Wrong about Steinbeck. He wrote his share of PC — but he wrote his share of downright good stuff (very little of it his famous stuff). The Winter of our Discontent. East of Eden. Cannery Row. My favorite, Sweet Thursday. Good books are like works of art — you don’t buy a painting, look at it once, and put it away. Same with a great book. His are among the few books that re-read well. Especially Sweet Thursday ... pure mastery.
Nope. The quality of his writing was most generally at a high school level. The only decent thing he ever wrote was Travels with Charley and even that I had to struggle to finish.