Seconded, great review bl00. I might still end up reading this just for the sake of reading it, it seems worth the time to get through it. Adding Ariely my reading list for sure. As for East of Eden, it's my favorite work of fiction that I've read. The book is a juggernaut and is an unwinding of history melded with a beautifully described Salinas Valley. A couple of important notes are that 1. The novel was intended for his two young children, such that they may remember his world and 2. Steinbeck viewed everything else he had written was practice for this novel. Source here. I think that when he describes a book as being like a man, it reflects what East of Eden is. I'm looking forward to reading the review of this book, regardless of if it's received well by the bl00.