I've been forgetting to post about how much I enjoyed @debolinunferth.bsky.social's terrific novel Earth 7. Loved the relationships (mother/daughter, woman/woman) loved the writing, loved the premise. Write on, Deb -
Trevor Berrett
@mookse.bsky.social
Books and Film | The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast with @bibliopaul.bsky.social | 2017 Best Translated Book Award Judge
In October @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social is publishing Margaret Jull Costa’s new translation of Bioy Casares’s La invención de Morel. Here is a comparison to Ruth L. C. Simms’s 1964 translation. Borges’s foreword is still included. It appears, though, that Noah Borges de Torre’s illustrations are gone.
“A mother had to love, and a child had to grow up. The results were often out of one’s hands.” A hardworking firstborn son struggles to meet his own expectations in a short story by Min Jin Lee: newyorkermag.visitlink.me/2j7CIc
Honoured and excited to be a judge, with such fantastic fellow judges. Currently making some shelf-space...
The Booker Prizes@thebookerprizes.com · last mo.We’re delighted to reveal the judging panel for the Bukhman International Booker Prize 2027. Katie Kitamura will act as Chair and will be joined Patrick McGuinness, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Olga Ravn and Tessa Thompson. Find out more: thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-l...
The author László Krasznahorkai appreciates the art of mistakes. Unless he’s the one making them. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
László Krasznahorkai Writes Because He Fails
The Nobel laureate László Krasznahorkai on his notoriously long sentences, our estrangement from beauty, and why he would “never voluntarily reread” one of his books.
newyorker.com
A while ago I ranked all the Sharps I've read, and Cluny Brown came out on top: www.stuckinabook.com/unnecessary-...
Unnecessary Rankings! Margery Sharp
Another in my Unnecessary Rankings series – and another of my favourite authors (and one that so much of the book blogging world loves too). I haven’t read everything by Margery Sharp b…
stuckinabook.com
This reads as if David had one very specific annoying dude in mind.
"The Girls is many things at once. It’s a comedy but it's also a portrait of an England of down-at-heel seediness, where flower shows, dirty coppers and the serial killer Dennis Nilsen are part of the same social fabric." Me on John Bowen's 1986 novel The Girls, reissued by Vintage and McNally:
This terrific novel is like a cross between Barbara Pym and Stephen King
In his wicked comedy, The Girls, John Bowen takes us into the world of vicars, fêtes and murder in the Cotswolds of the 1970s
thetimes.com
How to talk about this novel? Cagnati is one of those rare and fiercely brave authors. She dives deep into the pain and loss of women discarded and used over and over after being labeled ‘crazy’ by society. A difficult read but well worth it. #NYRBWomen26
V much enjoyed this @mookse.bsky.social podcast with @drjamesbailey.bsky.social on his biography of Muriel Spark, #LikeACatLovesABird podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
Episode 134: Authors' Lives
Podcast Episode · The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast · 11 June · 1hr 40min
podcasts.apple.com
The author Andrea Bajani reads his short story from this week’s issue. Listen here. www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-...
Andrea Bajani Reads “Constellation”
The author Andrea Bajani reads his short story from this week’s issue. Listen here.
newyorker.com
Re: the Guardian's 100 novels list, I can't help myself: Trying to balance subjectivity with objectivity (good luck!), my 10 best *not* on that list would be drawn from this group.
My thoughts on Letter To My Daughter by Maya Angelou www.stuckinabook.com/letter-to-my...
Letter To My Daughter by Maya Angelou – #ABookADayInMay – Day 17
My village book club chose Letter To My Daughter (2008) by Maya Angelou and it’s handy that it’s 175 pages – indeed, because it is split into 28 short chapters, each of which gets…
stuckinabook.com
I think the best way to enjoy this list, which contains lots of predictable choices (made as it was by committee), is to find a book you like, click to see who voted for it, and then look at the voters' other top 10 choices. You might find something else you like that you haven't read.
John Self@john-self.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe Guardian launches its '100 best novels of all time' list, with numbers 100-81. I was one of the 172 authors, critics and academics polled. Afaik, two of my ten choices made the final cut, one in this first tranche:
Books lists? You want book lists? Here’s the only one you need today: my rundown of the International Booker Prize shortlist in today’s Guardian, ahead of Tuesday’s winner announcement. Accept no substitutes. In print (in abbreviated form) today, online soon.
Who knew that the books on our nightstand say so much about us! This week @bibliopaul.bsky.social and I talk about the books on our nightstand—not necessarily just listing them, but figuring out, based on what they are and how long they’ve been there—who we are! substack.com/@mookse/note...
Episode 132: Our Nightstands, Ourselves
In this episode, we take a look at the books we have on our nightstands and what they say about us!
substack.com
In our latest episode, @mookse.bsky.social and I take a look at the books on our nightstands and explore what they say about us. Along the way, we talk about reading rituals, unfinished books, literary guilt, late-night attention spans, and the intimacy of the books we keep closest at hand.
In our new episode @mookse.bsky.social and I sit down with Nick During and Abigail Dunne from @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social We talk about the various series at NYRB recent and forthcoming releases (including some exciting books just over the horizon).
New episode of The Eclipse Viewer podcast is now online! This is the first of a two-part conversation about the recently reissued LUBITSCH MUSICALS set, with me, @mookse.bsky.social and special guest William Remmers. criterioncast.com/podcast/ecli...
The Eclipse Viewer - Episode 68 - Lubitsch Musicals [Part 1]
David and Trevor are joined by William Remmers to discuss THE LOVE PARADE and MONTE CARLO, the first two films in this reissued set of classic Pre-Code musical comedies.
criterioncast.com
We have a new episode up! This week @bibliopaul.bsky.social and I got to talk to Nick and Abigail from @nybooks.com. It was fun to explore the various series they publish (Contemporary, Children’s, Comics, Classics, Poets!). substack.com/@mookse/note...
Episode 131: Trust the Spine: On the Pleasure and Riches of NYRB Books
This week, we’re joined by Nick During and Abigail Dunn from New York Review Books for a wide-ranging conversation about the world of NYRB.
substack.com
I love the promise of a new book, but the opening movement is often the hardest for me. It’s so nice when an authors voice or the plot or something helps me know I’m in good hands. In this week’s episode @bibliopaul.bsky.social and I talk about the opening movement. substack.com/@mookse/note...
Episode 130: Opening Movements: Entering the World of a Book
In this episode, we begin a three-part series on the movements of a novel, starting with the opening.
substack.com
April's #NYRBWomen26 read (starting today!) is THE UNFORGIVABLE AND OTHER WRITINGS by Cristina Campo, translated from the Italian by Alex Andriesse. "This is not a collection of essays. This is a dwelling place, a gathering of rooms, of turns of mind, winding hallways..." - Intro by Kathryn Davis
Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark is BOOK OF THE WEEK in The Times, and it's frankly outrageous that a small marching band hasn't trundled into my house to make some little celebratory parps in my honour 😤
Happy Thursday. @bibliopaul.bsky.social and I were delighted to talk to @luispanini.bsky.social about reading projects in our latest episode. I myself love sitting down and making a reading project! Carrying through is much harder, but I’m getting better at it! open.substack.com/pub/mookse/p...
Episode 129: Reading with a Plan: The Joys and Complications of Reading Projects
This week, we’re joined by Luis Panini to talk about reading projects.
open.substack.com
"It has an intensity and force which puts it in the front rank of Holocaust fiction"— @john-self.bsky.social in The Critic on Friedrich Torberg's Vengeance is Mine, out on March 31 in the Recovered Books series from @bhousepress.bsky.social.
Spirits, a seven-year-old and a death camp | John Self | The Critic Magazine
A unique form developed: voice-driven, absurdist, but always compassionate for put-upon characters
thecritic.co.uk
Rave review of Gwendoline Riley's new book, The Palm House in @thetimes.com "I read it in a single sitting, then immediately read it again to test its spell, which grew stronger. It establishes Riley as one of our most brilliant fiction writers"
This goes straight onto my list of favourite modern novels
A ‘thick-skinned philistine’ takes over a fading literary magazine … The Palm House establishes Gwendoline Riley as one of our foremost fiction writers
thetimes.com
In our newest episode, @mookse.bsky.social and I are joined by @ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social of @onebrightbook.bsky.social to talk a favorite topics: books that blur boundaries and resist easy classification. I loved this conversations and (surprise) added a ton to my TBR. You’ve been warned…
