Introducing the Mookse and Gripes Novella Reading Group! Through this year, we’re reading three novellas about love, longing, and leadership gone slightly off the rails. In this episode, we kick things off with some bookish banter before unveiling our new novella reading group on Discord. We have a short intermission for a special new game with a giveaway and then share the three novellas we’ll be reading in 2025, diving into why we chose these books.
Join us as we celebrate the art of the novella. We hope you’ll read along!
Join the Mookse and the Gripes on Discord
We’re creating a welcoming space for thoughtful, engaging discussions about great novellas, starting with First Love by Ivan Turgenev in April. Whether you want to share insights, ask questions, or simply follow along, we’d love to have you. The discussion will unfold gradually, so you can read at your own pace and jump in whenever you're ready. It’s a great way to connect with fellow readers, explore new works together, and deepen your appreciation for the novella form.
For the first book, the schedule will be as follows:
April 6: Start of the book through Section 9
April 9: Section 10 through Section 16
April 13: Section 17 through the end
Shownotes
Books
Lesser Ruins, by Mark Haber
Melvill, by Rodrigo Fresán, translated by Will Vanderhyden
Like a Sky Inside, by Jakuta Alikavazovic, translated by Daniel Levin Becker
The Case of Cem, by Vera Mutafchieva, translated by Angela Rodel
Your Absence Is Darkness, by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, translated by Philip Roughton
Small Rain, by Garth Greenwell
Command Performance, by Jean Echenoz, translated
Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf
To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf
The Waves, by Virginia Woolf
The Voyage Out, by Virginia Woolf
Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a Novel, by Mark Hussey
Trafik, by Rikki Ducornet
We’re Safe When We’re Alone, by Nghiem Tran
Cecilia, by K-Ming Chang
Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan
Chess Story, by Stefan Zweig, translated by Joel Rotenberg
The Guest Cat, by Takashi Hiraide, translated by Eric Selland
The Stepdaughter, by Caroline Blackwood
Great Granny Webster, by Caroline Blackwood
So Long, See You Tomorrow, by William Maxwell
Fever Dream, by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell
Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson
The Body, by Stephen King
The Long Walk, by Stephen King
First Love, by Ivan Turgenev, translated by Isaiah Berlin
Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark
The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James
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!
Share this post