Between The Covers

Jay completes his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language with A.S. Byatt’s Possession. The novel about academics and poets in parallel timelines engages the reader on many levels. Chaos Reader shares the next phase of the podcast. A note on the sound: We apologize for the scratching noise listeners may hear in the podcast this week. We will make sure it doesn’t happen again!

This week’s entry on Jay’s list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language is Irish Murdoch’s novel The Sea, The Sea. Jay discusses the allusion of the title and Murdoch’s philosophical themes, making the case for this worthy book. Chaos Reader checks in on her adventures with The Neapolitan Quartet.

Jay’s pick this week is The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne, a book that could be maddening or it could be one of the 100 Most Lovable Books in the English Language if you approach it ready for the ride. Chaos Reader is very enthusiastic about a newly published mystery novel.

The Magus was John Fowles’ first novel, but his third to be published, and its postmodern, metafictional format focuses on a young British teacher on a Greek Island who falls in with an unreliable local mastermind, Conchis. Chaos Reader discusses an academic history book she and Jay are reading aloud.

Jay’s pick this week for his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language is D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers, a novel about a young man’s coming of age in Nottinghamshire, as he navigates his relationships with two very different women in the shadow of his brother’s death and his mother’s attentions and strong personality. Chaos Reader talks about a recent TV series rewatch in which the characters are often shown reading books in their spare time.