One Bright Book

Latest Episodes:

Episode #20: A Mercy, by Toni Morrison Dec 05, 2023

Show notes

Join our hosts Rebecca, Frances, and Dorian as they discuss A MERCY by Toni Morrison and chat about their current reading.

For our next episode, we will discuss our most anticipated books of 2024 with the book editor of the Washington Post, John Williams, as our special guest. We hope you all listen in to this conversation and grow your book wish lists accordingly.

Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books!

A Mercy by Toni Morrison
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Home by Toni Morrison
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli, translated from the Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette
Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park
Tone by Sofia Samatar and Kate Zambreno
The Long Form by Kate Briggs
The Master Key by Masako Togawa, translated from the Japanese by Simon Grove
Harriet Hume by Rebecca West
The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
The Real Night by Rebecca West
Cousin Rosamund by Rebecca West

You might also be interested in:

Toni Morrison Nobel Lecture https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1993/morrison/lecture/
Between the Covers Podcast – Kate Zambreno and Sofia Samatar: Tone https://tinhouse.com/podcast/kate-zambreno-sofia-samatar-tone/
Toni Morrison Discusses A Mercy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IZvMhQ2LIU
Toni Morrison: 'Goodness, Altruism and the Literary Imagination' https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/07/books/toni-morrison-goodness-altruism-literary-imagination.html

Further resources and links are available on our website at onebrightbook.com.

Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org.

Comments? Write us at onebrightmail at gmail

Find us on Twitter at @pod_bright

Frances: @nonsuchbook

Dorian: @ds228

Rebecca: @ofbooksandbikes

Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/

Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/

Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.

Episode #19: Memories of a Catholic Girlhood, by Mary McCarthy Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

Join our hosts Rebecca, Frances, and Dorian as they discuss MEMORIES OF A CATHOLIC GIRLHOOD by Mary McCarthy and chat about their current reading.

For our next episode, we will discuss A MERCY by Toni Morrison. We would love to have you read along with us, and listen in on our conversation coming to you in December.

Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books!

Books mentioned:

Memories of a Catholic Girlhood by Mary McCarthy
Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter
The Damnation of Theron Ware by Harold Frederic
The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt
Between Friends: The Correspondence of Hannah Arendt and Mary McCarthy 1949-1975 by Mary McCarthy and Hannah Arendt
The Group by Mary McCarthy
The Company She Keeps by Mary McCarthy
The Stones of Florence by Mary McCarthy
Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion by Michelle Dean
Lojman by Ebru Ojen, translated by Aron Aji and Selin Gökçesu
The Most Secret Memory of Men by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, Translated by Lara Vergnaud
The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing
Crook O'Lune by E.C.R. Lorac
Tone by Sofia Samatar and Kate Zambreno
The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut
Bats in the Belfry by E.C.R. Lorac
Gibbons, or One Bloody Thing After Another by James Morrison
A Mercy by Toni Morrison

Further resources and links are available on our website at onebrightbook.com.

Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org.

Comments? Write us at onebrightmail at gmail

Find us on Twitter at @pod_bright

Frances: @nonsuchbook

Dorian: @ds228

Rebecca: @ofbooksandbikes

Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/

Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/

Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.

Episode #18: Map: Collected and Last Poems, by Wislawa Szymborska Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

Join our hosts Rebecca, Frances, and Dorian as they discuss MAP: COLLECTED AND LAST POEMS by Wislawa Szymborska, and chat about their current reading.

For our next episode, we will discuss MEMORIES OF A CATHOLIC GIRLHOOD by Mary McCarthy. We would love to have you read along with us, and listen in on our conversation coming to you in October or November, scheduling and consistency being our strong points.

Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books!

Books mentioned:

Map: Collected and Last Poems by Wislawa Szymborska, translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak
The Memoir of an Anti-Hero by Kornel Filipowicz
Love at First Sight by Wislawa Szymborska, illustrated by Beatrice Gasca Queirazza
Chenneville by Paulette Jiles
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
Simon the Fiddler by Paulete Jiles
Come Back in September by Darryl Pinckney
The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut
The Forest: A Fable of America in the 1830s by Alexander Nemerov
Words in Air: The Complete Correspondence Between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell
The End of August by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles
Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri
Memories of a Catholic Girlhood by Mary McCarthy

Just in case you don't have a copy of Map on hand, here are some links to the main poems discussed in this episode:

"Love at First Sight" - https://poets.org/poem/love-first-sight
"Allegro ma Non Troppo" - http://mrhoyesibwebsite.com/Poetry%20Texts/Szymborska/The%20Poems/Allegro%20Ma%20Non%20Troppo.htm
"In Praise of Feeling Bad About Yourself" - https://www.best-poems.net/poem/praise-feeling-bad-about-yourself-by-wislawa-szymborska.html
"Consolation" - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/48271/consolation-56d2295fb70bb
Szymborska's Nobel Lecture - https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1996/szymborska/lecture/

Visit us online at onebrightbook.com.

Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org.

Comments? Write us at onebrightmail at gmail

Find us on Twitter at @pod_bright

Frances: @nonsuchbook

Dorian: @ds228

Rebecca: @ofbooksandbikes

Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/

Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/

Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.

Bonus Episode #2: In Conversation with Anton Hur Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

This second bonus episode of the podcast is a conversation that Rebecca and Frances recently had with writer and translator, Anton Hur. We are excited to share that Anton is the first guest we have had on One Bright Book! His insights into translation and the role of the translator were direct and honest, revealing both surprises and calls for action to improve the landscape of the craft.

Books mentioned:

Toward Eternity by Anton Hur
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, translated from the Korean by Anton Hur
Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park, translated from the Korean by Anton Hur
Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated from the Hindi by Daisy Rockwell
Jennifer Croft original work and translations
The Long Form by Kate Briggs
Counterweight by Djuna, translated from the Korean by Anton Hur
Beyond the Story: 10 Year Record of BTS by Kang Myeong, translated from the Korean by Anton Hur in collaboration with Claire Richards and Slin Jung
Indeterminate Inflorescence by Lee Seong-bok, translated from the Korean by Anton Hur
White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link
Vengeance is Mine by Marie NDiaye, translated from the French by Jordan Stump
That Time of Year by Marie NDiaye, translated from the French by Jordan Stump
The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers' Guild by Mathias Énard, translated from the French by Frank Wynne

Visit us online at onebrightbook.com.

Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org.

Comments? Write us at onebrightmail at gmail

Find us on Twitter at @pod_bright

Frances: @nonsuchbook

Dorian: @ds228

Rebecca: @ofbooksandbikes

Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/

Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/

Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.

Episode #17: Mrs. S, by K Patrick Aug 22, 2023

Show notes

Join our hosts Rebecca, Frances, and Dorian as they discuss MRS. S by K Patrick, and chat about their current reading.

For our next episode, we will discuss MAP: COLLECTED AND LAST POEMS by Wislawa Szymborska, translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you in September. We have had to reschedule this chat a few times, but we really think that we can deliver this time.

Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books!

Books mentioned:

Mrs. S by K. Patrick
Bear by Marian Engel
A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr
Blood Wedding and Other Plays by Federico García Lorca
Loving by Henry Green
Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville
The steamy novels of Alberto Moravia
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated from the German by Michael Hoffman
Out of the Sugar Factory by Dorothee Elmiger, translated from the Swiss German by Megan Ewing
April in Spain by John Banville
Book of Mutter by Kate Zambreno
Sleepless by Marie Darrieussecq, translated from the French by Penny Hueston
Being Here is Everything by Marie Darrieussecq, translated from the French by Penny Hueston
Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay
All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay
A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
Map: Collected and Last Poems by Wislawa Szymborska, translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak

Also mentioned in the podcast…

Dorothee Elmiger and Kate Zambreno in conversation – "A Meditation on Being a Daughter." https://vimeo.com/819544960

Visit us online at onebrightbook.com.

Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org.

Comments? Write us at onebrightmail at gmail

Find us on Twitter at @pod_bright

Frances: @nonsuchbook

Dorian: @ds228

Rebecca: @ofbooksandbikes

Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/

Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/

Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.

Bonus Episode #1: Edith Wharton's The Mount Jul 20, 2023

Show notes

This special episode of the podcast is a quick conversation between Rebecca and Frances after they enjoyed a private tour of the library at The Mount, Edith Wharton's summer home in Lenox, Massachusetts. The team thought it might be fun to do the occasional bonus episode when the opportunity presents, capturing a bookishly fun moment in a more compact exchange. Although these "extras" might not all have the excellent bird song in the background that you will find here.

Content warning – this episode briefly discusses suicidal feelings.

Here are a few links that you might enjoy if you are curious about this content:

The Mount - https://www.edithwharton.org/
Edith Wharton's Library - http://edithwhartonslibrary.org/dir/home.html
The Edith Wharton Society - https://edithwhartonsociety.wordpress.com/
The Custom of the Country: Vogue Re-creates Edith Wharton's Artistic Arcadia - https://www.vogue.com/article/the-custom-of-the-country-edith-wharton-estate-in-the-berkshires
Frances's gorgeous photos on our website: https://onebrightbook.com/2023/07/20/bonus-episode-1-edith-whartons-the-mount/

Visit us online at onebrightbook.com.

Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org.

Comments? Write us at onebrightmail at gmail

Find us on Twitter at @pod_bright

Frances: @nonsuchbook

Dorian: @ds228

Rebecca: @ofbooksandbikes

Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/

Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/

Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.

Episode #16: An I-Novel, by Minae Mizumura Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

Join our hosts Rebecca, Frances, and Dorian as they discuss AN I-NOVEL by Minae Mizumura, translated from the Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter, and chat about their current reading.

Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books!

Books mentioned:

An I-Novel by Minae Mizumura, translated from the Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A True Novel by Minae Mizumura, translated from the Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter
The Fall of Language in the Age of English by Minae Mizumura, translated from the Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter
Inheritance From Mother by Minae Mizumura
The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki, translated from the Japanese by Edward G. Seidensticker
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The Light Room by Kate Zambreno
Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima, translated from the Japanese by Geraldine Harcourt
To Write as If Already Dead by Kate Zambreno
What a Library Means to a Woman: Edith Wharton and the Will to Collect Books by Sheila Liming
Mrs. S by K Patrick
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
Map: Collected and Last Poems by Wislawa Szymborska, translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh and Stanislaw Baranczak

Visit us online at onebrightbook.com.

Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org.

Comments? Write us at onebrightmail at gmail

Find us on Twitter at @pod_bright

Frances: @nonsuchbook

Dorian: @ds228

Rebecca: @ofbooksandbikes

Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/

Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/

Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.

Episode #15: Space Crone, by Ursula K. Le Guin Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

Join our hosts Frances, Dorian, and Rebecca as they discuss SPACE CRONE by Ursula K. Le Guin and chat about their recent reading. For our next episode, we will discuss AN I-NOVEL by Minae Mizumura, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter.

Books mentioned:

Space Crone by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Books of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Dancing at the Edge of the World by Ursula K. Le Guin
Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown by Virginia Woolf
The Millstone by Margaret Drabble
Sociobiology: The New Synthesis by Edward O. Wilson
On Women by Susan Sontag
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Our Spoons Came from Woolworths by Barbara Comyns
Shy by Max Porter
Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Cespedes, translated by Ann Goldstein
Siblings by Brigitte Reimann, translated by Lucy Jones
Francisco by Alison Mills Newman
They by Kay Dick
The Shutter of Snow by Emily Holmes Coleman
We the Parasites by A.V. Marraccini
A Writer's Diary by Toby Litt
A Love Affair by Dino Buzzati, translated by Joseph Green
The Stronghold by Dino Buzzati, translated by Lawrence Venuti
Out of the Sugar Factory by Dorthee Elmiger, translated by Megan Ewing
Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Özlü, translated Maureen Freely
Come Back in September by Darryl Pinkney
Tomás Nevinson by Javier Marías, translated Margaret Jull Costa
Vom Aufstehen (On Getting Up) by Helga Schubert
The Long Form by Kate Briggs
The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier, translated by Daniel Levin Becker
Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel
Septology by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls
The Diaries of Franz Kafka by Franz Kafka, translated by Ross Benjamin
An I-Novel by Minae Mizumura, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter

Visit us online at onebrightbook.com.

Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org.

Comments? Write us at onebrightmail at gmail

Find us on Twitter at @pod_bright

Frances: @nonsuchbook

Dorian: @ds228

Rebecca: @ofbooksandbikes

Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/

Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/

Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.

Episode #14: The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence Apr 19, 2023

Show notes

Join our hosts Frances, Dorian, and Rebecca as they discuss THE STONE ANGEL by Margaret Laurence and chat about their recent reading. For our next episode, we will discuss SPACE CRONE by Ursula K. Le Guin. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you soon.

Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books!

Books mentioned:

The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro, translated by Frances Riddle
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor
Falling Hour by Geoffrey Morrison
The Diviners by Margaret Laurence
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Eventide by Kent Haruf
Benediction by Kent Haruf
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Boulder by Eva Baltasar, translated by Julia Sanches
Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey
The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier, translated by Daniel Levin Becker
Whale by Cheon Myeong-Kwan, translated by Chi-Young Kim
Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth, translated by Charlotte Barslund
While We Were Dreaming by Clemens Meyer, translated by Kate Derbyshire
Humanly Possible by Sarah Bakewell
Free Indirect: The Novel in a Postfictional Age by Timothy Bewes
The Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
Space Crone by Ursula K. Le Guin

Check out other relevant links in our blogpost.

Visit us online at onebrightbook.com.

Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org.

Comments? Write us at onebrightmail at gmail

Find us on Twitter at @pod_bright

Frances: @nonsuchbook

Dorian: @ds228

Rebecca: @ofbooksandbikes

Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/

Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/

Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.

Episode #13: Maud Martha, by Gwendolyn Brooks Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

Join our hosts Frances, Dorian, and Rebecca as they discuss MAUD MARTHA by Gwendolyn Brooks and chat about their recent reading. For our next episode, we will discuss THE STONE ANGEL by Margaret Laurence. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you in April.

Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books!

Books mentioned:

Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks
Annie Allen by Gwendolyn Brooks
Native Son by Richard Wright
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes, translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein
The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier
Affinities: On Art and Fascination by Brian Dillon, translated from the French by Daniel Levin Becker
The Story of a Life by Konstantin Paustovsky, translated from the Russian by Douglas Smith
The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence