Every Friday, at 11:00 am, on the library’s YouTube Channel and Facebook Page, the library will stream a brand new recording of local thespian, Joseph Coté reading aloud selections from a wide variety of fascinating and entertaining books of fiction and non-fiction.
For January 12, Coté will read aloud from John Steinbeck’s book Travels with Charley: In Search of America.
We return to one of the most popular books in the three year history of our ‘Friday Explorations Read Aloud’ program with over 11,000 viewings.
Summary: Travels with Charley: In Search of America is a 1962 travelogue written by American author John Steinbeck.
It depicts a 1960 road trip around the United States made by Steinbeck, in the company of his standard poodle Charley. Steinbeck wrote that he was moved by a desire to see his country because he made his living writing about it. He wrote of having many questions going into his journey, the main one being “What are Americans like today?” However, he found that he had concerns about much of the “new America” he saw.
Steinbeck tells of traveling throughout the United States in a specially made camper he named Rocinante, after Don Quixote’s horse. His travels start in Long Island, New York, and roughly follow the outer border of the United States, from Maine to the Pacific Northwest, down into his native Salinas Valley in California across to Texas, through the Deep South, and then back to New York. Such a trip encompassed nearly 10,000 miles.
According to Thom Steinbeck, the author’s oldest son, the reason for the trip was that Steinbeck knew he was dying and wanted to see his country one last time.
Thoughts to share? Book ideas to suggest?
Leave a comment below or contact Joseph at friday-explorations@usa.net
5