Taking A Closer Look At John Steinbeck

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When looking at a list of names of some of the greatest writers of the 20th century, one of the names that will be most familiar to people – even to people who do not regularly read – is John Steinbeck, but because of the vast number of books that Steinbeck wrote (some of which, quite frankly, are not that highly regarded), it can be difficult to know where to begin when reading Steinbeck. Here are three books to consider reading if you are wanting to get to know Steinbeck, as these three books will give you a good idea of who Steinbeck was as a writer, and of what he hoped to accomplish.

The Grapes of Wrath, which some believe to be the “Great American novel,” was not only Steinbeck's most well-known work, but is one of the most well-known works in the history of American literature; this book is long and, in the view of some, somewhat imposing, but if you take the time to read it you will certainly be happy that you did, as you will have enjoyed one of the great works to have come out of the last hundred years, while also getting to know Steinbeck extremely well.

Steinbeck published the novel East of Eden about 15 years after The Grapes of Wrath was published; in recent years, the interest in this book has risen, and many people feel that it is an even better work than The Grapes of Wrath – and certainly, it is a more mature version of Steinbeck's writing, with a story that has a very similar feel.

And one of the main reasons why Steinbeck has so many books listed in his bibliography is because he was as well known for his short novellas as he was for his lengthy novels. One of his best short works – and certainly his most well-known – was a little gem called Of Mice and Men, and once you read this, you will finally have a full understanding of the poignancy and power of Steinbeck's works.

Bike Transportation for Any Car

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Biking has become one of the most popular forms of exercise and enjoyment around. Riding a bike can be done anywhere throughout the country and any age group can do it. Yet in many cases people feel the want to ride a bike in somewhere other than their home area. Their homes are often far away from the trails they want to ride, which can be located in distant places. Transporting a bike to these trails becomes the difficulty. The room provided in most cars is not sufficient to transport passengers along with bikes.

Swagman created a two bike hitch mount rack for situations where bikers wanted to transport their bikes to far away trails. This rack slides into the trailer hitch of most small cars and trucks. It doesn't require any maintenance after the easy installation on your car. The ability to fold into a compact size is great for those that may not use it for long periods. This is very important for those with small storage space.

Swagman XC Cross Country 2 Bike Hitch Mount Rack.

This rack can carry two bikes of any different style around. There are no issues with carrying any bike, from track bikes for adults to small bikes for kids. If there is a need to carry four bikes there is a separate attachment to accommodate these situations. Care will also be provided to any bike that is carried. To protect the finish on the bikes within the rack the grip arms are covered with a soft, durable material. Bikes can easily be beat up by many bike racks when carried over long distances.

A feature that many people will love is the fact that no wheels need to be removed during transport. This feature will be warmly embraced by those who have had to remove wheels for transport before. So don’t confine yourself to trails that are in your immediate area. Ride trails that are in nearby states or maybe when on vacation too. Throughout the world there are beautiful bike trails that you will find.

Tips For Maximizing Your Use Of Amazon Author Central

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After you have written a book, one of the most important steps will be for you to market the book successfully - after all, marketing the book will enable people to know that the book exists, and if people do not know a book exists, they will never be able to take the step of purchasing it! When it comes to getting the word out about your book, there are plenty of different things you can do, but considering that Amazon is one of the places where people visit most frequently, one of the best places for you to focus your attention is also on Amazon - using Amazon Author Central.

The reader reviews are one of the main things prospective readers will look at when they visit a book's page on Amazon, but they are also likely to look at the reviews posted in the "Editorial Reviews" section; this is the section where you can take great snippets from official reviews of your book, posting them on the Amazon page of your book in order to encourage readers to make that leap toward purchasing your work.

Due to the manner in which certain fonts translate onto the Amazon web page, you will also find that some funky formatting and characters show up in the description of many books on Amazon; in Amazon Author Central, you can change the description so that these odd characters do not show up.

People can also go to the author's "Home Page" on Amazon by clicking on the author's name, if the author uses Amazon Author Central; on this page, you can link to your blog and your Twitter, and you can even write a letter to readers - which provides you with a great way to share your thoughts on the book with prospective readers.

There are a lot of things you can do in order to get the word out about your book, but using Amazon Author Central is a big thing, as Amazon is one of the most visited sites on the internet, and being in control of what readers see when they visit Amazon is certainly no bad thing!

Keeping Your Backyard Beautiful

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The last thing you want to do when you have wrapped up a long day at work and have come home at last is sit on your deck or patio and look at a yard that looks ugly. But at the same time, it is rare that you will come home from a long day at work and think, "Okay, I am going to work on the yard now!" If you want to be able to come home to a beautiful yard, but do not want to spend all your free time on it, you need to know these time-saving tips.

One of the keys to keeping your lawn beautiful is, quite naturally, the way in which you water the lawn; if you do not water it properly, it will be a lot less beautiful. And when it comes to proper watering, the rules are actually a bit different from what you might have thought; in fact, you should not water every day! Even though you will give your grass a lush, green color by watering it every day, it will be bad for the roots of your grass in the long run. You should instead water your grass a couple days a week, making sure it gets about one inch of water each week.

Even though it might not be convenient for you to water in the morning, this is also important for you to do, as this is the best time of day for the grass to be watered. Water in the morning a couple days a week, and this will help your grass grow lush, strong, and healthy.

If you usually water your lawn several days a week, you will actually be saving time in this way, and your lawn will become more beautiful and healthy without you hardly doing anything different. The other main thing to keep in mind, for saving time and energy and still having a lovely yard, is that you need to keep your mower in good shape. Make sure that your lawn mower is working smoothly, and that it is in good repair, as this will help you make your yard look great with a lot less work. When it is in disrepair, however, this will not be a good situation for your yard, or for you!

Things To Think About Before Proposing

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A lot of the smaller details that women consider to be important are lost on most guys; of course, this is expected of guys – and even on something as special as a marriage proposal, you can get away with making some of the mistakes you would be better off avoiding – but you will win yourself a lot of points (and will seriously endear yourself to your future wife!) if you make sure you take care of the little things that matter to her. To every female, the “little things” will be different, and you will need to make sure you get a good feel for what the important “little things” are for your significant other, but you will also help out your cause if you know the little things (the little things listed below!) that pertain to every female.

There are some guys who imagine it will be a good idea for them to propose to their girlfriend with all their friends around, while others think it will be fun to propose with just the two of them sharing the moment together; the truth of the matter is, there is no definitive answer as to which is better – but every girl has their own idea of which is better, and you will want to make sure you know what their idea is!

Whether or not there will be pictures taken of the proposal is another thing along these same lines; of course, pictures should be pretty well taken care of if you are proposing around friends, but if you are proposing alone, your girlfriend may still want pictures, in which case you will need to have friends hiding somewhere close by so that they can take care of this!

And finally, having a plan for what you will do after you propose (and hopefully get an acceptance!) will be important – whether the two of you are going to spend the rest of the evening alone with one another, or whether it will be more fun to meet up with close friends and family for an engagement party.

Knowing the answers to these three questions may not automatically give you the perfect proposal, but it will certainly put you well on your way!

How To Leave A Guest Room Looking Better Than How You Found It

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If you have stayed in a hotel before, you know that there is no need for you to worry about anything in the room - either when you go out for the day, or when you leave the hotel for good - as the cleaning staff at the hotel will take care of everything from the sheets to the bathroom to the floor to the trash. But when you are staying in the guest room at a friend's house (or at the house of a friend of a friend!), it will be important for you to realize that you are not staying in a hotel - and that you should do everything you can to leave the guest room looking even better than it looked when you entered it in the first place!

The first thing you will want to do, when looking to leave a guest room even better than how you found it, is to make sure everything in the room is clean and tidy; oftentimes, the way a room "looks" at first glance will overshadow the way a room actually is, so you will want to do everything you can to make the room look neat, organized, and tidy before you leave.

Once you have taken care of the aesthetics of the room, you will want to move onto the real stuff - particularly, the sheets; if you are staying in a guest room at someone's home, they will have to change the sheets after you leave, so you can help them with this by washing the sheets yourself, and then making the bed with these fresh sheets before you head on your way.

And although you may have done your best to keep everything clean during your stay in the guest room, there is still the probability that you left some dirt behind you, so take the time to vacuum (or sweep) the floor of the room in which you stayed, so that everything will look great when you leave - and so that your host will have very little left to do in order to prepare for the next guests who might come their way!

Training Your Cat To Use The Litter Box

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It is generally believed that cats, unlike dogs, cannot be trained to do anything but whatever they feel like doing at the time. And while this might be true in some regards, litter box training is actually quite easy. Starting when the cat is still young is the absolute best thing you can do to ensure that your cat learns to use a litter box. Your cat will probably not present you with any real problems at all if you get started when they are still a kitten. If you wait until your cat is no longer a kitten, the process becomes a bit more diffiuclt.

With a kitten, there is a chance you will end up with a couple small accidents before things go just right, but also keep in mind that a cat's instinct is to cover up their business when they finish. They will get used to the litter box very quickly and easily because of this instinct. Set them in the litter box every once in a while when they are little. Heap a whole bunch of praise onto your little kitten the first time they use the litter box! Your cat will want to maintain the behavior that made you so happy with them, because - just like dogs - cats respond well to positive reinforcement. Just make sure that you keep praising them for a while each time they use the litter box.

The same basic principles of setting the cat in the litter box and praising them when they use it holds true when you are litter box training an older cat. If you have a mostly-outdoor cat who is staying inside because of inclement weather, this can be more difficult. Because they are entrenched in their habit of going outside, they are less likely to find a spot you want them to find inside! But keep putting them in that litter box, and keep your fingers crossed.

If you have an adult cat who is trained for the litter box, but are refusing to use it, they are either upset with you or they do not like the litter that is in there. If changing the litter does not work, then you have to do everything within your power to mask the smell in the new spot they started using! Cats will return to the same spots; this makes it easy on you if they are using the litter box, but it can sure make it tough if they are not!