Steinback, John. Of Mice and Men, Penguin books, London, 2002 (first published in the USA by Covici, Friede, inc., 1937) paperback, 103 pages

Rating: 8/10 

In 2012, forty-two thousand books were published every day, a book every two seconds. That tells us the grand quantity of books we will never read. What is to be done? How to optimize the limited time available on this planet to find the best books? One solution is to look at the lists called 'the best one hundred books'. Of Mice and Men appears in most lists. I did not think its place in that list undeserving when I read it. 

It is a novella or rather a mid-size story that can be finished in one sitting. It is a story of two men, George and the simpleton Lenny, drifting from one ranch to another. They dream of buying a place they can call their own, a couple of acres with a few pigs, chicken and rabbit. After they come to work on a ranch in the fertile Salinas valley of California, their hopes begin to go awry. 

The book is full of dialogue, so much so that it could be performed as a play without writing another script. The book brings to life both the time and the geography. 

p.s. After reading the book, I thought one flew over the cuckoo’s nest had copied at least two key elements from this book.

Verdict: Possibly the quickest read if you wish to finish any "best 100 list". Presumably available free online.