The third of three...
Okay, I finished it last night...that is, To Kill a Mockingbird. What more can be said about an American classic! The reality is that I took a while to get engaged in the book (I think the vernacular got to me until I got used to it), but once engaged (about halfway through), I was hooked and couldn't put it down. Perhaps I am the exception...that it grabs everyone right away, but having read it, I am so glad that I did. I liked the characters; I liked the situations which are still contemporary. Does anyone else feel that way?
Now, I am back to reading a book I received from friends: Whoever Fights Monsters by Robert H. Ressler and Tom Shachtman. It is a far cry from To Kill.. I need to get back to the library.
Any suggestions would be welcomed!
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About Nancy
A pharmacist by profession, a haiku poet by nature, I read and write. I have a book of haiku, Ohayo haiku, am working on another somewhat alternative haiku book, but write other genres. I also read...lots of novels! My favorite is, and...
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Alas, Nancy, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was
the first and last book Harper Lee ever wrote.
Tequila Mockingbird
Dennis, you are, indeed. correct, but she did continue to write. Two essays were published in McCalls, one in Vogue, and another later one was published by Mercer University Press in 1985. What a shame she didn't write more.
Nancy, I just finished my
Nancy, I just finished my unit on Mockingbird with my freshmen; I have probably taught the book more than a dozen times.
How wonderful that you came to it as an adult--I envy you that experience!
How about McCullers; The
How about McCullers; The Member of the Wedding or Steinbecks; The Winter of Our Discontent...both excellent and still carry weight today, I think so at least.
I just heard a Mockingbird
I just heard a Mockingbird Minute (regarding Erie County's all county read) this morning. Apparently, the whole population of Kelley's Island is reading it, or at least, they are attempting to do so. One of the directors for the National Endowment for the Arts promises to do something stunt (like eating a copy of the book, for example) if it is accomplished. For those who may not be aware of it. Kelley's Island is part of the Lake Erie Islands and is part of Erie County in Ohio.
Thanks for the suggestions on other great reads, Mary. I think it is cool that your freshman have had the pleasure of reading it, Rosemary. I personally can't wait for my book group's discussion of it this month. I have enjoyed the opportunity to share book discussions with a diverse group of women (and one man) in our group called "The Book Exchange". We really exchange ideas and have read some really interesting reads in the past year or so.
My Grandson's take on Mockingbird
A few years ago, when one of my Grandson's was a tweener, we had all rented a cabin on the beach for a week that had a TV and a fairly extensive library of movies, no cable and about two channels that barely came in. No video games.
We all lollygagged on the beach, did a little body surfing (if we could stand the cold water) and talked a lot. Robert and his younger brother Charlie got a little antsy in the evenings, when they were used to playing computer games.
They weren't much interested in the Westerns and mostly older movies that were on hand, but we decided to give Mockingbird a try. Robert was transfixed. You could see the wheels turning as he tried to understand the world the movie portrayed.
He wondered why a lawyer would accept produce for payment--why didn't he just do it pro bono? I explained to them that it would be hurtful to the people he had helped if he didn't accept what little they could give him. And the scene where all the black people rise when Atticus is gathering up his papers after recieving a setback had his eyes wide open.
He asked some very adult sounding questions the rest of that week, things I think he had never considered before. I think, in that evening, he absorbed enough ideas to chew on for the rest of the summer.