Book Bucket List | The Pearl

Happy New Year!  I know I said I probably wasn't going to have a New Year's resolution, but I have an easy one: I will read more.  To make this easier on myself, I am going to start with a short novella, and then move into what I have chosen to start reading in January. (See my previous post here.)

John Steinbeck's The Pearl may be short in length, but it has always packed a punch for me.  Kino, a pearl diver, is barely able to make ends meet for his family until he stumbles upon the largest pearl anyone has ever seen.  However, news of the giant pearl, and the wealth it will bring, spreads quickly. This leaves Kino and his family on a race to sell the pearl before someone takes it from them.  In his novella, Steinbeck explores need, evil, greed, and how these effect people in stressful situations.

Anything by Steinbeck I love, so a 90 page novella I can get through in a night.  If you're looking for something quick for your bucket list, check out The Pearl! 

P.S.  The Book Bucket List will be on hiatus for two weeks! See you soon!

Book Bucket List | For Thanksgiving

I cannot believe that next week is already Thanksgiving.  This year has gone by way too fast!  So in honor of Thanksgiving next week, I want to feature a book that reminds me of what I have to be thankful for.  Next Thursday, while I am waiting for dinner to finish cooking, I will be picking up John Steinbeck's classic The Grapes of Wrath.

After Tom Joad is paroled from prison after serving time for homicide charges, he returns to his family farm in Oklahoma to find that it was abandoned.  After reuniting with his family at another abandoned farm down the road, the decision is made to move to California for the better opportunities available.  The Joad family packed up their pickup and began the trek west, but soon realized that what they thought would be an easy drive was wrought with more problems than they could have possibly realized.  Once the Joads finally reach their destination, they find none of the opportunity they thought would be in the Sunshine State, but thousands of other migrants facing little employment options and little hope for the future.

The Grapes of Wrath has become an American classic. The situations he describes in this book were very real and would be a great book to pick up for a quick read, especially over the Thanksgiving holiday.  It makes me realize how lucky I am and how little I really have to worry about compared to those who lost everything in a disaster like the Dust Bowl.

On a happier note, I cannot wait for Thanksgiving.  If you're looking for awesome things to cook, then check out Holly Garrison's The Thanksgiving Cookbook.  It includes all of the traditional recipes like turkey, stuffing, and gravy, but also new twists on them too.  Our library system also carries the magazine Bon Appetit, which I use all the time for finding new recipes to share with my family.  This year I found candied cranberries with mandarin oranges in Bon Appetit, and can't wait to have that instead of the usual canned cranberry sauce!