Today, March 3rd, is the NEA’s 17th annual “Read Across America Day”. That sounds like a great reason to talk about books. I joined a new, online book club the first of the year. We vote on a book to read each month. So far we’ve selected:
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (January)
- My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales (February)
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (March)
“…a studio CD album, a DVD of our filmed collaborations and interviews, and a live performance series. We will also create an interactive website for readers to explore their understanding of the novel by looking at modern themes. Through storytelling, interviews and new original music inspired by the issues and characters from The Grapes of Wrath, this project aims to bring light to todays issues through exploring one of our greatest American novels.”
Here is the first leg of the journey as they retrace the original Route 66 path of the Joads.
I-40 has since replaced Route 66 but portions of it were still in existence when I was a child traveling with my family from California to visit our Oklahoma relatives. There are still portions of the old Route 66 in existence and there are some rather interesting roadside attractions along the way, including the Blue Whale of Catoosa which David and I visited last summer. In fact, Oklahoma still has 400 miles of old Route 66, more than any other state.
It took a bit of a search but I found my old copy of “The Grapes of Wrath” and will start it tonight when I go to bed.
I am so excited to read this book. I've always had it but have never made the time. Like most Oklahomans, my family's story spans the distance of Route 66 between Oklahoma and California. The scars of the Dust Bowl have long been washed away by the rain, but history is very much alive in this amazing state.
What do you think of the book so far? I've been so busy and have had some reading to do for our business that I've only read a few chapters. I really need to get in bed earlier so I'll have more time to read before I crash.