Of Mice and Men / Cannery Row (2 Books in 1) Paperback – 1986

See, now here is a book with a good story and a writing style that draws you in. I hade recently picked up "The Catcher in The Rye" as I missed it in school, I think maybe our school was one of the ones that banned it. Anyway, I picked up the catcher to see what all the hype was about, I was kind of disappointed. Sorry, I just do not get what all the fuss and fan fair is about. But "Of Mice And Men", This is a great book. One of my favorites, Right behind Robinson Crusoe. \This book looks much like the picture but mine is more worn, has a little wear on the edges of the cover and the pages have that aged tea stained color and it smells old, Just the way I love em. Mine is actually from 1947.

This review is a work in progress. I have the 1953 book with an introduction by Joseph Henry Jackson. I found the introduction by Mr. Jackson to be very instructive and enjoyable. However it may be for more a student than the casual reader.My book is from The Viking Press. It contains six short novels. They are mostly chronological in the order that John Steinbeck published them. The one exception is that the first short novel in the book is "Tortilla Flat". The second is "The Red Pony". These were composed, I think, in the opposite order. Mr. Jackson explains this. These are followed by "Of Mice and Men", "The Moon Is Down", "Cannery Row", and "The Pearl".I read "The Red Pony First". There is a lot in "The Red Pony" which reminds me "Of Mice and Men". It is episodic. The first episode is "The Gift", which is about a child Jody, and his pony. It is beautiful, poignant, and ultimately painful. The second episode is "The Great Mountains". It actually is about a visitor to the same ranch that is the setting for first story. Jody and his family are in this story, along with an elderly visitor. The next episode is "The Promise" which is, more or less, a sequel to the first story. It is somewhat painful. The last episode is "The Leader of The People" which is a bittersweet story about a senior citizen member of the same family at the ranch. It is my personal favorite episode.I completely enjoyed this novella "Of Mice And Men". It is a relatively short work. It was written in 1937, before The Grapes of Wrath. I had previously read The Grapes of Wrath. I enjoyed this book more. I have very little formal education in regard to literature. So my opinion may be very faulty. Anyway, I felt this work was a more artistic work than The Grapes of Wrath.This work reminded me more of Ermest Hemingway. I was very impressed. As is common with many shorter works, the author leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The reader is left to speculate why certain issues develope and are resolved in certain manners. I felt all the aspects of the relationship between George and Lenny were slightly unclear. The book ended with me wishing I knew more about George. My guess is that is intentional on the part of Mr. Steinbeck.I would like to note that I purchased this "Of Mice and Men" on Kindle and at the same time purchased the audiobook narrated by Gary Sinise. I felt Mr. Sinise was really excellent and I highly recommend the audiobook version as read by Mr. Sinise. Mr. Sinise really added to the pleasure of the reading experience with his very professional performance.

Cannery Row by John SteinbeckI guess I never realized how much writing technique has changed over the years. This book make me understand the difference between then and now. It is all about a bunch of misplaced men making do with what little they have and being happy, not drowning in sorrow. Helping each other even if not totally understanding that other person. I enjoyed the book and recommend it for non-mystery readers.

Gary Sinise is the reader, which is a nice touch. I bought this audio for use in my classroom, which saves my voice. While Sinise does a great job, there are some drawbacks for using in the classroom:The CDs are not labeled with chapters and times. I originally thought there would be 2 chapters per cd but once chapter 2 ended, chapter 3 started, so this isn't the case. I can't speak for the other CDs, and perhaps this was a space issue, but a little annoying. In addition, I use the audio in different classes who are sometimes in different parts of the book, and having a Table of Contents sheet inside the box or on each CD would be great. Instead, I have to figure out what number track I have to skip to by stopping and listening if I didn't pay attention before and write down the track or time stamp during the previous reading (this can be easily forgotten if we get sidetracked or if I have to divert my attention elsewhere, which, with over 25 kids in a class, happens all the time).Sinise does a nice job lending voice to the different characters but some students find his narration boring (teenagers!), but that's subjective. He maintains an calm, monotone voice throughout the reading.Overall, if you're buying this for personal use than I would definitely recommend it; however, if you're a teacher than you may have the same issues I do. Not a deal breaker, but annoying that Penguin did not include something I thought was a given.

After watching an earlier episode of "The Walking Dead," many of the comments mentioned that the story line of the episode mimicked events from "Of Mice and Men." Having never read the book myself, I decided to download the short novella for fun.The story is about two men named George and Lennie as they try to find a way to make a living in California as farmhands. The pair are forced to be nomads due to the instability of Lennie, whom George takes it upon himself to care for. The only thing that keeps them both going is their dream of having a farm of their own one day, one where Lennie dreams of taking care of the rabbits, but the pair find out that this tiny beacon of hope may not be enough to get them through their current job.The introduction informs the reader that this novella was not meant to be historically accurate, but rather an expression of the feelings and lives of the men who wandered to California from the dust bowl in search of work. As an emotional expression, it works very well and leaves the reader feeling the hopelessness engulfing the lives of the men just trying to find a way to get by. It's short, sad, sobering and well worth the short time it takes to read.