by Philip Roth* The Great American Novel, by Philip Roth* Divorcing, by Susan Taubes* Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut* Play It As It Lays, by Joan Didion* Sula, by Toni Morrison* Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison* Beloved, by Toni Morrison* Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume* Desperate Characters, by Paula Fox* Log of the S.S. Mrs Unguentine, by Stanley Crawford* The Revolt of the Cockroach People, by Oscar Zeta Acosta* Oreo, by Fran Ross* The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. Le Guin* Winter in the Blood, by James Welch* Corregidora, by Gayl Jones* Speedboat, by Renata Adler* Dancer from the Dance, by Andrew Hollerman* The Stand, by Stephen King* Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko* Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson* Machine Dreams, by Jayne Anne Phillips* Lark & Termite, by Jayne Anne Phillips* Shelter, by Jayne Anne Phillips* Little, Big: Or, the Fairies’ Parliament, by John Crowley* Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy* Dawn, by Octavia Butler* Geek Love, by Kathryn Dunn* Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons* American Psycho, by Brett Easton Ellis* House of Leaves, by Mark C. Danielewski* The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon* The Last Samurai, by Helen DeWitt* The Quick and the Dead, by Joy Williams* Erasure, by Percival Everett* The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen* The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, by Gary Shteyngart * The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri* The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Díaz* Nevada, by Imogen Binnie* Open City, by Teju Cole* The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin* Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders* Sabrina, by Nick Drnaso* Lost Children Archive, by Valeria Luiselli* Nothing to See Here, by Kevin Wilson* The Old Drift, by Namwali Serpell* No One Is Talking About This, by Patricia Lockwood* The Love Song of W.E.B. Du Bois, by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers* Biography of X, by Catherine Lacey* Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, by Marguerite Young* The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton* The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton* Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozie Adiche* Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry* The Savage Detectives, by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha WimmerLinks* The Great American Novel from The Atlantic* John William DeForest’s original article about The Great American Novel* A.O. Scott “Tracking the ever-elusive Great American Novel* Episode 37: Hotel NovelsThe 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. We hope you’ll continue to join us!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. These subscribers get periodic 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

How do we love poetry? Let us count the ways. This week, we’re joined by Anthony Garrett to kick off National Poetry Month with a wonderful conversation about our favorite poems and poets, how and when we read poetry, and a discussion about how to approach this sometimes intimidating part of the literary landscape. Does poetry play a part in your reading life?We also announce the winners of our latest giveaway, so please join us!ShownotesBooks* Averno, by Louise Glück* The Obscene Bird of Night, by José Donoso, translated by Megan McDowell, Hardie St. Martin, and Leonard Mades* A Naked Singularity, by Sergio De La Pava* Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe, by Kapka Kassabova* To the Lake: A Balkan Journey of War and Peace, by Kapka Kassabova* Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, by Rebecca West* War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Anthony Briggs* The Fisherman, by John Langan* Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville* Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison* The Savage Detectives, by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer* Rock Crystal, by Adalbert Stifter, translated by Elizabeth Mayer and Marianne Moore* The End, by Attila Bartis, translated by Judith Sollosy* Divorcing, by Susan Taubes* Notes of a Crocodile, by Qin Miaogin, translated by Bonnie Huie* “The Waste Land,” by T.S. Eliot* “Today,” by Billy Collins* Poems 1962 - 2012, by Louise Glück* Different Hours, by Stephen Dunn* Picnic, Lightning, by Billy Collins* Half-light: Collected Poems 1965 - 2016, by Frank Bidart* Gabriel: A Poem, by Edward Hirsch* The Living Fire: New and Selected Poems, by Edward Hirsch* “When Death Comes,” by Mary Oliver* “As One Listens to the Rain,” by Octavio Paz* “The Raven,” by Edgar Allan Poe* “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” by T.S. Eliot* Duino Elegies, by Rainer Maria Rilke* Winter Morning Walks: 100 Postcards to Jim Harrison, by Ted Kooser* Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry, by Ted Kooser and Jim Harrison* “Bullet Points,” by Jericho Brown* Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, by Heather Clark* “Tulips,” by Sylvia Plath* Postcolonial Love Poem, by Natalie Diaz* When My Brother Was an Aztec, by Natalie Diaz* The Wild Iris, by Louise Glück* Winter Recipes from the Collective, by Louise Glück* Links* Anthony’s Socials* X* Instagram* Atmospheric Quarterly* Episode 1: Bucket List Books, in which Trevor kicks War and Peace off his bucket list* Leaf by Leaf: Chris Via on War and Peace* Episode 15: Emily Dickinson* One Bright Book: Episode 23: The Wild Iris, by Louise Glück* Backlisted: Episode 208: All My Pretty Ones, by Anne Sexton* The New Yorker Poetry Podcast* Poetry Unbound Podcast* The Slow Down Podcast* The Great American Novel from The Atlantic* Lonesome Reader on The Great American NovelThe 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. We hope you’ll continue to join us!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. These subscribers get periodic 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 discuss the idea of being a completist in our reading. We discuss the authors whose works we’ve finished completely, as well as those we’re working on (or hoping to…). Do you savor your favorite authors’ works slowly or gobble them all down? Have you read the entire catalog of any authors?We also have a special giveaway, so please join us!Giveaway!This week we have four books to give away! And we want to choose four winners! Do any of these books call to you? Please enter to win one of them!* Rock Crystal, by Adalbert Stifter, translated by Elizabeth Mayer and Marianne Moore* Divorcing, by Susan Taubes* Notes of a Crocodile, by Qiu Miaojin, translated by Bonnie Huie* The End, by Attila Bartis, translated by Judith SollosyTo enter, send us an entry by email or DM or however you wish, but please include two things! First, list the books you are interested in winning in preferential order because we don’t want someone to win a book they already have.Second, tell us if you’re a completionist or aspiring completionist with any authors. We will be drawing when we record the morning of March 30, so have entries to us by then!ShownotesBooks mentioned prior to the Completion Discussion* Rock Crystal, by About the Podcast* Divorcing, by Susan Taubes* Notes of a Crocodile, by Qiu Miaojin, translated by Bonnie Huie* Last Words from Montmartre, by Qiu Miaojin, translated by Ari Larissa Heinrich* The End, by Attila Bartis, translated by Judith Sollosy* 40, by Alan Hancock* The Savage Detectives, by Roberto Bolaño, translated by * Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia, by Rebecca West* Adam Bede, by George Eliot* Phineas Finn, by Anthony Trollope* Lesser Ruins, by Mark Haber* Reinhardt’s Garden, by Mark Haber* Saint Sebastian’s Abyss, by Mark Haber* 2666, by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha WimmerThe 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. We hope you’ll continue to join us!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. These subscribers get periodic 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

Although the books of Barbara Comyns have experienced a bit of a renaissance in recent years, she remains woefully under appreciated and read by far too few. This week, we’re joined by Comyns aficionado Nora to discuss this beguiling and fascinating author and to do our best to spread the word about her strange and wonderful books.ShownotesBooks* My Death, by Lisa Tuttle* The Savage Detectives, by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer* Splinters: Another Kind of Love Stores, by Leslie Jamison* Not Even the Dead, by Juan Goméz Bárcena, translated by Katie Whittemore* Paradise Reclaimed, by Halldór Laxness, translated by Magnus Magnusson* The House of Dolls, by Barbara Comyns* Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, by Elizabeth Taylor* Sisters by a River, by Barbara Comyns* O Caledonia, by Elspeth Barker* I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith* The Vet’s Daughter, by Barbara Comyns* Our Spoons Came from Woolworths, by Barbara Comyns* Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence, by Avril Horner* Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead, by Barbara Comyns* Out of the Red, Into the Blue, by Barbara Comyns* The Skin Chairs, by Barbara Comyns* Birds in Tiny Cages, by Barbara Comyns* A Touch of Mistletoe, by Barbara Comyns* The Juniper Tree, by Barbara Comyns* Mr. Fox, by Barbara ComynsOther* Nora’s Instagram* Nora’s Barbara Comyn’s Instagram Post* Terry Tempest Williams: “Read Your Way Through Utah” in The New York TimesAbout 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. These subscribers get periodic 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 joined by Jerry Faust for a fun conversation about Canadian literature. Incredibly diverse and far too often overlooked, Canada’s literary output is a goldmine of wonderful books and authors. What are your favorites?Republic of Consciousness Prize, United States and CanadaAs you’ve heard on the podcast, Paul is a judge of this year’s prize. The longlist has been announced, and the shortlist is on the way!Would you like to join Paul at a Zoom party celebrating the longlist, with publishers, authors and translators? You can! It happens on Tuesday, February 27, at 6 p.m. CT. Click here to find the information to sign up!Shownotes* Small Joys, by Elvin James Mensah* The Boys in the Trees, by Mary Swan* The Birds, by Tarjei Vesaas, translated by Michael Barnes and Torbjøn Støverud* The Ice Palace, by Tarjei Vesaas, translated by Elizabeth Rokkan* The Hills Reply, by Tarjei Vesaas, translated by Elizabeth Rokkan* The Savage Detectives, by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer* Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death, by Laura Cumming* The Vanishing Velàzquez: A 19th Century Bookseller’s Obsession with a Lost Masterpiece, by Laura Cumming* Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz* Moonflower Murders, by Anthony Horowitz* The Word Is Murder, by Anthony Horowitz* Possession, by A.S. Byatt* The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood* Bear, by Marian Engel* The Englishman’s Boy, by Guy Vanderhaeghe* Man Descending, by Guy Vanderhaeghe* Daddy Lenin and Other Stories, by Guy Vanderhaeghe* The Golden Mean, by Annabel Lyon* The Sweet Girl, by Annabel Lyon* Consent, by Annabel Lyon* A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry* The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje* Pastoral, by André Alexis* Fifteen Dogs, by André Alexis* Ring, by André Alexis* As for Me and My House, by Sinclair Ross* The Winter Vault, by Anne Michaels* Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels* Held, by Anne Michaels* Basic Black with Pearls, by Helen Weinzweig* South of the Border, West of the Sun, by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel* The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence* Island, by Alistair MacLeod* No Great Mischief, by Alistair MacLeod* The Way the Crow Flies, by Anne Marie MacDonald* The Geography of Pluto, by Christopher DiRaddo* The Family Way, by Christopher DiRaddo* Autumn Rounds, by Jacques Poulin, translated by Sheila Fischman* Natasha and Other Stories, by David Bezmozgis* The Free World, by David Bezmozgis* Immigrant City, by David Bezmozgis* Transit, by Anna Seghers, translated by Margot Bettauer DemboAbout 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. These subscribers get periodic 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 joined by Shawn the Book Maniac for a fun discovery about one of his specialties: finding books that are hidden gems. We share some tips for finding great books that are off the beaten path, discuss why it's important and fun, and share three books each that you may never have heard of before—quite a challenge! Hopefully we will add at least one to your bookstore scavenger hunt list!What are your favorite books that fly under the radar?Shownotes* The Savage Detectives, by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer* Mean Spirit, by Linda Hogan* Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann* Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun: Portraits of Everyday Life in Eight Indigenous Communities, by PaulSeesequasis* Day, by Michael Cunningham* The Hours, by Michael Cunningham* Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, by Marguerite Young* The Book of Forgotten Authors, by Christopher Fowler* The Sea Change of Angela Lewes, by Cynthia Propper Seton* The Last Light Breaking: Living Among Alaska's Inupiat Eskimos, by Nick Jans* A Life on Paper, by Georges-Olivier Chateaureynard, translated by Edward Gauvin* The Conductor and Other Tales, by Jean Ferry, translated by Edward Gauvin* The One Who Did Not Ask, by Altar Fatima, translated by Rukhsana Ahmad* Severina, by Rodrigo Rey Rosa, translated by Chris Andrews* The African Shore, by Rodrigo Rey Rosa, translated by Jeffrey Gray* Swimmer in the Secret Sea, by William Kotzwinkle* With or Without Angels, by Douglas Bruton* The Sight of Death, by T.J. Clark* Volt, by Alan Heathcock* 40, by Alan Heathcock* The New Perspective, by K. Arnold PriceOther* Shawn the Book Maniac YouTube* Shawn’s Mookse Bucket List Video* The Savage Detectives Preliminary Thread* “How did we miss these?” from The GuardianAbout 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. These subscribers get periodic 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

Books and holidays go together perfectly, and not just for those of us doing the reading. This week, we talk about our favorite stories where the characters are on vacation—a perfect recipe for exploring exotic settings, quenching vicarious wanderlust, romance, adventure, and plenty more!We also announce the winner our latest giveaway!Shownotes* Germinal, by Émile Zola, translated by Peter Collier* The Sin of Abbé Mouret, by Émile Zola, translated by Valerie Minogue* A Love Story, by Émile Zola, translated by Helen Constantine* January, by Sara Gallardo, translated by Frances Riddle and Maureen Shaughnessy* The End, by Attila Bartis, translated by Judith Sollosy* Until August, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, translated by Anne McLean* Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, by Rebecca West* Two Sherpas, by Sebastián Martínez Daniell, translated by Jennifer Croft* Not a River, by Sevla Almada, translated by Annie McDermott* War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Anthony Briggs* Other Worlds: Peasants, Pilgrims, Spirits, Saints, by Teffi, edited by Robert Chandler* The Fortune of the Rougons, by Émile Zola, translated by Brian Nelson* Can Your Forgive Her?, by Anthony Trollope* Adam Bede, by George Eliot* Middlemarch, by George Eliot* Travels with Charley, by John Steinbeck* A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster* Daisy Miller, by Henry James* My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein* The Story of a New Name, by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein* “Goodbye, My Brother,” by John Cheever* The Fortnight in September, by R.C. Sherriff* Swimming Home, by Deborah Levy* Do Not Become Alarmed, by Maile Meloy* We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart* Heartstopper, Vol. 3, by Alice Oseman* “The Boundary,” by Jhumpa Lahiri* The Enchanted April, by Elizabeth von Arnim* On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan* The Feast, by Margaret Kennedy* Hotel du Lac, by Anita Brookner* A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson* Notes from a Small Island, by Bill Bryson* The Interestings, by Meg Wolitzer* The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith* A Sport and a Pastime, by James SalterOther* Émile Zola’s Les Rougon-Macquart book list* Radhika’s Reading Retreat: Characters on HolidayAbout 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. These subscribers get periodic 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 set our sites on 2024! We share our reading plans, hopes, and dreams for the New Year and highlight some of the new releases we can’t wait to add to our shelves. What books are you most excited to read and buy this year?Giveaway!We wanted to kick off the New Year with a giveaway! Both of us have read this on and highly recommend it: January, by Sara Gallardo, translated from the Spanish by Frances Riddle and Maureen Shaugnessy! Archipelago Books recently released a lovely edition of this. Enter for a chance to win by sending us an email a DM or in some way letting us know you want to enter! We will put all names in a hat and draw the winner during our morning recording on Saturday, January 20. Good luck!Shownotes* January, by Sara Gallardo, translated from the Spanish by Frances Riddle and Maureen Shaugnessy* A Horse at Night: On Writing, by Amina Cain* War and Peace, by Leo Tolstroy, translated by Anthony Briggs* Can You Forgive Her?, by Anthony Trollope* Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, by Rebecca West* The Fortune of the Rougons, by Émile Zola, translated by Brian Nelson* Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy* Suttree, by Cormac McCarthy* The Orchard Keeper, by Cormac McCarthy* The Outer Dark, by Cormac McCarthy* Child of God, by Cormac McCarthy* Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry* Metamorphosis, by Ovid* Miss Mackintosh, My Darling, by Marguerite Young* The Savage Detectives, by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer* Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, by Heather Clark* Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence, by Avril Horner* The Last Fire Season: A Personal and Pyronatural History, by Manjula Martin* The Book of Love, by Kelly Link* Your Utopia, by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur* James, by Percival Everett* Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story, by Leslie Jamison* Clear, by Carys Davies* The Children of the Dead, by Elfriede Jelinek, translated by Gitta Honegger* The Piano Teacher, by Elfriede Jelinek, translated by Joachim Neugroschel* Traces of Enayat, by Iman Mersal, translated by Robin Moger* Blue Lard, by Vladimir Sorokin, translated by Max Lawton* Red Pyramid and Other Stories, by Vladimir Sorokin, translated by Max Lawton* Lesser Ruins, by Mark Haber* The Unforgivable: And Other Writings, by Cristina Campo, translated by Alex Andriesse* Carson McCullers: A Life, by Mary V. Dearborn* Love Novel, by Ivan Sajko, translated by Mima Simić* The Brush, by Eliana Hernández-Pachón, translated by Robin Meyers* American Abductions, by Mauro Javier Cárdenas* Knife, by Salman Rushdie* Parade, by Rachel Cusk* Gliff, by Ali Smith* Rhine Journey, by Anne Schlee* Wind and Truth, by Brandon Sanderson* The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, by Beth BrowerAbout 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 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