Every season we tell ourselves we’ll be more selective. Every season publishers respond by announcing another avalanche of books we want to read!
In this episode, we look ahead to the second half of 2026, sharing the forthcoming novels, nonfiction, translations, and reissues we’re most excited to get our hands on. Along the way we talk about why anticipation is such a pleasurable part of being a reader. Whether you’re planning your own reading for the months ahead or simply enjoy hearing two readers get far too excited about books they probably don’t have time to read, we hope you’ll discover a few titles to add to your ever-growing TBR.
2026 Novella Book Club
We have announced the four novellas we will be reading for The Mookse and Gripes Novella Book Club in 2026!
* January: Daisy Miller, by Henry James
* April: An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter, by César Aira
* July: The Hour of the Star, by Clarice Lispector
* September: Prelude, by Katherine Mansfield
Discussions will be hosted at The Mookse and the Gripes Discord (see below!).
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 145: Elizabeth Taylor
* Episode 155: Naguib Mahfouz
* Episode 165: Annie Ernaux
* Episode 175: Henry James
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 about to read the second novella book club book of 2026: An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter, by César Aira, translated by Chris Andrews. 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
* Paul: Life and Fate, by Vasily Grossman, translated by Robert Chandler
* Trevor: The Girls of Slender Means, by Muriel Spark
* Ada, by Mark Haber
* We Were Forbidden, by Jacqueline Harpman, translated by Ros Schwartz
* Unsayable: A Life in Writing, by Michael Cunningham
* Five, by César Aira, translated by Chris Andrews
* Bury Your Dead, by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Padma Viswanathan
* The Anniversary, by Andrea Bajani, translated by Geoffrey Brock
* Life of M, Rachel Cusk
* The Song of Stork and Dromedary, by Anjet Daanje, translated by David McKay
* Dèy, by Edwidge Danticat
* Last Day of a Prior Life, by Andrés Barba, tr. Lisa Dillman
* Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature, by Emily Wilson
* I Liked Rex, by Diane Williams
* The Rouse, by China Miéville
* Ambivalence: An Education, by Brian Dillon
* Dodge City, by Patrick Dewitt
* Foam, by Kate Zambreno
* Ply, by Hernan Diaz
* American Hagwon, Min Jin Lee
* Exit Party, by Emily St. John Mandel
* Said the Dead, by Doireann Ní Ghríofa
* About Looking, by John Berger
* Fair Ones: A Double Novel, by Lydia Millet
* Vaim Hotel, by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls
* Inshallah, Madonna, Inshalla, by Miljenko Jergović, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursać and Mirza Purić
* Off the Reservation, by Stephen Graham Jones
* Partita, by Barbara Kingsolver
* Music Against the Night, by Yiyun Li
* Hackenfeller’s Ape, by Brigid Brophy
* In Transit, by Brigid Brophy
* The Rush: California Gold, the Civil War, and the Making of the Modern World, by Nathaniel Philbrick
* Morel’s Invention, by Adolpho Bioy Casares, translated by Margaret Jull Costa
* Anita Brookner: Art and Life, by Hermione Lee
* Opus Siniestrus, by Leonora Carrington
* Phantom Limb, by Brian Evenson
* Doppleganger, by Sam Riviere
* Long Wave, by Daisy Jones
* Murmurs from the Hills: Rwandan Tales, by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated by Mark Polizzotti
* Annie Proulx Stories: New and Selected
* I Won’t See You Die, by Antonio Muñoz Molina, translated by Curtis Bauer
* A Woman of Thirty, by Honoré de Balzac, translated by Jeanine Herman
* The Statuary Gardens, by Jacques Abeille, translated by Alex Andriesse
* Diary Without Vowels, by Aleksander Wat, translated by Alissa Valles
* The Sunday Woman, by Franco Lucentini, translated by William Weaver
* The Dead Girl, by Melanie Thernstrom
* Rhyming and Necromancy, by Harry Fainlight
* The Peacock Garden, by Anita Desai
* Notes on Postcards, by Jennifer Croft
* On the Calculation of Volume V, by Solvej Balle, translated by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell
* Primeval and Other Times, by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd Jones
* The Bridge, by Colm Toibin
* The Fires of December, by Brandon Sanderson
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!
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