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The Bookshelf Chronicles
Also in Books
Arts
Marlon and Jake Read Dead People
by Penguin Random House
Today: #103 in Arts on our combined chart.
Today: #123 in Arts, United Kingdom on our combined chart.
Today: #60 in Arts, Canada on our combined chart.
Today: #191 in Arts, Australia on our combined chart.
Today: #129 in Arts, India on our combined chart.
Today: #188 in Arts, South Africa on our combined chart.
Chart positions today · South Africa
Not on the Germany charts we track today.
Not on the Brazil charts we track today.
Not on the Mexico charts we track today.
Not on the New Zealand charts we track today.
Not on the Ireland charts we track today.
Not on the Japan charts we track today.
Not on the Philippines charts we track today.
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Ranking history · South Africa
Latest daily rankings: Oct 21. New rankings will appear after the next update.
Position on the Arts, South Africa combined chart over the last 7 days. Toggle platforms to compare their positions. Lower rank numbers are better.
View as table
| Date | Combined Rank | Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Castbox |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 21 | #188 | #186 | — | — |
| Oct 19 | #135 | #136 | — | #75 |
| Oct 18 | #84 | #84 | — | #75 |
| Oct 17 | #56 | #56 | — | #41 |
| Oct 16 | #28 | #29 | #26 | #45 |
Latest episodes
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The Literary Hall of Shame
September 8, 2026 · 36 minIn our last episode of the season, Marlon and Jake take on the worst books by the best authors—or at least, authors they usually love. They discuss why a journalist’s instincts can be both a gift and a curse when writing fiction, the…
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English Teachers, Look Away
September 1, 2026 · 44 minMarlon and Jake discuss the books they’d banish from school reading lists—not ban but give a well-earned time out. They consider why the Bible shouldn’t make the cut, why mythology deserves to expand beyond the Greeks and Romans, and what…
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In Defense of Gratuitous Violence
August 25, 2026 · 39 minMarlon and Jake take on violence in fiction: what makes it effective, what makes it gratuitous, and whether “gratuitous violence” is even a useful distinction. Tune in as they discuss the difference between violence on the page and on…
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The Most Important Character Isn’t a Character
August 18, 2026 · 48 minMarlon and Jake explore the power of setting in novels—and why the best stories feel like they couldn’t have happened anywhere else. They discuss settings that become characters in their own right, fictional worlds they’d love (or…
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This Got More Personal Than We Expected
August 11, 2026 · 37 minMarlon and Jake explore the books that have helped define who they are, choosing four that capture different parts of their personalities and lives. They unpack how reading can shape our understanding of identity, community, and growing…
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Why Does Great Literature Have Such Bad Sex?
August 4, 2026 · 36 minMarlon and Jake dive into one of literature's trickiest subjects: sex. Why do some writers capture intimacy with honesty while others veer into the unintentionally hilarious? Along the way, they discuss why writing about sex is really…
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Writers We'll Never Read Again (Sorry, Faulkner)
July 28, 2026 · 40 minMarlon and Jake tackle the writers they have no interest in revisiting, asking when it's worth giving a beloved (or notorious) author another chance and when it's perfectly fine to walk away for good. Tune in as they debate literary canon…
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Is Jane Eyre Okay?
July 21, 2026 · 36 minMarlon and Jake explore why we're so eager to revisit the worlds of our favorite stories, asking whether great characters are better left where their authors left them—or if there's value in imagining what came before or after. Tune in as…
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Calling B******t on Dystopias
July 14, 2026 · 43 minMarlon and Jake dive into the world of dystopian fiction, unpacking what truly makes a dystopia—and whether some of the genre’s biggest ideas hold up under closer scrutiny. Along the way, they discuss why some dystopias feel more…
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Clearing the Cobwebs
July 7, 2026 · 38 minWelcome back for a new season! Marlon and Jake catch up on what they’ve been reading, writing, and working on, including Marlon’s new novel, and explore the books they return to when it’s time to create. They discuss the stories that…
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The Beach Read
May 2, 2023 · 40 minIn the final episode of the season, Marlon and Jake weigh in on their favorite vacation reads, including the ones they started but never finished. Tune in to find out which classic novels Jake took to the beach and which ones Marlon says…
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The Campus Novel
April 25, 2023 · 38 minIt was the best of times; it was the worst of times—it was school. In this episode, Marlon and Jake discuss books where school is the setting or going to school is central to the plot. They debate which authors got school right and which…
About the show
Marlon and Jake Read Dead People is a podcast hosted by the Booker Prize-winning and internationally bestselling author Marlon James and his editor, Jake Morrissey, Executive Editor at Riverhead Books. In each episode, Marlon and Jake talk about authors—specifically dead authors. Authors they like. Authors they hate. Great books, terrible books, and books they love that you’d never expect them to. As a writer and an editor, Marlon and Jake have read thousands of books between them, and they’re not shy in expressing their opinions about them. Sometimes they’ll agree, sometimes they won’t, but in every episode, they’ll tell you what they think— uncensored and with no holds barred. (That’s why the authors have to be dead.) So, listen along to hear about the spectacularly good, the hilariously bad, and the brutally honest.