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  • A Family Saga for the Ages (and Best of Lists)
    2026/09/01

    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.

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    50 分
  • A Beautiful 20th Century Coming-of-Age Novel
    2026/08/25

    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.

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    49 分
  • Old Filth is a Newer Novel on the Lovable Novels List
    2026/08/18

    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.

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    47 分
  • A Big Book in a Small Island Package
    2026/08/11

    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.

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    46 分
  • Get Haunted by The Woman in White
    2026/08/04

    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.

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    51 分
  • Two Book Lovers Yap about The Odyssey by Homer
    2026/07/28

    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.

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    54 分
  • The Most Lovable of the Rabbit Novels
    2026/07/21

    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.

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    41 分
  • An ’80s Novel about Self and Money
    2026/07/14

    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.

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    51 分