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Jul 16, 2010

Lisa rated it:

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my very favorite all time books. My copy is so tattered it’s almost unreadable (so I did buy the 50th anniversary edition for actual further readings.) My copy is a paperback copy that was originally my mother’s; its cover price was 60¢. It’s one of only 4 books I’ve read at least 100 times; I read it for the first time when I was 12. I don’t know the book verbatim, but I know many passages by heart. I feel as though I have much of the book memorized. (The movie c More...

75 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jul 06, 2010

Cara rated it:

"Hell, I've fooled around with nobody but boys since first grade. I never think like I'm a girl, you've got to remember that or we can never be friends." Idabel Tompkin in Truman Capote's novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms. The two most gifted novelists in American Literature Harper Lee and Truman Capote are both from Monroeville, Alabama. God bless Alabama!!! This book shares many different view points, and thoughts on the novel To Kill a Mockingbird...This collection of interviews is a More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 27, 2011

Leslie rated it:

Let me start by saying I absoloutely loved this book. When presented with the question in a class a few years ago asking, "If the world today were like Farenheit 41 and you could opt to rebel and memorize one book to save for future societies, what would it be?" Without hesitation, or delay, my answer was obvious, To Kill a Mockingbird. Each year I read this book at least four times as I teach it to three classes and every year I love it more. In honor of the 50th anniversary this More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 15, 2010

Katy rated it:

This book was mostly a "meh" book for me. I went in to this book thinking it was a series of essays about To Kill a Mockingbird and its effects on society. In reality the book is more like a series of love letters to To Kill a Mockingbird that all say more or less the same thing. "Harper Lee was brave;" "it's obvious Truman Capote had no part in writing it;" "I wish there were more books by Harper Lee" etc

I did think the author that suggested H More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 01, 2010

Ann rated it:

Although I came away with few new and enticing witticisms on the writing of the book or the making of the movie, I still found Mary McDonagh Murphy's novel engaging. It strikes me odd how so many of us continue to beg for a sequel of Mockingbird, even with the knowledge and respect that Harper Lee wishes for privacy and seclusion.

Mary Badham, the person who played Scout in the movie, gave one of many wonderful interviews. Hopefully without ruining her words, I very much enjoyed find More...

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Jul 06, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all-time favorite books and is the book that I re-read regularly. In this book, Mary Murphy compiles narratives from interviews of celebrities where they reflect on the impact TKAM had on them. While Part I of the book is interesting, it pulls in many key quotes from the interviews, making it redundant. Also, one sentence in Andrew Young's interview implied he never read TKAM, leaving me feeling like the interview should be omitted.

The book has man More...

5 comments like

Dec 29, 2010

Miss Leacock rated it:

Strange organization -- first section doesn't seem to be ordered in any way, and second section seems like transcripts of interviews the author did with different people (transcripts that also don't seem to follow any method of organization -- it's difficult to read disjointed paragraphs! I'm really wondering if anyone edited this book -- I've really never seen such disconnected paragraphs!).

This book is not what I thought it would be: I thought it would be a collection of the autho More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 24, 2010

Gary rated it:

If you don't already love To Kill a Mockingbird, you probably wouldn't pick up this book anyway. But if To Kill a Mockingbird is your book, and it is mine, then this tribute is a great read.

The contributors include a mix of authors, artists, thinkers, celebrities, and residents of Monroeville, Alabama. The book is nicely edited in that it shuffles these various perspectives so that if we read it in order, we move easily among these insights and emerge with a satisfying blend of way More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 26, 2010

Julia rated it:

Is essays and interviews based on a PBS documentary of the same name by the same author. Wally Lamb writes: “For a lot of kids, it’s the voice of Scout. It’s certainly not the adult voice of Jean Louise Finch. It’s Scout’s voice.” James McBride writes: “Honesty and truth last. My initial response was more or less the same as how I read it now professionally. The writer was very forthright and spoke with great clarity about issues that I think we have a hard time discussing even today. Later, whe More...

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Jul 09, 2010

Eileen rated it:

When I was choosing categories here on goodreads.com, I thought to myself, "How often does one read a memoir of a book, not a person?" Mary McDonagh Murphy reflects on "To Kill a Mockingbird" in her non-fiction work, "Scout, Atticus, and Boo," and the book is very much a memoir of TKAM.

The chapters, some from Nelle Harper Lee's family (Alice Finch Lee); many from other authors (Wally Lamb, Anna Quindlen); some from those associated with the film (Mary Ba More...

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Oct 15, 2011

Ryan rated it:

I enjoyed most the thinking about Mockingbird while I read what other people thought of it. I guess I was not a Scout person - I mean, I liked Scout, but never thought of her as the focus of the book, the main character...but did like thinking of which was my favorite character. I find I don't have a favorite of all times - usually its who I connect with whenever I read the book. Sometimes I need Calpurnia or Atticus most. Other times, I need Jem, or Miss Maudie or even Uncle Jack. If required t More...

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Jul 20, 2011

Irene rated it:

I saw the documentary Hey, Boo at the Tucson art house theater. The programming director frequently introduces the films and during his intro for this one, he mentioned this book, which was published during To Kill a Mockingbird's 50th anniversary year. This book consists of an introduction on Harper Lee and the impact of her novel with 26 interviews of people giving their perspective on her novel and the impact it had on their lives. The documentary takes pieces of this book and weaves them More...

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Dec 29, 2010

Sandi rated it:

When I was growing up, we received a book every quarter from Reader's Digest Condensed Books. For those of you too young to remember these treasures, a Readers Digest Condensed Book contained abridged versions of 4-5 recent releases and bestsellers. When I was about 8 years old, in third grade, I picked up one of these volumes that contained To Kill a Mockingbird. That story grabbed me and taught me about race, justice, and acceptance. I saw the world completely through Scout's eyes. Being More...

8 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jul 27, 2010

Liz rated it:

Not too sure what to think of this book. It's like a way for other people to get recognition for liking a book. That sounds cold but it's kinda what I think. I'll finish it, though.

Finished.

While this book is supposed to be comprised of essays, I'd have to say these are more like long thoughts. Essays, for me, as supposed to be well thought out. These, for the most part, are not.

The last 50-70 pages comprise the better "essays". I would almost ski More...

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Aug 05, 2011

~mad rated it:

Sunday, 31 July 2011

Scout, Atticus and Boo
Just finished reading this book, published in 2010 on the occasion of celebrating 50 years ofTO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.

This book is a collection of reflections of numerous folks, Mary Badham, Andrew Young, Alice Finch Lee to name only a few, on the first adult book that many of us remember reading, a book the millions of "us" have in common.
It is only 217 pages yet full of remembrances that many of we "South More...

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Sep 12, 2010

Ellen rated it:

Not as good as I expected. I think the different essayists would have had more of an impact on me. I'd read about the relationship between Capote and the character of Jem in the novel and I'd also recently read a biography of Harper Lee - nothing new was really covered in this series of essays about the book or the film. I grew up in a town like the one Scout and the other kids grew up in. My parents were ardent in their support of desegregation and civil rights. My father looked a lot like Greg More...

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Aug 30, 2010

Siobhan rated it:

I guess it’s not surprising that I was disappointed in this book. Mary McDonagh Murphy collected reflections by numerous people on what they thought of To Kill a Mockingbird to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the book’s publication. She talked about show much she liked the book; she’s read it three times.

Three times!!!! I had read it that often by the time I was 12. I’ve read it hundreds of times by this point. It’s one of the two books with which I have a relationship (the other i More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jul 16, 2010

Sue rated it:

I am currently reading this celebration of the impact of To Kill a Mockingbird....a collection of essays by famous actors and writers which describe the impact of this amazing book. Appropriate to celebrate this book on the 50th anniversary of its publication...great American classic.

Just finished the book last night..really enjoyed reading the perspectives on this book. It truly is a great American novel which stands the test of time. Many people stated, and I agree, that certain " More...

2 comments like

Nov 10, 2010

Lindsey rated it:

The first forty pages of this book are Murphy's editorial summary of the interviews that follow, and I have to say I found this part of the book annoying. She really doesn't add anything, but instead just gives us a preview of what we're about to read. Luckily, the interviews themselves are wonderful. There is quite a varied collection of perspectives here, but they all reinforce what an accomplishment Lee's novel was and how deeply it still touches readers.

I recently realized tha More...

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Sep 12, 2010

Jessica rated it:

To Kill a Mockingbird is my favorite book and it celebrated its 50th anniversary this July. This book is a collection of interviews from various celebrities and authors about TKAM's influence on American culture, and also some background on author Harper Lee/how the book was written.

I read a biography of Harper Lee a few years ago which was very through and detailed so there wasn't much in the beginning section of this book that I didn't already know. But it was still fun to read a More...

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Jul 12, 2010

Mark rated it:

The first third of the book is an interesting historical essay about the writing & publishing of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (which is 50 years old this year) and the filming of the movie. It quotes liberally from the rest of the book, a series of interview transcripts done for a documentary film with a wide variety of people connected to Harper Lee.

The essay is very interesting - but it harvests the best bits (for the most part) from the remaining interviews, which makes them less appealing More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 14, 2010

cheryl rated it:

This compilation is a celebration of Harper Lee's beloved novel. I am among the many who fell in love with the book on first read and I have reread it many times. Wally Lamb provides a foreword that is followed by a section in which Murphy provides a bit of insight into the book's history. The real meat of the book is the series of reflections from notable readers including Harper Lee's sister, the actress who played Scout in the film, Oprah Winfrey, Andrew Young, and many others including actor More...

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Jun 28, 2010

Joy rated it:

Sounds like a must for Mockingbird fans! Later... and it is!

I first read To Kill a Mockingbird when I was in junior high and I still have the paperback copy I bought then which cost a whopping 95 cents! It's pages are very yellow so when I saw the 40th anniv. edition last year (in a beautiful hard-cover edition) I snapped it up.

Scout, Atticus & Boo made me want to read Mockingbird again. It's full of lovely essays from great writers and journalists including Wally Lam More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 24, 2011

Laura rated it:

This books is pointless. I mean, who doesn't love To Kill a Mockingbird, but I really don't think this book had much of anything to say at all. The first section is just the author/editor pulling quotes from the interviews you're going to read in the second half. And the interviews are, I think, just transcripts, which means they're written like people speak - kind of disorganized, and not very eloquent. And mostly they're just like, "Oh, boy, I loved this book/movie. Scout was fun. It made More...

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May 02, 2011

Stacy rated it:

Being that "To Kill a Mockingbird" is one of my very favorite books in the whole wide world, I thought I might enjoy a book of essays on the novel. I did. I loved getting to think about the book from a variety of perspectives. For some people, it was all about Scout and for others it was Atticus. Many writers are from the South and share their take on growing up in a Southern town. Some of the writers personally knew Harper Lee or Nell as they call her. It made me reflect on why More...

2 comments like

May 21, 2011

Ellen rated it:

I always thought of To Kill a Mockingbird as my personal property - the characters lived in my head and heart alone. This collection of interviews and observations really brought home the reality of the importance of Ms. Nelle Harpers' words and I am delighted to find a club of sorts who mouth the drawling speeches in the courtroom and walk hand in hand with Scout on those hard dirt roads. As I read of others who return to this novel time and again, I found myself remembering passages and wantin More...

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Jun 09, 2011

Jack rated it:

I read this after seeing the documentary on Saturday at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. If I had not just seen it or if you haven't seen it, then the rating would have been higher. The book is basically the same interviews she got on tape for the film with some additional content and several people who were cut from the film. The documentary I loved!! Coming out on the 50th anniversary of the publication of the novel. I will say however that another view of the film will be in order! LOL More...

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Jul 24, 2010

Scott rated it:

In spite of giving Truman Capote an extensive trashing, this is a fitting tribute to the 50th aniversary of a great American novel. The opening essay is amazingly through and informative. Personal essays form the second portion of the book. These are written from such a myriad of vantage points, Harper Lee's 98 year old sister to Oprah Winfrey. They also swing a wide range in terms of quality and realivance. The 1963 film adaptation is also discussed extensively. Much praise is given to th More...

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Jul 19, 2010

Claudia rated it:

Oh, my. If you teach this book or have ever wanted to teach it, you must read this one. Deep analysis of what the book means, personally, to other authors and public figures.

Murphy asked people to just talk about the book, to talk about which characters they identified with, and to choose their favorite passage to read. I loved reading Wally Lamb, Ricky Bragg, Anna Quindlen talk about the book...everyone ends up talking about Truman Capote (Dill) and the controversy over whether or More...

2 comments like

Jul 02, 2010

Stefanie rated it:

I usually enjoy reading what an author says before reading a book, and this time was no exception. The problem? When I actually got to the individual interviews it was deja vu after deja vu. It turns out that the author's words were written with almost direct quote by quote of what the inverviewees said. I did not enjoy that.

I also had a hard time enjoying reading the interviews of people I had never heard of. Perhaps that is my own ignorance, but I did not enjoy it.

More...

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