This is the question that is raised upon news (as revealed in an interview with the New York Times) that Bruce Springsteen had never read The Grapes of Wrath when he wrote and recorded the song/album "The Ghost of Tom Joad," named after the central character of the John Steinbeck novel.

After being asked what books he was embarrassed to have not read, Springsteen was frank: "I read The Grapes of Wrath very late, long after I'd written the song "Ghost of Tom Joad." However, it ended up being everything I'd hoped it to be. I haven't read East of Eden yet, and I'd like to."