The Red Pony and The Moon Is Down, Steinbeck.
I really liked the latter. It's a short novel about an imaginary Nazi invasion of a small Northern European town.
Oh I eventually ended up loving Cannery Row.
Something that makes it hard to read Steinbeck (besides someone getting their head blown off once in a while) is that there's usually something awful happening to animals. I obviously like his style, though, or I wouldn't keep reading more. I have a few more short novels of his to read here.
Paused the Steinbeck binge to read Ray Bradbury's short stories:
Dandelion Wine
The Foghorn
The Veldt (really fuckin Freudian)
My faves so far. The guy sounds like García Márquez or Borges sometimes when he blurs reality and fantasy. I didn't know he was that poetic. Sometimes I even have to slow down because it's a lot. Underappreciated, though.