The Grapes of Wrath Readalong: One Part Crazy, Another Part Thrilled

Yesterday, I stumbled into a Grapes of Wrath Readalong over at Devouring Texts, and even though the sane part of my brain said not to, I decided to join.

I am one part this:

And one part this:

The Grapes of Wrath is on my list of potential books to read to complete one of the final categories of the Back to the Classics Challenge, and there are some really great participants... so how could I say no? It's like it was destiny.

The only Steinbeck I've read that I actually remember is East of Eden. I know I read Of Mice and Men in middle school (high school?) and that it was sad. Really, really, really sad. But this is my first pass at Grapes of Wrath, and despite the fact that it is one of Steinbeck's most famous novels, I'm ashamed to say I know very little about it. Except that the dude on the cover of my Penguin edition is kind of a stud, and that the book is set during the Great Depression, and therefore I expect it to be great and depressing.

Forward, ho! Reactions to Chapters 1-11 to come next week.