In this episode, Trevor and Paul are joined by Chris Via of Leaf by Leaf to celebrate the experience of reading big books. From the books that once intimidated us to the ones we now can't imagine our overburdened shelves without, we dive into what makes a book feel "big." Along the way, we share personal stories, favorite strategies for tackling doorstoppers, the books that stretched us as readers, and reflect on why some big books stay with us for life. Whether you're a lifelong lover of big books or someone who's still building up your wrist strength, this is an episode for you.
We’d love to hear from you, too—what are your favorite big books? Which ones are still looming on your to-be-read pile, daring you to pick them up? Let us know!
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Shownotes
Books
War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Anthony Briggs
2666, by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha Wimmer
The Guermantes Way, by Marcel Proust
FEM, by Magda Carneci, translated by Sean Cotter
Blinding, by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated by Sean Cotter
Solenoid, by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated by Sean Cotter
Novel Explosives, by Jim Gauer
Bookwork: Conversations with Michael Silverblatt
The Recognitions, by William Gaddis
The Dying Grass: A Novel of the New Perce War, by William T. Vollmann
Faust, Part One: A New Translation with Illustrations, by Johann Wolfgang van Goethe, translated by Zsuzsanna Ozsváth and Frederick Turner
Invidicum, by Michael Brodsky
The Ice-Shirt, by William T. Vollmann
The Aesthetics of Resistance, by Peter Weiss, translated by Joachim Neugroschel
Middlemarch, by George Eliot
Great Granny Webster, by Caroline Blackwood
Pilgrimage, by Dorothy Richardson
Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry
Moby Dick, by Herman Melville
Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson
Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz
Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre, translated by Richard Howard
Schattenfroh, by Micheal Lentz, translated by Max Lawton
The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks
The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Andrew R. MacAndrew
It, by Stephen King
The Stand, by Stephen King
Shogun, by James Clavell
Tom’s Crossing, by Mark Z. Danielewski
Women and Men, by Joseph McElroy
Swann’s Way, by Marcel Proust
Lies and Sorcery, by Elsa Morante, translated by Jenny McPhee
Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, by Marguerite Young
The Blue Room, by Hanne Ørstavik, translated by Deborah Dawkin
Against the Day, by Thomas Pynchon
Ulysses, by James Joyce
4 3 2 1, by Paul Auster
Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
The Tunnel, by William H. Gass
A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth
The Golden Gate, by Vikram Seth
The Story of a Life, by Konstantin Paustovsky, translated by Doug Smith
The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu, translated by Royall Tylor
A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
The People in the Trees, by Hanya Yanagihara
Stone Upon Stone, by Wiesław Myśliwski, translated by Bill Johnston
Needle’s Eye, by Wiesław Myśliwski, translated by Bill Johnston
Other
The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast is a bookish conversation hosted by Paul and Trevor. Every other week, we explore a bookish topic and celebrate our love of reading. We’re glad you’re here, and we hope you’ll continue to join us on this literary journey!
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!
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