To Kill a Mockingbird
It's my wish that you do, dear readers. Rarely do I make appeals like this, but To Kill A Mocking Bird is the type of book that becomes part of you. It's story and prose end up becoming scattered quotes written at the bottom of letters to friends. They wind up on backs of postcards mailed overseas. The words will find their way into the notes section of Power Point printouts. There is a sense of peace that comes with completing this book that I rarely find. In fact, as I type this, I am 20 pages from the end. I've been ill, so by rights it has taken me longer, but part of me doesn't want the story to end. I just want to linger in Maycomb a little bit longer.
Also, it's Banned Books Week, and thus marks my first foray into the subject. Yes, this book is banned. Here are some of the reasons. I'll never understand why people pretend to be shocked that a book set in South in 1930 uses racial slurs. If we edit that part out of our history, and that part of our language we would be less of a people. Sure, they sting, but we need to understand why. To Kill a Mockingbird is a good place to start.
My next book will be, The Monstrumologist. It's been lingering on my shelf for months and if I don't read it it's going to fly off and smack me in the head.
How do I say things about this book that have not already been said? How often have I wished that Scout and Atticus were real people. I wanted them for neighbors. I wanted them as friends. Why is it that I own three copies of this book? All three are in some state of disrepair. I've dropped them in bathtubs, I've left them in the sun, I've rolled over on them while sleeping, and I've used them to kill a big scary spider that was trying to kill me. It's a book that has landed itself on my Desert Island list. How do I convince people to pick this up and read it?"Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."- spoken by Atticus Finch, by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
It's my wish that you do, dear readers. Rarely do I make appeals like this, but To Kill A Mocking Bird is the type of book that becomes part of you. It's story and prose end up becoming scattered quotes written at the bottom of letters to friends. They wind up on backs of postcards mailed overseas. The words will find their way into the notes section of Power Point printouts. There is a sense of peace that comes with completing this book that I rarely find. In fact, as I type this, I am 20 pages from the end. I've been ill, so by rights it has taken me longer, but part of me doesn't want the story to end. I just want to linger in Maycomb a little bit longer.
Also, it's Banned Books Week, and thus marks my first foray into the subject. Yes, this book is banned. Here are some of the reasons. I'll never understand why people pretend to be shocked that a book set in South in 1930 uses racial slurs. If we edit that part out of our history, and that part of our language we would be less of a people. Sure, they sting, but we need to understand why. To Kill a Mockingbird is a good place to start.
My next book will be, The Monstrumologist. It's been lingering on my shelf for months and if I don't read it it's going to fly off and smack me in the head.
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