Sweet Thursday, by John Steinbeck

A public library book read and reviewed for LibraryThing in April, 2014

A sequel to Cannery Row. This one is more plot-driven and not so much a series of vignettes, as Cannery Row was, even though it is its sequel and carries on the stories of nearly the same characters and the same setting. This picks up after the interruption of World War II, after Doc returns from the battlefield. He has changed inwardly, lacking the satisfaction with his life that he enjoyed before. His friends at the Palace Flophouse and the Bear Flag attempt with humorous and poignant results to come to his rescue.

Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck

A public library book read and reviewed for LibraryThing in April, 2014

A revealing and intimate look at individuals often overlooked by "dressed for success" nine-to-five suburbanites. Everyone has his own way of looking at life, his own hopes and dreams, regrets and failures. This was very well written, as one would expect from Steinbeck. However, I became irritated at Mack's frequent, almost constant use of "I and the boys". If I were Doc, I'd find it hard to resist correcting him, but Doc knew it would be useless.