Wordy Words on WordsI’m a HUGE Steinbeck guy. I think that no author in the history of books has been able to capture the human condition - the struggle of it all - quite like him.<br>
<br>
And this book? This book was pretty good.<br>
<br>
It’s a little long for what I took to be the meaning of it, but still worth your time.<br>
<br>
It focuses on a guy who decides to go west. As he goes, his father dies and the guy feels that his dad’s soul is inhabiting a tree on his new property. He talks to it and gets on with a prosperous life.<br>
<br>
Eventually the kin-folk come and you know if there’s more than five people in a room, chances are one is a religious nut.<br>
<br>
And guess what? One’s a religious nut.<br>
<br>
The nut tries to convince the guy that it’s sacrilegious to treat the tree like it houses his dad’s spirit and, just before he leaves to go find more of his kind (or some bullshit), the nut KILLS THE TREE.<br>
<br>
Says it’s for the best.<br>
<br>
And the guy’s prosperous life crashes and burns like you wouldn’t believe.<br>
<br>
And *I* take this to mean you should keep your religion to yourself because you interfering because you know best can ruin someone’s life.<br>
<br>
I’ll say it again: trying to force your religious beliefs on someone else can ruin their lives with zero benefit. You’re not winning souls, you’re actively trying to hurt people.<br>
<br>
When I mention Steinbeck to younger readers, they balk at the idea of reading him. His books are old and he’s a white man. What could he possibly add to the current conversation?<br>
<br>
But the mind-blowing fact is that his books are WILDLY relevant today. Maybe even more than when they were written.<br>
<br>
Why do you think his stuff is always selected for banning?<br>
<br>
THESE are the books you should be reading if you’re one of those “I read banned books,” folks because it is BLATANTLY obvious why those in power would not want you to read them.<br>
<br>
<a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/books?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#books</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/bookrecommendation?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#bookrecommendation</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/booktok?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#booktok</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/bookstagram?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#bookstagram</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/booksky?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#booksky</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/readersofpixelfed?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#readersofpixelfed</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/read?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#read</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/readinglog?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#readinglog</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/johnsteinbeck?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#johnsteinbeck</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/toagodunknown?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#toagodunknown</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/literature?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#literature</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/classics?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#classics</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/bannedbooks?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#bannedbooks</a>