The Pearl – John Steinbeck

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Approximate Reading Times

Quick Read: under 5 minutes
Short Story: 5 to 30 minutes
Novelette: 30 to 90 minutes
Novella: 1.5 to 2.5 hours

The News from Ireland
Novelette by William Trevor. Set during the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, the lives of those living behind the walls of a large English estate are contrasted with the misery of the rural poor. The issues are considered from multiple points of view, including those of servants and staff.
The Last Rung on the Ladder
Short Story by Stephen King. A boy saves his younger sister when she falls from a broken ladder. She comments: “You're my big brother. I knew you'd take care of me”. Later in life, he is too busy climbing a different ladder to be there when needed.
The Chef
Quick Read by Andy Weir. A psychologist reveals the truth about a murderess who claims to be a chef. It is only the very perceptive and those who follow Weir’s advice and read the story again knowing the outcome, who realize the true horror of the poor woman’s life.

The Other Wife / Woman
Quick Read by Colette. A recently married couple visiting a restaurant chance upon the husband’s ex-wife. The self-centered, controlling husband cannot understand why his first wife ended their relationship. The new marriage, in which the younger woman flirtatiously plays the part of a trophy wife, appears more to his liking.
LAFFF
Grade 5-6 Story by Lensey Namioka. A girl desperately wants to win the Best Story Award in her school’s annual writing competition. When she can’t come up with a story she is happy with, she decides to travel forward in time to copy the winning entry.
The Library of Babel
Short Story by Jorge Borges. The titular library is composed of a seemingly endless number of galleries full of books that don’t make sense. The librarians continually search for the gallery of a mythical “Man of Books”, thought to contain a compendium volume which may unlock the Library’s secrets.
Fatso
Quick Read by Etgar Keret. A man falls in love with a woman who is beautiful by day but turns into a fat, hairy man by night. The man and womanly side become lovers and even contemplate a family (ugh!), while he and the fat man become good friends.

Absalom’s Hair
Novella by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. An intelligent, independent twenty-one-year-old woman marries a dominant, sixty-year-old recluse. When she tries to leave, he cruelly confines her to his seaside estate. After his death, she spends the next ten years trying to control every aspect of their then twelve-year-old son’s life.
The Red Bow
Short Story by George Saunders. This dystopian story is a metaphor for the post 9-11 Afghan and Iraq Wars. When a child is fatally mauled, the dogs responsible are quickly identified and shot. Fearing rabies, paranoia sets in, leading to the killing of every dog and cat in the village.
A Haunted House
Quick Read by Virginia Woolf. A living couple share their home with two ghostly lovers who continuously search the house and garden for lost or hidden “treasure”. The treasure exists in both the hearts of the living couple and the cherished memories of the ghostly pair.