To Kill a Mockingbird: #1 on the list!

[Marnie]

[Roseanne]

This is a good one. I was not all that impressed with the long lost book they found.

[Colleen]

I haven't read the "new" one, and hardly remember this one. Not sure if it deserves a re-read - only if I have some real life reason to read it I think.

[Tom]

Loretta wrote: "I didn't like this one at all. I made the mistake of watching the movie with Gregory Peck first. Seeing a movie first and then reading the book usually destroys the book for me. And to top it off, ..."

On the flip side, TKAM is the first book that comes to mind when asked to name the Greatest American Novel. It's also high on my list of greatest movies. This just goes to show that The Great American Read list is just a popularity contest. It boggles my mind that The Twilight Saga and Fifty Shades of Grey are on the list and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn isn't.

[Linda]

Loretta wrote: "I didn't like this one at all. I made the mistake of watching the movie with Gregory Peck first. Seeing a movie first and then reading the book usually destroys the book for me. And to top it off, ..."

I am the same way, if a book isn't related to work, I try to avoid seeing the movie first. Once I do, I rarely make time away from work reading to read the novel, even if people say that they're different.

[Roseanne]

The adventures of Tom Sawyer is on the list. I am pretty sure each author was only allowed one book on the list which is why Huck Finn can’t be.

[Kirsten]

I really enjoyed this book. For some reason, I did not read it in school. I read it 5-6 years back and was blown away. So, I watched the film second. I thought Peck was excellent, but wasn't sure the other actors (and the script) put the emphasis in the correct places.

Linda - I try to ALWAYS read the book AFTER, because otherwise I can get very aggravated watching the film.

[Linda]

Kirsten wrote: "I really enjoyed this book. For some reason, I did not read it in school. I read it 5-6 years back and was blown away. So, I watched the film second. I thought Peck was excellent, but wasn't sure t..."

Then may I recommend "My Cousin Rachel"? Very, very different takes on the story.

[NancyJ, Moderator]

Roseanne wrote: "The adventures of Tom Sawyer is on the list. I am pretty sure each author was only allowed one book on the list which is why Huck Finn can’t be."

Tom Sawyer is my personal favorite, and I really truly love it, but I was still surprised Huck Finn wasn't chosen instead. I think it's because of that one word. I do believe words matter, so I don't fault them for being PC, but I wonder how many books were vetoed or substituted with something else because of modern day sensibilities. (I was curious how a less popular Vonnegut book got selected too.)

[Tom]

Kirsten wrote: " I try to ALWAYS read the book AFTER, because otherwise I can get very aggravated watching the film. .."

I agree. I will be much more likely to be disappointed with a movie that I've seen after reading the book than the other way around.

[NancyJ, Moderator]

Yes, this is the book I thought of first when I heard about the project. I saw the movie many years ago, but I'm not sure I read it as a teenager. I read it a couple of years ago and loved it. I loved all the extra details and richness in the book. It was so evocative of the south, even beyond what I saw in the film. Though I might have been "hearing" the voices of the characters in the film while I was reading the book.

[Tom]

NancyJ wrote: "Tom Sawyer is my personal favorite, and I really truly love it, but I was still surprised Huck Finn wasn't chosen instead. .."

The list was a compiled based on a poll asking people what their favorite novel was, not what they thought the best one was. I personally enjoyed The Adventures of Tom Sawyer more but readily admit that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is better. I don't think the inclusion of that word that cannot be spoken has much, if anything, to do with the decision.

[Roseanne]

With so many books not on the list I wonder if there will be a second round of 100 once they are done.

[Parker]

Roseanne wrote: "This is a good one. I was not all that impressed with the long lost book they found."

A lot of people weren't. I enjoyed it (bought it the day it came out).

[Roseanne]

As did I. But I am tainted by TKAM and my view of what Atticus is suppose to be. Just like Scout, I don’t want to grow up and find out things aren’t always as they seem. I might have liked it more if I had not read TKAM.

I read TKAM in high school the first time. I read it the second time when I found out they were releasing the “new” one. So I read the two back to back and TKAM was fresh in my mind when I read the new one.

[Bill]

This has long been ranked as one of my top ten favorite books and movies. I do love a growing of age story. It was so powerful to me and I get the same reaction whenever I read it again. I will say that when I read Go Set a Watchman, it had a somewhat negative impact on what I've always thought about TKAM. But on its own, still has to be one of my favorites.

I get similar feelings from other similar books, especially The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

[NancyJ, Moderator]

Bill wrote: "This has long been ranked as one of my top ten favorite books and movies. I do love a growing of age story. It was so powerful to me and I get the same reaction whenever I read it again. I will say..."

I saw all three movies last year when family visited. Heart is a Lonely Hunter was more complex than I remembered. I always loved TKAM - and it was great sharing it with family who hadn't seen it. I'm looking forward to reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

[Joy, Your Obedient Servant]

This made the Top 10!

[Joy, Your Obedient Servant]

This book was a past group read ... See links below to the discussion threads.

Spoiler-free-
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Spoilers-
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...