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To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee

Start date: October 1, 2025

Finish date: December 31, 2025

Discussion: Current Group Reads

Why we're reading this: Most Recent Read
Moderators Run Amok - 4th Qtr. 2025

Previous Reads
May 2014 Contemporary Classic Read (New…more
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Moderators Run Amok - 4th Qtr. 2025

Previous Reads
May 2014 Contemporary Classic Read (New School)
May 2016 Revisit the shelf
Feb 2023 Buddy Read

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Group Discussions About This Book

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Current Group Reads

* The Republic of Plato - No Spoilers
By Sara , New School Classics · 18 posts · 48 views

last updated 19 minutes ago

* The Last September - Spoilers
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What Members Thought

Oct 19, 2010 Ashley rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I don't really want to write a lot about this book because it was so AWFUL!!!!

The kids were unbelievable and the plot...what plot?
If you really try to piece it together it seems to be about Scout understanding Boo Radley through the comprehension that most people have motivations for their actions that she just might not understand or agree with yet people are ultimately people and deserve to be treated as such. OK. That and her complete naivety, that no child her age really has, especially wit I don't really want to write a lot about this book because it was so AWFUL!!!!

The kids were unbelievable and the plot...what plot?
If you really try to piece it together it seems to be about Scout understanding Boo Radley through the comprehension that most people have motivations for their actions that she just might not understand or agree with yet people are ultimately people and deserve to be treated as such. OK. That and her complete naivety, that no child her age really has, especially with Dill, is slightly bearable. But then there's the side story that occurs in the book about Atticus' court case, and everything related to that infuriated me. Because this book is heralded as possibly the greatest book to be produced by our nation as well as incredibly influential in the viewpoints of race and racism, it has to hold more weight in my mind because it does so in our general psyche.

It's infuriating because this book is so COMFORTABLE for its intended audience. It is well nested in the long standing tradition of using the plight of black folks as a tool, in this case literary, to educate a white state of mind. In this case I don't even think it worked that well. Scout was pretty racist, especially to have a father like Atticus and a friend like Dill. Lee was also pretty inconsistent in Scout's innocent portrayal. I think this was because her initial innocence was so unrealistic that at times she had to give way. During the whole court sequence and after she still didn't seem to understand that black people WERE people. She got her first clue after thinking about Calpurnia outside of her domestic duties but she never seemed to really make the mental leap. For a girl that was supposed to be a little smarter than her peers she sure seemed a bit dull in this case. Even after the trial and after seeing and hearing all of the wise things those around her told her, she still didn't get that black people were people, and honestly I think it was because Lee didn't truly see the need to make the black people real people.
Now I'm not saying she thought black people were less of a being. I mean it in the sense that she was a White woman who wanted to show a world through the young and innocent eyes of a child, specifically a world of hypocrisy. She however did not manage to create a consciousness that was truly naive. It may have been because of some inconsistencies in Scout's character when it came to talking about those unlike herself it may be because Lee had not conquered her own inner conflictions of a southern
female upringing with a true understanding of the law. (Let's not forget Scout's somewhat awkward and undeveloped confrontations with southern femininity.)Scout could not and did not ever put herself into black skin, as her father kept advising.

Whatever it is that didn't work, it worries me that this book still touches people in the same way it may have in the 50s or 60s. It should have a different reaction with us since we are presented as and should be a different country than the one read about. But perhaps people haven't really changed many of the ways that they raise their children.

Some people say that they cried when they read this book. I really don't know why...
This book was just annoying and aggravating. More so because it is basically seen as some sort of new UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. (which frankly had a much better storyline than this book.)

A lot of people like this book, but I am entitled to my opinion. I in no way wrote all of my thoughts about this book here and there were a few moments I thought entertaining. However I cannot read literature masquerading as an eye opener that I can clearly see feeds into the nostalgic view of a life when Black people were grateful for the benevolent deeds done for them, that they deserved in the first place.

I know and appreciate this book because it is a "classic" and a cultural reference. But just as our experiences and studies influence who we are and how we interpret life, I simply did not like this book. ...more

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Sep 17, 2008 Liz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 5-stars, 1001, bees-neez

I first read TO Kill A Mockingbird as a freshman in highschool. I loved it then. Rereading it 20 years later reminded me of what a great book this is and allowed me to gain some new perspectives. On this reread I really connected with the book on more of a global/societal level; rather than just adoring the characters within. I really loved how Scout's character is developed as she begins to make sense of the world around her. To me, To Kill A Mockingbird really is a timeless work of art and the ...more

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Mar 27, 2009 Howard Larsson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

one of my favorites

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Mar 31, 2008 Maggie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, school, classics, boxall-1001, general-fiction, guardian-1000, coming-of-age, gothic, usa

I last read this for school more than a decade ago, and I loved it. I read it again this year, and I still love it. I love reading about Scout and Jem growing up, seeing the little changes they undergo, seeing Jem take on adolescence and the challenges he and Scout face from this, and watching Scout struggling to piece together a compassionate and realistic understanding of the world from her varied experiences. I love how Atticus always knows what to do – whether to hug his kids or leave them a ...more

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May 12, 2008 JoAnn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, 1-001-books, pulitzer-prize-winners-and-finalist, favorites, amazon-list

For whatever reason I had never read this book or even seen the movie. Because it is considered to be one of the best books of the 20th century, I was anxious to remedy this. It is definately a must read, although I would debate it being in the greatest category. Nevertheless, it is almost fifty years old and stll retains a strong contemporary significance. A funny and happy story of the coming of age of an eight year old Southern girl and the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and cla ...more

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