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 Mahfouz
There’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 Discord
Want 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.
Shownotes
What 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 Polizzotti
Our Starter Libraries
Paul
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 Austen
Trevor
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 Dickinson
John
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 Holt
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!
