Between The Covers

Kick off the Christmas Season with some Little Women

Jay chose Louisa May Alcott’s LITTLE WOMEN for this week’s lovable novel (which is also a lovely Christmas read) and surprises Stacey with the backstory of how it got written and how some savvy young readers green-lit the manuscript to get it published. After this discussion of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy’s passage from girlhood to womanhood in Civil War-era New England, Chaos Reader picks up a biography of Gerald R. Ford about his passage from Congressman to President.  

The Call of London’s The Call of the Wild

This week Jay enters Jack London’s 1903 naturalist fiction novel The Call of the Wild, which Stacey was surprised to learn is not a children’s or young-adult novel. London’s dog hero Buck and his struggles highlight many issues inherent in a growing industrial economy as it trickles down to the creatures upon whom the work depends. Chaos Reader revisits Exit Interview for an update.

Go Read Go Tell It on the Mountain!

Jay convinces Stacey to read James Baldwin’s 1953 semi-autobiographical novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, a coming-of-age novel that grapples with race and religion in mid-twentieth century America. Chaos Reader gives a progress report and shares a tribute to a big influence in her reading life after his recent passing.

The Rich, Rewarding, Historical World of Louise Erdrich’s The Night Watchman

This week, Jay puts Louise Erdrich’s The Night Watchman on his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language. Stacey wants to know how he chose from Erdrich’s extensive list of works, because she too loves this American author and her entire canon. Chaos Reader checks in on her progress reading the Irish novel The Star of the Sea.

Faulkner’s (Somewhat) Accessible Novel Light in August Makes the List

William Faulkner’s southern gothic novel Light in August is Jay’s pick for his 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language list this week, and he and Stacey discuss the 1932 modernist work with its themes of race, sex, class and religion in the interwar American South, and why this is the book of Faulkner’s canon Jay selected. Chaos Reader shares a Diane Keaton tribute in the wake of the beloved actress’s recent passing.

It’s a Good Time to Pick Up Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath

This week, Jay makes the case for John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath as not only a relevant and cogent book for anyone who follows current events, but also as a book that is lovable—a joy to read. Chaos Reader checks in with the memoir of a corporate-America refugee.

Henry James (Barely) Makes the List with The Turn of the Screw

This week is the first time Jay surprises Stacey with a selection for his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language, when he chooses Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw. Jay has been negging James since Jay was in graduate school, and Stacey wasn’t that taken with the novella when they recently read the book together. Who do you agree with? Chaos Reader checks in on the anthology of Marie Howe poetry she’s been enjoying.

If You Don't Love Ulysses, Try Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Jame Joyce’s Ulysses seems to be on every single reading and novels list, but it’s not on Jay Ruud’s. He chose Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man instead, because it actually is lovable. Chaos Reader discusses another existentialist work, Waiting for Godot.

Beyond the Book Banning: Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter

This week, Jay names Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter: A Romance to his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in English. Even though it’s one of the most banned books in the United States, there is a lovable novel to be read here, one that closely considers America’s Puritan past in a way that is still relevant today. Chaos Reader shares her progress in The Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor.

Celebrate Banned Books Week with Huckleberry Finn

Jay joins Ernest Hemingway and many others in his love of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and this week it gets added to his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language. He and Stacey discuss its lovability and its “bannability” as one of the most banned novels in the United States. Chaos Reader finally joins the party for a very popular novel she hasn’t picked up until now.