Sunday, August 29, 2010

Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck



A couple of things about me: 1) I love to read. 2) I love animals. Maybe some of you remember this post in which I asked a librarian if the dog in Because of Winn Dixie dies at the end. I don't enjoy reading books where the animals die at the end.

In college, I was about two-thirds of the way through Travels With Charley and enjoying it when I asked a housemate who had read the book if Charley dies at the end. She paused, and then said, "Well, I guess if he didn't die, I would have said 'No' right away." That sealed it for me. If Charley was going to die at the end, I wasn't going to finish the book. I put it down and haven't picked it up since.

Just recently, my friend, Grace, asked me if I had read Travels With Charley and I told her why I hadn't finished it. She said, "But I don't think Charley dies at the end!" I was speechless. Grace offered to re-read the book to double-check for me. She added, "I'm pretty sure he doesn't die at the end."

Grace just reported back to me that Charley in fact does not die at the end, so now I can pick it up and read it again. Thanks, Grace!

And now, Grace is here as a Guest Blogger. Grace is a trusted friend, a fellow reader, and a fan of the public library.

From Grace:
I am very honored to be a guest writer here! I love books and blogs and Elaine's book blog is the best of both worlds!

Travels with Charley is Steinbeck's travelogue as he rambles across the country in his truck with his dog, Charley. (Incidentally, for those of you who are wondering, Charley the dog does NOT die). Reading it made me feel as if I was on a road trip with them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book the first time. And, on my second read, it still charmed me--which, in my opinion, is the mark of a good book.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That is the mark of a good book. Wow, still good on the second go! Thanks for the tip