I saw this in Salt Lake City last week.
It is my new favorite bumpersticker. And I have a feeling that the driver and I would be great friends.
If you haven’t read John Steinbeck, you should.
Check out my past posts on Pastures in Heaven, East of Eden, and The Grapes of Wrath. I have also enjoyed Cannery Row, The Pearl, Of Mice and Men, and The Winter of Our Discontent.
What are you favorite Steinbeck novels?
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 
Lenny and George are smiling.
🙂 I hope so!
Yes. I see exactly what you mean. My bumper sticker would be for Roald Dahl. What about you.
My favourite is Grapes of Wrath. All the best. Kris.
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I think mine would be Steinbeck or even Wallace Stegner. Joyce Carol Oates? I can’t decide. I need several.
Great bumpersticker. East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath for me, although on a completely different note I also enjoyed Travels with Charlie that gave me some insight into the man.
I need to read that one!
I want this bumper sticker.
Last summer I read Travels with Charley, Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row, East of Eden, and The Grapes of Wrath. This spring I read The Pearl and Tortilla Flat. I have loved them all, but East of Eden is easily my favorite. I am about to read The Winter of Our Discontent.
Be warned that The Winter of our Discontent is very different from all of his other work, but still a Steinbeck. I think my favorites are a tie between East of Eden and The Grapes of Wrath.
You’ll have to head to the Steinbeck museum in Salinas, Calif.
Um, yes! Please!
Same as you – East of Eden and The Grapes of Wrath. Although, if I did some re-reading (because it’s been a while) that could change…
It’s a good thing these bumper stickers aren’t a ‘thing’ – deciding which ones to get would be too hard!
I think if you reread, you would love them all over again. That’s what I did!
I loved Travels with Charley. 🙂
It sounds like I really need to read that one!
Wow! This is wonderful timing to come across this. No joke, but I was just about to start and reread Of Mice and Men today. My twin sister just hijacked it from me while visiting out here. She and I agree that there is something special about living close to an author’s hometown that makes it feel profound and special to revisit their works. You feel extra close to them.
So now I am inspired to visit Steinback again after so many years. I’ll start with Of Mice and Men (so I can have lunch book date with my sister afterwards to talk about it) and then throughout the summer I will tackle some of Steinback’s other stuff.
Side note: I actually read Of Mice and Men for my older brother who had to read it for his class in high school and was issued to write a book report on it. I gladly agreed to read it for him when he asked me if I would. At the time it didn’t even occur to my middle school brain that it was essentially cheating to describe for him all the book details and how it ended (I remember it left me in tears). I was just happy to have some reading material (when there was no internet, T.V, phone or friends, etc. to entertain me at home). It also gave me a platform to do something nice for my brother who never noticed me. I was proud that he turned to me, because he knew I loved reading. In a sad sense, I would lying to myself if I didn’t read it, because I needed to prove at the time that I was of worth to someone…anyone. So helping my brother gave me that sense of pride that I could be of worth. That I could be appreciated and needed.
I’m sorry this ended up sounding all gloomy, but reading your post rekindled my first experience with Steinback. Overall I’m glad that I did read the book, even under those dim conditions…well, because if it is one thing that I’ve learned about reading, it is this, that often times you will read the most profound and soul stirring books during crappy circumstances in your life…and it will be okay, why? Because our books and the stories and people we read about remind us that we’re all in this together. That we’re never alone. So Steinbeck added to those authors that I read during my rough middle school years who allowed me for me a safe place to turn to when I needed to run away for a little bit (at least in my mind). Yeah? *smiles*
Yes. Yes! You are spot on. I am happy to have heard your story with Steinbeck. And I’m so jealous that you live where you live now and that I can’t be there with you! Maybe if I head that way we can visit some of the Steinbeck sites together! Anyway, I hope that your reading Of Mice and Men brought you closer to your brother. I’m glad you love reading and I’m proud of the education you’ve gotten and the person you are. Thanks for staying in touch.
Yes, that would be awesome! You know how to reach me. 🙂 Also, thank you for the kind words. It truly means a lot coming from you. I look up to you a ton as a wonderful female role model in my life. So I’m grateful that we can continue to stay in touch!!
Definitely East of Eden.
My high school English teacher lent me the book in my junior year and I fell in love with Steinbeck. I also loved Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row. My grandma’s dad and uncles all worked at the tuna canneries in San Pedro, so I read Cannery Row with a lot of wonder.
And then A Russian Journal.
It’s hard to pick.
It IS hard to pick. I loved Cannery Row because of my own great grandparents’ jobs as fruit pickers and canners. It reminds me to be humble and that my past is not that far from where I am now. I need to read A Russian Journal!
Oh, Emily! I love The Grapes of Wrath and admittedly that is the ONLY Steinbeck I have read thus far. This is a great reminder to read more of his work. But…The Grapes of Wrath…well, it is such an experience! I reviewed it after rereading it some 43 years later! I loved the introduction in the edition I read just last year: http://books-n-music.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-truly-timeless-classic.html. I just sigh every time I think of that book…and it’s so scary that it is still so pertinent today in so many ways.
Great point! It is still relevant and we should still be reading it and paying attention. You do need to read more Steinbeck. If you loved The Grapes of Wrath, you have more treats in store for you!
The Odyssey would be a more comfortable ride than ‘The Red Pony’. Steinbeck was on the Aussie English syllabus when I was in high school. As he should be. 🙂
Ha! Good point. I love that you read Steinbeck there. Very nice!
I love Steinbeck too. But if I started putting bumperstickers of authors on my car, there would be no stop to it.
You are so right. I wouldn’t be able to choose just one!
Grapes.
🙂