Jay and Stacey discuss the iconic, influential novel (novella?) by Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness. The journey of the plot is also a journey of the soul for the characters and their country, as well as an indictment of colonialism. Chaos Reader also reports for duty.

Jay and Stacey discuss Virginia Woolf's masterpiece, entering the life of the mind of Clarissa Dalloway and her social set in this watershed novel of the early 20th century. Chaos reader talks about her own novel, Mr. Catherine.

This week's entry on Jay Ruud's 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language is Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel, Night Watch, a time-traveling fantasy on a flat planet that considers the nature of power, the repetition of history and the role of the moral individual in relationship to autocratic government. And it's funny! Jay considers how he chose this novel from the pantheon of Pratchett's prolific output. And Chaos Reader confronts her reading block.

Jay's entry on his 100 Most Lovable Books List this week is one of Stacey's most loved books ever. Join them for their discussion of 1870s New York and its moneyed high society as Wharton's Newland Archer navigates his own conflicting desires for social convention or social rebellion. And chaos reader picks up another favorite reread as well.

Jay and Stacey discuss the comedy-sci-fi twentieth-century classic The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, chatting about the first novel in the franchise, which is the gateway-drug to the international sales juggernaut of the six-novel franchise. And chaos reader weighs in with a novel that feels completely opposite of Hitchhiker, Jane Eyre.

Jay and Stacey discuss a novel dear to both of their hearts, George Eliot's Middlemarch, where marriage, aspiration, ambition and social class shape the lives of characters in a small English community in the 1800s. Eliot has written of England's past in her lovable novel, just as Edith Wharton has written of the Old New York of her childhood in Chaos Reader's pick this week, The Age of Innocence.

Even posh Brits have family problems, and Evelyn Waugh's exploration of the aristocratic Flyte family through the perspective of upwardly-mobile Charles Ryder touches on the allure of a bygone era, religion and the waning of privilege in 20th century Great Britain. Join us for a discussion of why this novel is lovable... and check in with Chaos Reader, too.

Sarah Waters' novel The Little Stranger is a surprise addition to the 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language list, but after this discussion of how this gothic novel illuminates 20th century Britain and the ghosts of past ways of life that may continue to haunt us all, you'll likely be adding it to your list. We introduce a new feature this week, a friend of the pod sharing her favorite book! This week Christine Ross talks about the Great Gatsby, and of course, Chaos Reader brings the random but worthwhile recommendation.