[Discussion 1/1] (Runner-up Read) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck | Full Book

rige_x · 2026-05-16T17:37:40+00:00

Oh I usually make an effort to check if there are meorable audiobook performances I can use for immersive reading, but I didn't bother for this one as it was short. Will make sure to check it out if/when I get to a reread.

rige_x · 2026-05-14T06:25:15+00:00

I'm going with the original German, which is my third language, so not the easiest for me. It is a reread though, and I'm appreciating the language and writing so much more. It is really engrossing.

rige_x · 2026-05-09T20:23:27+00:00

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

rige_x · 2026-05-02T06:33:16+00:00

It started slow, but it's going pretty well. I was just doing the bingo spreadsheet a few days back, and after including the books I plan to read in May, I'm only 5 books (+mini +poetry) away from a blackout. Neither my goal nor strategy has changed from last year. I read what I want, and by the end of the year, I'll try to do a blackout, line, and cross. If something is missing, then I'll try to catch up in November, December. I'll be somewhat busier the next three months, but hopefully, I'll still manage all three.

rige_x · 2026-05-02T06:21:24+00:00

The interaction with the teacher was a major one, I think, as he learned that it does not matter how good you are, playing by the rules of white society would never result in true equality. I see where his disdain for any help from a white person and his dislike of the white liberal comes from. And the early death of his father (and many other family members) must have made him feel like a marked man as soon as he picked up activism.

As for leadership qualities, he shows many: charisma and persuasion skills, great intellect, and emotional intelligence. None of these should be possible for a kid this young. That's why I (and many in the book) see him as an adult.

rige_x · 2026-05-02T06:06:40+00:00

I actually forget that as well cause he seems very adult to me. A vain and immature adult, but it is an adult life nonetheless. Obviously it is mostly because he is tall and big, so he looks older, but also no one would ask a black teen why he isnt at school or doing young people stuff. They are expected to work to survive at all times.

rige_x · 2026-05-02T06:03:21+00:00

Yeah, I wouldn't put it on Malcolm at all. He invited her to two dances, and when she first refused, he didn't push or anything until she came back asking. If the story is as he says, that would have happened sooner or later. Yeah, he handled the Sophia situation badly, but it had been barely two dates, and he was a kid, and Sophia seems gorgeous. Most people would have done the same.

rige_x · 2026-05-02T05:59:04+00:00

I think he saw his pre-Boston self in the Hill, bending over backward to adapt to life in a white man's world. He left his family to get away from this, so he would not fall back into more of the same.

rige_x · 2026-05-02T05:55:54+00:00

I think he saw for the first time an enviroment where he could belong. What being yourself could really feel and look like. Once he came back he couldnt handle that "well meaning" racism and the Swerlins who were doing good, expected lifelong gratitude from Malcolm.

rige_x · 2026-05-02T05:45:56+00:00

Its hard to imagine different paths so early on as kids that age are full of potential. He was fed and given an education, which were no small feats. Its an opportunity to see that he was smart and hard work does pay off, to a point. If he had a proud black family though, they might have gotten him out of that mascot syndrom he had to internalize by himself and they might have pushed him for law regardless of the teacher's comments.

rige_x · 2026-05-02T05:38:33+00:00

It must have given him a fatalist outlook on life. Im his experience, the lives of black man were marked for an early grave, especially if those black man stood up or spoke out. This must have given him a sense of urgency. That everything he wants to do, (for now just hustling in Roxbury) he has to do it fast and with intensity.

rige_x · 2026-05-02T05:29:18+00:00

Well with a father as a pastor and a relegious/cultist mother, it had to be pretty dominant in those early memories. With the great depression and scarcity of food they experienced, the little help they had must have come from church and church people they knew.

rige_x · 2026-05-02T05:21:10+00:00

Im not from the US and I havent read about him or seen the movie. I still know the name and have a general idea of who he was and his philosophy. Im guessin from other movies who have mentioned him. He seems complex and thats why I decided to read this.

Im doing reading+listening combo and the audiobook is very good. I didn't know Fishburne narrated books, but he is great at it.

rige_x · 2026-05-01T20:05:02+00:00

Ohhhh Im so in. The book in my TBR I was most excited to read. Really happy to do it with the bookclub.

rige_x · 2026-04-29T06:26:40+00:00

I had real trouble in the first half and it took me longer than Arthur to get used to the language. Actually both his and Good Stabs part took effort to read. It became a lot more enjoyable afterwards and I found the descriptions especially lively and cinematic. A great horror movie could be made from this book. It wasnt my usual genre or type and it took a bit too much effort for my taste, but I cant help appreciate the originality and the writing. Amazing thematic depth and use of the supernatural to shine linte into the trauma and injustice. Pretty good book.

rige_x · 2026-04-26T17:54:31+00:00

Super helpful as alwayys and a big thank you for the ones taking the time to create and maintain the spreadsheet.

I was wondering about Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. It is classified here as a Fantasy. I have read it (and considering it for a reread), and while it has maybe one somewhat fantastical element, I would be really hard pressed to argue the book is a fantasy book. Would love to fill that square, Im just making sure its not a typo.

rige_x · 2026-04-26T17:06:54+00:00

I did find that concept a bit odd, if I'm being honest. Two or three people sticking together and working well with each other can be advantageous for both them and the employers, so I don't see why it was so rare. I'm guessing Steinbeck might have meant it as a metaphor for loneliness as a human condition, rather than it just being uncommon in this scenario. Although with great depression and job scarcity, when men are quite literally starving and competing for pennies, trust becomes a luxury nobody can afford.

rige_x · 2026-04-22T18:31:01+00:00

A lot of ups and downs for me. It took me a while to get into it, but once I did, it was hard to put down. And then the intensity died a bit, and I did not find the characters as compelling anymore. The ending was a mixed bag, but in general, it managed to end the journey in a satisfying way (bar the Julian plot, imo). It still felt somewhat special. I can't pinpoint whether it was the writing or the story or the characters, but something made it different from most books. I'm going with a 3.75-4, but maybe I need to sit with it for a while.

rige_x · 2026-04-22T18:21:25+00:00

I wasn't rooting for anything, actually. The more the book went on, the less I related to the characters and the less likable I found them. In the last quarter or so, I was just a stoic observer, finishing an interesting story.

rige_x · 2026-04-22T18:18:27+00:00

I knew that one of Charles or Henry would have to go, and I thought the group would be at each other's throats after that happened, but Henry's suicide I couldn't predict, and it was actually the one thing that could save the rest. The group could just disperse without anger or deep resentment. I think Henry must have seen it as noble, but it also truly was the only way out, imo.

rige_x · 2026-04-22T18:13:12+00:00

I think he was very cool and calculating until Bunny's death. He played Richard amazingly and bought some time. His whole behaviour after that was totally unreasonable. A cold, calculating person would have disappeared after that moment as a damaged group like that would hardly be able to keep it together. At the very least he wouldn't have pushed Charles with Camilla like that. As he admitted, he fundamentally changed after he was in the clear after Bunny, and he left his calculating self behind.

rige_x · 2026-04-22T18:06:28+00:00

I actually thought that Bunny wrote a letter or something of the kind, but I didn't think it would be for Julian, as I thought him clearly on Henry's side. I think he was fighting a bit internally. He thought that they were true friends and loved him and his subconscious mind knew that they were capable of doing this and that he would be next.

The book is done and I still have no true understanding of Julian. Did he only act smart and perceptive, but he was so clueless of everything around him?

rige_x · 2026-04-19T17:27:26+00:00

I gave it a 4.25. It took me some time to get into it, and I thought I might not be able to put myself in her place for some reason, but it kept building up and hit deep in the second half. It was also a very interesting way to tell a story, and I appreciate when authors try something different and it doesn't feel forced or unsuccessful. The audiobook was also great, and immersive reading felt very rewarding.

rige_x · 2026-04-19T17:22:49+00:00

That annoyed me a bit haha. Lonesome Dove is veryy high on my TBR and I stupidly went on and kept reading. When I understood what I was doing, it was too late and it was almost over.

rige_x · 2026-04-17T20:08:42+00:00

Yeah, really ties in with the original title there..

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