Easily one of my favorite books… I have always read voraciously and To Kill a Mockingbird is one of those books that stayed with me long after the final page.  I don’t remember the first time I read it, but it was many years ago. Then, over the years, each time I’ve put a book down and headed to my shelves of read and unread books to decide what’s next, a classic often catches my eye and I re-read an old love.  I’ve picked up TKAM a few times now and I fall in love with it again, everytime.  Atticus, Scout, Jem, Dill, Boo… what wonderful characters and Harper Lee is in incredible storyteller.   A wonderful exploration of the death of innocence - something we’ve all experienced.

I’ve always wished for another book from her, but alas… 

Oh, and of course I’ve seen the movie a few times as well, one of the few movies that do a book justice (though the book is still better, of course).  Without a doubt, Gregory Peck epitomized the strong and wise Atticus Finch.

A wonderful story, told through the eyes of a curious lttle girl named Scout, and unfolds with such remarkable characters like the mysterious Boo.  Of course , there is te honorable Atticus and all the racial tensions of those times.

Like The Old Man and the Sea, this book is a treasure.  All great books deserve a reread because there are parts we want to experience again . We also may discover some detail we missed the first time.

I read it back in school .. in our english class… i think i still have it in my collection of books…  

I have read like 40 books in the past 2 years…  I think I was born with either a book in my hand or a pad and pen also…  the first book i remember reading that really meant something to me for the first time was "Brian’s Song".. i did a book report on it.. from then on.. i was hooked on reading… oh, and by the way i watch the movie Brian’s Song on tv every november and still cry watching it every single time!!!!!

Absolutely, one of my favorite reads and what an honor to share with students who were reading it for the very first time…every year for a good many years.  So many well-crafted characters, but among my favorite is the irascible Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose. Scout and Jem hated her, "If she was on the porch when we passed,we would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our behavior, and given a melancholy prediction on what we would amount to when we grew, which was always nothing." And over the course of more and more intimate exchanges with Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, Scout and Jem learned a profound truth, which perhaps neither appreciated in their youth.  But their daddy wanted them "to see what real courage is"…that it’s not always, ‘A man with a gun in his hand." Mrs. Henry Lafaette Dubose was ‘the bravest person’ Atticus ever knew.  And my eyes still water with the images.

Peace and grace

This novel had its origins in Lee’s hometown of Monroeville, Alabama-the small, Southern town that the fictional Maycomb is based upon. Her father’s unsuccessful defense of a black man and his son accused of murder, in addition to the Scottsboro Boys trials and another notorious interracial rape case, helped to shape Lee’s budding social conscience and sense of a dramatic story.

Along with his legal practice, Lee’s father published and edited the town newspaper. His regard for the written word impacted Lee’s sensibility as surely as his respect for the law. Lee would name her idealized vision of her father after Titus Pomponius Atticus, a friend of the Roman orator Cicero renowned as, according to Lee, "a wise, learned and humane man." For a long time, Lee called her work in progress Atticus. This arguably marked an improvement over her first title, Go Set a Watchman, but once she fastened on To Kill a Mockingbird she did not look back. But she did not look forward in terms of writing another novel. Another example of a one time magnum opus. She hated the publicity and although she helped Capote in his research for "In Cold Blood" she retired from the public and lived a quiet life. She and he had been friends since childhood when Truman lived a few doors down, but then he moved to New York. They remained fast friends for many years but the friendship disintegrated when Truman drowned himself in drugs and booze.

This novel and even more so, the film based on it, is a good teaching tool and many schools use it in their curriculum.  

This book is dangerous. A boy gave me this book and it made me love him. Mistake. The boy is long gone but the book is my favourite. I have read it many times. The thing I took away most from this book is Atticus was both a man of reason and of passion but that reason ruled his passion and made it effective instead of wild and diluted. 

I can’t help but wonder if your president modeled himself on Atticus Finch. They seem so alike. 

I have a grandson named Atticus, since of my sons loved the character so much. I read the book, saw the movie and still consider it one of my favorites. Another great classic to read is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.