The Modern Library 100 Best Novels Challenge discussion
100 Best Novels - Discussion
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To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
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If you have never read To Kill a Mockingbird, YOU MUST READ IT! Do not skip this one! It is not very long, the story and characters are timeless, and it was made into an equally as amazing movie starring Gregory Peck. There is a reason why almost every ninth-grader in the USA has to read this book, and it is one book that I have read multiple times. Those of you who are in other groups with me know that I RARELY do that. I read TKaM about every year-year and a half. This is the only book written by Harper Lee, and she managed to hit a home run and win the Pulitzer Prize. She based the character of Dill off of her best childhood friend - ready? - Truman Capote. Read it and love it. If you don't love it and say so, prepare for a lashing from your moderator. :) I love this book so much, we almost named our rescue dog Boo Radley (Boo). He instead became Andy, for Anderson Varejao of the Cavs because he had crazy hair when we got him. I digress. He was just more of an Andy than a Boo. You can see my rescue dog in the "other photos" section of my profile.
DONE.
I read this in high school and thought it boring at the time...maybe it was my teacher?? About 20 years later I re-read it and LOVED it. Now I've read it a few times and recommend to everyone.
I started this one a couple of days ago. I only had a very bad MPB quality book, and the words were blurring before my eyes (probably due to age and not the condition of the book). Anyway, today I was browsing in a used book store and came upon... a TPB, large-print, excellent copy of TKaM! I can't believe that I've never read this before. I can't believe it wasn't a required reading in HS. I love the characters and the voice of the book already.
Agreed - it definitely should be required reading for all. Scout is one of my all time favorite characters.
I read it several months ago for the first time, although I felt like I could recite it verbatim from watching the movie repeatedly. It's a wonderful book! I loved how Lee captured the essence of Jem, Scout and Dill's childhood experiences and their views, and observations of the adult world.
I think it is such a shame that she did not continue to write additional books. With such a perfect story and so well told, you would think there would be many more stories coming from her. But at least we have this one - definitely one of my all time favorites.
I read this book last year, and was ASHAMED that I had never read it in school! If I read this in high school, I would have wanted to become a criminal defense lawyer. Okay, so that's what I became anyway...but the point is I would have loved loved loved this book. The most difficult cases are the ones where you believe your client is innocent. Those are the cases that keep you up at night. When you lose those cases, it breaks your heart. I love Atticus Finch, and how he maintains his dignity even when dealing with a broken system of justice. I admit, I am not as composed when I see a failure of the system.
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