Some crackled, brittle paperbacks, The Red Pony and The Pearl, were in my sightline to dispose of, mostly because they were so messy, but I felt they deserved a read before tossing.
John Steinbeck became a favorite author of mine as a teenager. My first introduction to him had been in the fifth grade when my (highly advanced!) reading group read The Red Pony. The most vivid memory I have of that book is the description of the infection the pony got! So much for being a mature reader at the age of 11. However, I went on to read Of Mice and Men (doesn't everyone), Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday, Tortilla Flat, The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden and The Winter of Our Discontent, all novels with which I became enthralled.
Re-reading The Red Pony and The Pearl, I wasn't quite as taken with Steinbeck as I'd always been and I rushed through both books. Now, however, thinking about him again, I think Steinbeck deserves yet another re-visit. There are on our shelves at least eight of his best known novels, all hard cover, some of them waiting to be read a third time (Grapes of Wrath, Winter of Our Discontent). Of recent, I may have unfairly and imprudently cast Steinbeck into a category of cynical, anti-religious, socialist 20th century writers, a designation he may not rightfully deserve. Here's where I hope to do more reading about him.
