Later that year, The New York Times Book Review polled celebrities for their favorite books.  Author Barnaby Conrad chose East of Eden, and in a letter to him, Steinbeck declared: “I am pleased you like Eden. It’s is doing better than I had dared to hope.  It is our tendency to think when critics do not like our work that they have a scunner [something that sickens, disgusts or bores].  I guess I just don’t bring out the best in critics.” 

— A Life in Letters (New York: The Viking Press, 1975)