Yep. This is a low volume year for me. I’ll likely end on a decently high note, as I should finish 5 or 6 books in December. But November was a 1 book month. Unless I forgot a book. Which has happened before, but it doesn’t say much for the book or my reading abilities.

The Pastures of Heaven

John Steinbeck

I found a weathered, beaten copy of this after my basement flooded a few months ago. It was printed in the mid 40’s and was in the local library through the 60’s. The mysterious appearance of this old copy of this book is as interesting as the book itself. The Pastures of Heaven is the first I’ve read of Steinbeck. Somehow I never managed to read Of Mice and Men or The Grapes of Wrath. After reading this, they have moved up my to read list. The Pastures of Heaven is not considered one of his better works, but it was good, if slight.

The Pastures of Heaven is a connected short story collection. Each chapter is its own story, but together they tell the larger story of the town in the valley known as the Pastures of Heaven. The stories deal with small town life, poverty and family. It tells the story of the town as well as the people who live there. The themes aren’t really strong enough to tie the stories together, though. It is just a collection of loosely related stories, none of which are that interesting on their own. Still, its short, easy read that is just interesting enough to be worth it.

That is the only book I finished in November.