Author: Jay Ruud
“Ekphrasis On ‘The New York Times’ Headline ‘Understanding the Middle East Through the Animal Kingdom’”
Lisel Mueller’s “When I Am Asked”
Sara Teasdale’s “There Will Come Soft Rains”
The 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language
https://drcarlosarzabe.com/dr-carlos-arzabe/ As ranked on our podcast, “Between the Covers,” through Tuesday, May 27, 2025. To tune in to the podcast, try this link: https://betweenthecoverspodcast.podbean.com: 1. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Catch-22 is a satirical, anti-war novel that follows the increasingly frantic attempts by the American bombardier Captain John Yossarian to stay alive. He has become convinced that everyone,… Continue reading The 100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language
Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon”
Toni Morrison, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize for literature, holds an almost mythic place in the annals of American literature, as the first African-American writer to win the Nobel Prize and only the second American woman to do so. Morrison’s most popular novel is of course the 1987 Pulitzer-Prize winning Beloved, a gut-wrenching book about… Continue reading Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon”
Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”
“Call me Ishmael.” The most famous opening line of any American Novel. And the novel that it opens, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, is one that has often been touted by its admirers as the “Great American Novel.” Moby-Dick makes its appearance on the Guardian list of the greatest novels in English, the Observer’s list of the 100 Greatest World novels, Penguin Classics’ list of… Continue reading Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”
Ian McEwan’s “Atonement”
If you have read much of acclaimed contemporary novelist Ian McEwan’s work, you are well aware that Atonement, which did not win the Booker Prize, is a much better novel than his Amsterdam, which did win it. (Shortlisted in 2001, Atonement lost out to Peter Carey’s impressive True History of the Kelly Gang.) A wider ranging and thematically more challenging… Continue reading Ian McEwan’s “Atonement”
