Next on my List, Jill Smolinski

I read this book for my Book Club which I am happy to say, I have been a part of for 2 months now. Its really nice to meet over wine and food to discuss the lastest time so I am definitely looking forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday.

I won't give a long review but just to say I enjoyed reading this book because it was heart warming, light read, though it had moments of sadness. June gave Marissa a ride home from their weight watchers meeting and they ended up in an accident in which Marissa died. June found a list of things Marissa wanted to do before her 25th birthday and decided to complete the items on the list as a means of honoring Marissa's life.

Well, I don't to give the book away so you will have to read the book if you want to know whether or not June completed the list. I will say that on the journey, June definitely changed her life for the better and inspired her friends and relatives along the way.

A good weekend read!

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Well written classic but extremely depressing. Follows the story of the poor Joad Family as they left Oklahoma for California to seek a better life during the depression. It shows the hardship and oppression suffered by migrant laborers during the Great Depression. The story starts with Tom Joad who was released from prison for killing a man during a fight. We follow Tom home and along the way, he meets Casey, his former Pastor -- they continue to Tom's home together only to find his family had to move and was living with Tom's Uncle John. The rest of the book gives an account of the Joad's journey to California where they hope to find work and start a new life. Everything that can go wrong -- goes wrong. From the death of the family's dog to their Grandpa then their Grandma long the way. When they arrive in California, its to find that they flyers that advertised work, were handed out to thousands of families so wherever the Joads show up for work, there would be hundreds of families wanting to work as well. This is a sinister plot by the landowners to decrease the wages paid to pick (whether fruit or cotton) and the poor "Okies" (as they are called) had to take the job so they can buy food for the families. This book is worth the read as it gives an account of life as a Migrant Laborer as he struggles with taking care of this family while trying to keep them together. My gripe with the book is that the ending is desperately sad and the characters disillusioned!