3 short books worth reading

I have three recomendations for this week - two of them are under 100 pages!

The Pearl is the story of a poor fisherman who finds the pearl of a lifetime - and what happens next. It’s a technical masterpiece - every word is poignant, true, and spare. It’s Steinbeck making his best attempt to dethrone Hemingway, and it comes dangerously close to doing so.

Books Worth Reading@worthwhilebooks

Just finished “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck. Wow. Steinbeck isn’t taking prisoners - be prepared to become emotionally invested. Be prepared to think about this one for the next few weeks if not months. 10/10

4:50 PM · Feb 19, 2023

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Quotes: “For it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more. And this is said in disparagement, whereas it is one of the greatest talents the species has and one that has made it superior to animals that are satisfied with what they have.”

Why is it worth it? This is one of the greatest short novels of all time. It’s up there with Hemingway’s Old Man And The Sea, and Steinbeck’s other masterwork, Of Mice and Men. That alone makes it worthwhile. But it also has a special moral strength that makes it a powerful building block for argumentative thought. The Pearl is saying something about a universal topic (greed) without preaching. (Rare for JS, whose novels are corrupted by endless left-wing soapboxing) Whether you agree or not your intellectual understanding of human nature, greed, money, and family will be enriched by reading this.

This next book is radically different.