Tuesday, August 31, 2010

To Kill a Mockingbird Challenge

WCS Summer Photo Challenges Day 5: Summer Reading

You might have seen this post earlier today and then it disappear. I had set it to post thinking I would write it over the weekend, but it didn't happen. : )

Thanks to a prompt from Amy @ Hope is the Word, I read To Kill a Mockingbird a few weeks ago. This is the first time that I had read the book and, truthfully, knew very little about it other that I thought it had to do with segregation in the south. This book was excellent and will definitely be required reading for my girls as they get older. I can't say that I loved the book ... this isn't one that falls into the same category as my Betsy-Tacy books or Anne of Green Gables series ... it is deep and well-written and worth the time and thought that I had to expend to get through it. (Hopefully that makes sense.) : )

I honestly don't know what to write that doesn't give away spoilers if you haven't read the book. It didn't end like I expected it to. The story does involve the trial of a black man in the rural south, and I assumed that in the name of justice he would be proven innocent. Not so. In fact, it doesn't go well for him at all. However, the trial and the stories surrounding it are key elements in the growth and maturation of the main characters in the Finch family - lawyer Atticus, and his two children Jem and Scout.

I had hoped to watch the movie version of this book, but it has been delayed via Netflix for several weeks now ... I'm guessing the anniversary of the book has prompted a resurgence in popularity for watching the movie! It's still on my to-do list one of these days.

Thanks, Amy, for hosting this challenge and for getting me to read a book that had just been gathering dust on my shelves. : )

This post is linked over at Amy's challenge and at Five Minutes for Books classics challenge for this quarter.

5 comments:

  1. I've never read the book, though I did watch the movie years ago. Maybe I'll read it with my kids when they reach the appropriate age.

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  2. I'm almost finished with the book and then will watch the movie. I have heard people say that they loved this book. So far, like you, I am glad to be reading a classic that I have never even opened, but I'm not in love with it. Sometimes, though, I find that it isn't until the story has ended and I've had some time to think about it do I really understand all the nuances and the reasons behind why things happened as they did. It will be interesting to see if the movie is anything at all like the book.

    Thanks for letting me know about this challenge and for motivating me to read TKAM.

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  3. I read the book long ago but have never seen the movie. I need to read it again and then rent the movie and see how they compare.

    Nancy @5minutesforbooks.com

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  4. I understood what you were saying about it not being a favorite but still enjoying it, yes! =) I thought it was so superbly written that I couldn't HELP but enjoy it. The descriptions and emotions of the children were so true to life - I heartily enjoyed it! Glad I read it alongside of you all!

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  5. Oh, Stephanie, you simply must watch the movie!

    I'm so glad you read it and joined in the challenge, although I CERTAINLY understand about having to "get" through it. ;-)

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Thanks for commenting!

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