I was looking forward to reading this since it's been on my shelf for so long. Alas, I'm just not at all impressed with Wallace's 1972 best seller. The subject, publishing a New Testament Bible, is intriguing...but the writing style and characters are completely boring. I found myself saying, "Blah, blah, blah, and skimming ahead. So after 80 pages I've decided I've got lots better books to tackle and will not plod through the remaining 500 pages. Big relief to take this one off my shelf! So, Janice, you can roll the dice for my second list.

THE GRAPES OF WRATH  by John Steinbeck

I wish Mr. Steinbeck was alive today to continue his assessment of the marginalization of the economically oppressed in our society. Instead of reading this classic, I listened to an abridged audio production. It was delightful to hear the different voices of each character, although I'm sure in doing so, I missed some powerful and emotional passages. The message is no less important today than it was 75 years ago, in fact, it is perhaps of greater importance since the gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen.

The plight of the Joad family as they traveled from Oklahoma to California looking for a better life, was filled with hope and despair. From Ma Joad, who always believed that one should never lose hope, to Rose of Sharon, the pregnant and abandoned daughter-in-law, who never was able to see a way out. However, Steinbeck created a bizarre twist at the end of the novel that gives the reader a sense that there is always something that can be done to make life a little better.