This was originally given to me by my dear mom, who knows I’ve fantasized for ages about a countrywide road trip with my pooch, Molly. The book was published in 1962, the same year Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his work. It’s beautiful and surprisingly hilarious at points. Here is a brief description: “With Charley, his French poodle, Steinbeck drives the interstates and the country roads, dines with truckers, encounters bears at Yellowstone and old friends in San Francisco. Along the way, he reflects on the American character, racial hostility, the particular form of American loneliness he finds almost everywhere, and the unexpected kindness of strangers.