Currently Reading: The Grapes of Wrath

Here ends the first week of my challenge and the verdict is in: I'm crazy.
Everyone whom I've told about my challenge has given me that same boggle-eyed, open-mouthed stare and I know that the first words out of their mouth will be something along the lines of "Are you out of your mind?". There are times when I'm slogging through the slow parts of The Grapes of Wrath and I think to myself, "What on earth am I doing?". I know it certainly won't be the last time I say that, but slogging through books has become oddly satisfying. Even if I only sit down and read five pages or two pages or one, slowly but surely, I'm moving through.
As far as the book itself goes, it is certainly not a suspenseful novel, but I keep reading on because I have become so invested in the Joads' well-being, whether they will find work or starve, basically if it's going to have a sad or happy ending. But my favorite parts are the two-, three-page chapters where Steinbeck leaves the plotline and explores the historical and physical setting of the story, providing background and depth to the plot. Absolutely gorgeous prose in its own way.