Between The Covers

This week we're taking a break from our 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language list to join in the world's current Odyssey Era. Jay and Stacey share their enthusiasm for the book and talk about tips for selecting a translation as well as why The Odyssey by Homer is so lovable and a joy to read.

Of John Updike’s four Rabbit books, Jay has chosen the first, Rabbit, Run, to include on his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language. The 1960 novel introduces readers to Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom and this broken promise of his adult life. Chaos Reader is still enjoying almost nothing happening in The Eustace Diamonds.

Martin Amis’s 1984 novel Money: A Suicide Note is Jay’s pick this week for his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language. Though the main character, John Self, is thoroughly detestable, Amis’s novel is thoroughly enjoyable because of the author’s command of voice and craft. Chaos Reader is in her slow reading era.

Jay’s choice this week is another historical fiction novel, this one set in turn-of-the-millenium Rome, I, Claudius by Robert Graves. The epic follows 80 years of violent Roman politics when dark-horse Claudius emerges as the surprise winner of the emperor’s laurels. Chaos Reader focuses on her Roman Empire, Vogue Magazine of the 1980s and 1990s.

This week Jay cheats and names a tetralogy (four books) to his list as one entry, Ford Madox Ford’s Parade’s End. The chronology addresses the WWI era from the intimate life of its protagonist. Chaos Reader is still reading the Wintour biography.

William Styron’s 1979 tragedy, Sophie’s Choice, is the book Jay is naming this week to his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in English. He and Stacey discuss the profound pain of the novel as well as the objections readers have made to Styron's decisions in crafting the book. Chaos Reader updates Anna Wintour’s life as she continues reading a biography about her.

Jay’s choice this week for his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language is another world-famous detective novel, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. While this may not be the Christie novel others choose as her greatest, Jay makes his case. Chaos Reader checks in with her progress on The Eustace Diamonds.

Jay makes the case for Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles for this week’s addition to his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language. Holmes is a key figure in Western Culture, and we examine the appeal and Conan Doyle’s craft in creating him as well as Holmes's partnership with Dr. Watson. Chaos Reader checks in on the biography she’s reading.

Jay’s choice this week is John Kennedy Toole’s Confederacy of Dunces, a premier novel of southern American literature and a predictor of the "male loneliness epidemic." Jay talks about how this novel stays relevant and where it hasn’t held up as well, even though it’s still worthy of a spot on his Most Lovable Novels list. Chaos Reader checks in on her progress with a biography of Anna Wintour.

Jay chooses Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man for his list this week. The celebrated novel addresses the Black experience in the first half of the twentieth century in America, but it hasn’t lost its relevance. Chaos Reader starts a new book consistent with the current Zeitgeist.