Today's assignment from Laura at Devouring Texts, who is hosting this readalong, is to respond to this prompt:
"October 2nd: Things we think about Steinbeck- Have you read
Grapes before? Were you booored? Do you harbour a (very understandable)
love for Steinbeck? I think we all want to know."
I'm a little worried, given Laura's level of adoration for Steinbeck, that I'm going to get kicked out of the readalong for this, but past experience leads me to think I don't like Steinbeck. I read The Red Pony when I was in school and found it bleak, horrible, in places very icky. This put me off Steinbeck.
However, he is considered one of the great American writers, so I feel like I should give him another chance. John Ford and Henry Fonda thought this story was worth making a movie of, so it seems like a good option to show me a better side of Steinbeck.
Everyone's posts (except for Laura, obv) is like "Please, please don't let this suck". Which I think is hilarious and I hope that it's better than we all seem to remember from school.
ReplyDeleteSORRY WE DON'T WANT IT TO SUCK, ALLEY
DeleteWell it seems we all think it IS going to suck. Because high school messed things up. Except for those of us who didn't read it in high school.
DeleteFortunately, there is no kicking anyone out of the readalong, so you're safe! I am definitely devoted, but I'm also mentally prepared for people to not like him, even if I can't understand why! I've read The Red Pony and I'm not like IN LOVE with it, so... You're ok :)
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the film? Cause if one likes the film, I'm pretty sure they'll like the book, cause it's a pretty faithful adaptation! I liked it a lot
Glad to hear I'm safe! Honestly I can't remember if I have seen the film. I probably did because when I was a kid my dad never let a John Huston film be on tv without us watching it, but I really don't remember it. I LOVED the trailer however, esp. the librarian part.
DeleteI don't really know what to expect from this either, but I read Of Mice and Men and East of Eden and while I ended up really liking both of them, neither were easy and neither were particularly happy. So I guess thought provoking maybe? Which is a good thing...
ReplyDeleteEverybody seems a bit worried about it to be honest!
Don't worry! You won't ever be kicked out for disliking a book! In January we read Murakami's Norwegian Wood and we all hated it, except Laura. And we did not kick her out for having a dissenting opinion. We may have side-eyed her a bit, but that's it. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited to rent the movie once the readalong is over -- maybe we should all have a watchalong?
Everyone's apprehensive posts are making me nervous! But that is the thing with readalongs: we have each other.
ReplyDeleteLike the commenters above, I'm starting to see a nervous theme in all these first week posts!
ReplyDeleteThere is definite hesitation about this book, but Laura may have enough enthusiasm to get the rest of us excited about this book. Now that I have read everyone's intro post I am also having concerns about my lack of gifs (or inclination to create them) but someone said gif-free is cool too so I am taking that to heart. Let the reading commence!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're joining in! I'm in the same boat as you - dabbled in Steinbeck before and wasn't impressed, so really hoping that this doesn't suck, lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm not nervous! I just read the first five chapters, and even though I feel like I was wallowing in a dust bin for a little while, I enjoyed it quite a lot. :)
ReplyDeleteDespite the anxiety within the group, I think it might turn out as great as Laura says. I asked some librarian friends about it and they were unanimous in the opinion that this book is amazing and I should have read it a long time ago because I have missed out.
ReplyDelete