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Between The Covers

Jay Ruud and Stacey Margaret Jones

Author Jay Ruud has read every ”100 Best Book” list there is, so it’s only natural that he would create his own. Listen to each episode as he and his wife, author Stacey Margaret Jones discuss a book from his carefully cultivated ”100 Lovable Books” list. Stacey interviews Jay on what makes the book ”lovable” and where it ranks on the master list. They’ll also discuss current books in the CHAOS READER segment.

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23 episodes
weekly
Avg 47 min
English

Episodes 23

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#102
Tuesday · 44 min
A Wacky, But Oh-So Lovable Classic
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.
#101
September 15 · 48 min
A Magical Meta John Fowles 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.
#100
September 8 · 51 min
Sons and Lovers and Semi-Autobiographical Fiction
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.
#99
September 1 · 49 min
A Family Saga for the Ages (and Best of Lists)
John Galsworthy’s chronicle of the “new money” Forsyte family is Jay’s pick this week for his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language. The Forsyte Saga focuses on Soames Forsyte, a “man of property,” who seems to have succeeded at wealth but never seems to learn how to be happy. Chaos Reader starts a new novel in a famous tetralogy.
#98
August 25 · 49 min
A Beautiful 20th Century Coming-of-Age Novel
Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is this week’s pick for Jay’s list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language. This British novel isn’t as well known in the United States, but it should be. Chaos Reader finishes another novel. Note: Jay occasionally misidentifies Winterson in the podcast, and for that he is deeply apologetic.
#97
August 18 · 47 min
Old Filth is a Newer Novel on the Lovable Novels List
Jay’s choice this week is Old Filth, a 2004 novel by British writer Jane Gardam. The book focuses on Sir Edward Feather’s quest to understand the life he has lived in the second half of the twentieth century. Chaos Reader FINALLY finishes a book.
#96
August 11 · 46 min
A Big Book in a Small Island Package
Jay’s pick this week in the final 10 of his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language is Andrea Levy’s Small Island, a 2004 novel that explores the experiences of the Windrush generation of Caribbean immigrants to the United Kingdom through four narrators. The book addresses many big ideas through careful attention to the daily lives and dramas of a white couple and a Jamaican couple in mid-century London. Chaos Reader is doubling her efforts to return to her former reading addiction.
#95
August 4 · 50 min
Get Haunted by The Woman in White
This week’s addition to Jay’s 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language list is Wilkie Collins' Victorian proto-detective, gothic novel The Woman in White. Wilkie’s chosen structure of multiple narrators puts the reader into the role of juror, working to discern what really happened from the various voices and agendas in the text. Chaos Reader responds to yapping in the zeitgeist about Nolan’s Odyssey.
#94
July 28 · 53 min
Two Book Lovers Yap about The Odyssey by Homer
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.
#93
July 21 · 41 min
The Most Lovable of the Rabbit Novels
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.
#92
July 14 · 51 min
An ’80s Novel about Self and Money
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.
#91
July 7 · 47 min
The Roman Empire is Jay’s Roman Empire
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.
#90
June 30 · 46 min
Is Parade’s End One Book or Four?
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.
#89
June 23 · 50 min
The Choice to Include Sophie’s Choice
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.
#88
June 16 · 45 min
An Express Train to a Closed-Circle Mystery
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.
#87
June 9 · 47 min
Elementary, My Dear Listener
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.
#86
June 2 · 49 min
The Genius of Toole’s Ignatius J. Reilly
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.
#85
May 26 · 45 min
Ellison’s Novel Shouldn’t Be Invisible on Your TBR List
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.
#84
May 19 · 42 min
A Prime Novel of Ms. Muriel Spark's
Muriel Spark’s iconoclastic education novel is Jay’s pick this week for his list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language. Set in 1930s Edinburgh, the novel focuses on six girls who are assigned to Miss Brodie, and her radical teaching style makes a mark on them at 10 years old and well beyond. Chaos Reader shares her final update on the Ian McEwan novel she’s been reading.
#83
May 12 · 49 min
In a World of Nurse Ratcheds, Be The Chief …?
This week Jay’s entry on the list of the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language is Ken Kesey’s seminal novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which grapples with the power of systems against the individual human mind and various responses to the forces of the powers that be. Chaos Reader doesn’t achieve her goal, and checks in on Trollope.

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