Episodes

  • Episode #41: In Conversation with Sam Sacks About Our Most Anticipated Books of 2026

    Episode #41: In Conversation with Sam Sacks About Our Most Anticipated Books of 2026
    Dec 11 2025
    Welcome to One Bright Book! Join our hosts Dorian, Rebecca, and Frances as they discuss their most anticipated books of 2026 with Sam Sacks, prominent book critic for The Wall Street Journal, writing the weekly "Fiction Chronicle," and a founding editor of Open Letters Monthly. For our next episode, we will discuss The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you in late January. Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books! Books mentioned: The Disappearing Act by Maria Stepanova, translated from the Russian by Sasha DugdaleIn Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova, translated from the Russian by Sasha DugdaleOpus Siniestra by Leonora CarringtonOn the Calculation of Volume, Book IV by Solvej Balle, translated from the Danish by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer RussellIncompleteness: New and Selected Essays, 1999-2023 by Amit ChaudhuriIn Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal MueenuddinThis Is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal MueenuddinNow I Surrender by Alvaro Enrique, translated from the Spanish by Natasha WimmerYou Dreamed of Empires by Alvaro Enrique, translated from the Spanish by Natasha WimmerThe Palm House by Gwendoline RileyMy Phantoms by Gwendoline RileyFirst Love by Gwendoline RileyAmbivalence by Brian DillonTranscendence for Beginners by Clare CarlisleAnimal Joy by Nuar AlsadirHere Where We Live Is Our Country by Molly CrabappleDown Time by Andrew MartinEarly Work by Andrew MartinCool for America by Andrew MartinOn Morrison by Namwali SerpellThe Witch by Marie Ndiaye, translated from the French by Jordan StumpThat Time of Year by Marie Ndiaye, translated from the French by Jordan StumpTwenty Minutes of Silence by Helene Bessette, translated from the French by Kate BriggsLilli Is Crying by Helene Bessette, translated from the French by Kate BriggsThe Queen of Swords by Jazmina Barrera, translated from the Spanish by Christina MacSweeneyThe Week of Colors by Elena Garro, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowellNonesuch by Francis SpuffordCahokia Jazz by Francis SpuffordThe Child That Books Built: A Life in Reading by Francis SpuffordThe Ministry of Time by Kaliane BradleyA Marsh Island by Sarah Orne JewettThe Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope 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 Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/onebrightbook.bsky.social Frances: https://bsky.app/profile/nonsuchbook.bsky.social Dorian: https://bsky.app/profile/ds228.bsky.social Rebecca: https://bsky.app/profile/ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social 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.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Episode #40: I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman

    Episode #40: I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
    Nov 18 2025
    Welcome to One Bright Book! Join our hosts Rebecca, Frances, and Dorian as they discuss I WHO HAVE NEVER KNOWN MEN by Jacqueline Harpman, translated from the French by Ros Schwartz, and chat about their current reading. For our next episode, we will be joined by book critic Sam Sacks for our fourth (!!!) annual most anticipated books episode. We will each come to the table with three books that we are excited to see published in 2026. Will we duplicate each other's choices? Will each of have enough choices in reserve to pivot if necessary? Will someone cheat and present more than three selections? These are questions that we love to pretend to care about each year. We hope you join us for what has become a highlight of our podcasting year! Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books! Books Mentioned: I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, translated from the French by Ros SchwartzOrlanda by Jacqueline Harpman, translated from the French by Ros SchwartzNever Let Me Go by Kazuo IshiguroFrankenstein by Mary ShelleyThe Wall by Marlen Haushofer, translated from the German by Shaun WhitesideBear by Marian EngelThe Road by Cormac McCarthyThe Handmaid's Tale by Margaret AtwoodParable of the Sower by Octavia E ButlerShadow Ticket by Thomas PynchonLong Distance by Aysegül SavasUgliness by Moshtari Hilal, translated from the German by Elizabeth LaufferElectric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel by Frances Wilson Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark by James BaileyA Dark Corner by Celia DaleSheep's Clothing by Celia DaleThe Face of Trespass by Ruth RendellRobinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe You might also be interested in: The Yale Review. 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 Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/onebrightbook.bsky.social Frances: https://bsky.app/profile/nonsuchbook.bsky.social Dorian: https://bsky.app/profile/ds228.bsky.social Rebecca: https://bsky.app/profile/ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social 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.
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Bonus Episode #4: Dorian Stuber and Rohan Maitzen Discuss Vanity Fair

    Bonus Episode #4: Dorian Stuber and Rohan Maitzen Discuss Vanity Fair
    Oct 28 2025

    Welcome to One Bright Book! Rebecca and Frances move out of the picture for this bonus episode where Dorian gets a chance to finally discuss VANITY FAIR by William Makepeace Thackeray with his one time professor and always friend, Rohan Maitzen. A rare and special opportunity to revisit the book from the syllabus that he blew off reading. "You can never entirely escape your sins!" Ready for some time well-spent in the 19th century?

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

    Books Mentioned:

    • Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
    • David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
    • Middlemarch by George Eliot
    • North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
    • The Warden by Anthony Trollope
    • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
    • The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott
    • The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
    • Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
    • Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
    • The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
    • Villette by Charlotte Bronte
    • Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

    You can find Rohan's blog Novel Readings here: https://rohanmaitzen.com/novelreadings/

    Special thanks to Fred the Cat for the special background symphony.

    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 Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/onebrightbook.bsky.social

    Frances: https://bsky.app/profile/nonsuchbook.bsky.social

    Dorian: https://bsky.app/profile/ds228.bsky.social

    Rebecca: https://bsky.app/profile/ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social

    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.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Episode #39: The Stone Door, by Leonora Carrington

    Episode #39: The Stone Door, by Leonora Carrington
    Oct 3 2025
    Welcome to One Bright Book! Join our hosts Frances, Dorian, and Rebecca as they discuss THE STONE DOOR by Leonora Carrington, and chat about their current reading. For our next episode, we will discuss I WHO HAVE NEVER KNOWN MEN by Jacqueline Harpman, translated from the French by Ros Schwartz, with an afterword by Sophie Mackintosh. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you sometime this fall. Yes, that time frame is vague but we like to be truthful. Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books! Books Mentioned: The Stone Door by Leonora Carrington The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington Surrealist Women's Writing: A Critical Exploration edited by Anna Watz A History of the Surrealist Novel edited by Anna Watz Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll The Awakening by Kate Chopin A Marsh Island by Sarah Orne Jewett Crooked Cross by Sally Carson The Dance and the Fire by Daniel Saldana Paris, translated from the Spanish by Christina Macsweeney Sea Now by Eva Meijer, translated from the Dutch by Anne Thompson Melo I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, translated from the French by Ros Schwartz 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 Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/onebrightbook.bsky.social Frances: https://bsky.app/profile/nonsuchbook.bsky.social Dorian: https://bsky.app/profile/ds228.bsky.social Rebecca: https://bsky.app/profile/ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social 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.
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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Episode #38: Miaow, by Benito Pérez Galdós

    Episode #38: Miaow, by Benito Pérez Galdós
    Sep 8 2025

    Welcome to One Bright Book! Join our hosts Dorian, Rebecca, and Frances as they discuss MIAOW by Benito Pérez Galdós, translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa, and chat about their current reading.

    For our next episode, we will discuss The Stone Door by Leonora Carrington. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you sometime in late September.

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

    Books mentioned:

    • Miaow by Benito Pérez Galdós, translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa
    • The Antinomies of Realism by Frederic Jameson
    • The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
    • The Blue Place by Nicola Griffith
    • Anima: A Wild Pastoral by Kapka Kassabova
    • Living by Henry Green
    • People Like Us by Jason Mott
    • Erik Satie: Three Piece Suite by Ian Penman
    • The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
    • The Odd Women by George Gissing
    • The Holiday by Stevie Smith
    • Schattenfroh by Michael Lentz,translated from the German by Max Lawton
    • Life A User's Manual by Georges Perec, translated from the French by David Bellos
    • The Stone Door by Leonora Carrington
    • Angela Carter and Surrealism by Anna Walz
    • A History of the Surrealist Novel edited by Anna Walz
    • Surrealist Women's Writing: A Critical Exploration by Anna Walz
    • Opus Siniestrus by Leonora Carrington

    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 Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/onebrightbook.bsky.social

    Frances: https://bsky.app/profile/nonsuchbook.bsky.social

    Dorian: https://bsky.app/profile/ds228.bsky.social

    Rebecca: https://bsky.app/profile/ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social

    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.
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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • Episode #37: There's Always This Year, by Hanif Abdurraqib

    Episode #37: There's Always This Year, by Hanif Abdurraqib
    Jul 8 2025
    Welcome to One Bright Book! Join our hosts Rebecca, Frances, and Dorian as they discuss THERE'S ALWAYS THIS YEAR: ON BASKETBALL AND ASCENSION by Hanif Abdurraqib, and chat about their current reading. For our next episode, we will discuss MIAOW by Benito Pérez Galdós, translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you sometime in August. Maybe. It's summer, people! Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books! Books Mentioned: There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif AbdurraqibGo Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest by Hanif AbdurraqibA Fortune For Your Disaster by Hanif AbdurraqibA Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif AbdurraqibBe Holding: A Poem by Ross GaySad Tiger by Neige Sinno, translated from the French by Natasha LehrerTheory and Practice by Michelle de KretserAttila by Aliocha Coll, translated from the Spanish by Katie WhittemoreAttila by Javier Serena, translated from the Spanish by Katie WhittemoreImpossible Creatures by Katherine RundellA Fine Balance by Rohinton MistryMiaow by Benito Pérez Galdós, translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa You might also be interested in: Beyond the Zero Podcast: Katie Whittemore speaking about her translations of Attila by Alicocha Coll and Attila by Javier Serena 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 Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/onebrightbook.bsky.social Frances: https://bsky.app/profile/nonsuchbook.bsky.social Dorian: https://bsky.app/profile/ds228.bsky.social Rebecca: https://bsky.app/profile/ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social 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.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Episode #36: The Country of the Pointed Firs, by Sarah Orne Jewett

    Episode #36: The Country of the Pointed Firs, by Sarah Orne Jewett
    Jun 11 2025

    Welcome to One Bright Book! Join our hosts Frances, Dorian, and Rebecca as they discuss THE COUNTRY OF THE POINTED FIRS by Sarah Orne Jewett, and chat about their current reading.

    For our next episode, we will discuss There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you in early July.

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

    Books mentioned:

    • The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
    • A Marsh Island by Sarah Orne Jewett
    • Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
    • O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
    • Willa Cather: Double Lives by Hermione Lee
    • Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger by Nigel Slater
    • Nadja by André Breton, translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti
    • The Little Drummer Girl by John le Carré
    • Audition by Katie Kitamura
    • Audition by Pip Adam
    • Animal Stories by Kate Zambreno
    • One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
    • My Heresies by Aline Stefanescu
    • There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib

    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 Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/onebrightbook.bsky.social

    Frances: https://bsky.app/profile/nonsuchbook.bsky.social

    Dorian: https://bsky.app/profile/ds228.bsky.social

    Rebecca: https://bsky.app/profile/ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social

    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.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Episode #35: O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

    Episode #35: O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
    Apr 28 2025

    Welcome to One Bright Book! Join our hosts Dorian, Frances, and Rebecca as they discuss O PIONEERS! by Willa Cather, and chat about their current reading.

    For our next episode, we will discuss The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you in early June.

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

    Books mentioned:

    • O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
    • My Antonia by Willa Cather
    • The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
    • A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
    • Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
    • Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
    • Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin
    • Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin
    • Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
    • The Selected Letters of Willa Cather
    • Chasing Bright Medusas by Benjamin Taylor
    • Willa Cather: Double Lives by Hermione Lee
    • The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett

    You might also be interested in "The Peace When It Settled: Charlotte Wood, Stone Yard Devotional" by Rohan Maitzen.

    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 Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/onebrightbook.bsky.social

    Frances: https://bsky.app/profile/nonsuchbook.bsky.social

    Dorian: https://bsky.app/profile/ds228.bsky.social

    Rebecca: https://bsky.app/profile/ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social

    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.
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    1 hr and 7 mins