Posts tagged harper lee

“First of all,” [Atticus] said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—”“Sir?”“—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Re-reading Harper Lee’s 31-chapter novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, one chapter a day, every day for the whole of the current 31-day month, is turning out to be quite an experience.  On one hand, the attempt brings with it the convenience of never having to use any sort of device to mark one’s place in the book. Admittedly, I’m not an avid reader who uses a bookmark for that exact purpose. While I also use an iPhone app that basically functions as a reading log, what I usually do is to just see how deep the yellowing of the edges of the pages of a book (caused by prolonged contact with my almost invariably filthy fingers) has gone so far, thus providing me with a rough but adequate estimate of where I last left off. For my To Kill A Mockingbird a-chapter-a-day challenge, though, I need only recall the present date and then locate the corresponding chapter number in the book. Easy breezy. On the other hand, having to read one chapter of this book every day is, not unlike that one time when I tried (and ultimately failed) to exclude chocolate in my diet for an entire week, nothing if not self-inflicted torture. It’s not that To Kill A Mockingbird is a dense and difficult book, because it isn’t, not at all. Quite the opposite, really. The actual challenge in this month-long endeavor is less about being able to finish the book by day 31 than about being able to stick to the daily quota. Wonderfully written and perfectly paced, the book makes it impossible for me to reach the end of a chapter without itching to continue with the next. But, alas, I’m afraid I must stand by my word and put off rediscovering more of Scout’s small-town adventures and Atticus Finch’s priceless pieces of sage advice (such as the one quoted above) that are, without doubt, key to the novel’s, as well as the classic 1962 film adaptation’s, enduring success. That reminds me… I wonder how many chapters there are in the DVD. Dun dun dun…

“First of all,” [Atticus] said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—”

“Sir?”

“—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

Re-reading Harper Lee’s 31-chapter novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, one chapter a day, every day for the whole of the current 31-day month, is turning out to be quite an experience. 

On one hand, the attempt brings with it the convenience of never having to use any sort of device to mark one’s place in the book. Admittedly, I’m not an avid reader who uses a bookmark for that exact purpose. While I also use an iPhone app that basically functions as a reading log, what I usually do is to just see how deep the yellowing of the edges of the pages of a book (caused by prolonged contact with my almost invariably filthy fingers) has gone so far, thus providing me with a rough but adequate estimate of where I last left off. For my To Kill A Mockingbird a-chapter-a-day challenge, though, I need only recall the present date and then locate the corresponding chapter number in the book. Easy breezy.

On the other hand, having to read one chapter of this book every day is, not unlike that one time when I tried (and ultimately failed) to exclude chocolate in my diet for an entire week, nothing if not self-inflicted torture. It’s not that To Kill A Mockingbird is a dense and difficult book, because it isn’t, not at all. Quite the opposite, really. The actual challenge in this month-long endeavor is less about being able to finish the book by day 31 than about being able to stick to the daily quota. Wonderfully written and perfectly paced, the book makes it impossible for me to reach the end of a chapter without itching to continue with the next. But, alas, I’m afraid I must stand by my word and put off rediscovering more of Scout’s small-town adventures and Atticus Finch’s priceless pieces of sage advice (such as the one quoted above) that are, without doubt, key to the novel’s, as well as the classic 1962 film adaptation’s, enduring success.

That reminds me… I wonder how many chapters there are in the DVD. Dun dun dun…

“Bookslut.” That’s the immediate SMS reply I got from Don after I told him (read: bragged) about my newly acquired copy of The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Well, I can’t say I don’t agree. Hugo Cabret was not without its companion when I purchased it a few hours ago. According to plan, it was joined by a freshly printed commemorative copy of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Being the indefatigable bookslut that I admittedly am, I’m absolutely open to the idea of a ménage à trois with these two lovelies in the coming days. I guess I should mention that while I’m just about to get to know Hugo Cabret, Mockingbird and I happen to be old pals, having previously done it in the back of a van cruising down Kennon Road seven summers ago. Spending time with both should be a lot of fun. With any luck, I might even get them to participate in an orgy with me, Ballard (Crash), Winterson (Sexing the Cherry), Easton Ellis (Less Than Zero), Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules), and the rest of the gang.

“Bookslut.”

That’s the immediate SMS reply I got from Don after I told him (read: bragged) about my newly acquired copy of The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Well, I can’t say I don’t agree.

Hugo Cabret was not without its companion when I purchased it a few hours ago. According to plan, it was joined by a freshly printed commemorative copy of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Being the indefatigable bookslut that I admittedly am, I’m absolutely open to the idea of a ménage à trois with these two lovelies in the coming days. I guess I should mention that while I’m just about to get to know Hugo Cabret, Mockingbird and I happen to be old pals, having previously done it in the back of a van cruising down Kennon Road seven summers ago.

Spending time with both should be a lot of fun. With any luck, I might even get them to participate in an orgy with me, Ballard (Crash), Winterson (Sexing the Cherry), Easton Ellis (Less Than Zero), Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules), and the rest of the gang.

It’s two books, actually. One is Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a copy of which, a Fully Booked customer service rep just informed me, already has my name on it. The other is the 50th anniversary edition of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, whose official Facebook page and, by extension, gorgeous cover, I just “liked”—something I rarely ever do, not even to “you,” “to move it move it,” and “big butts and I cannot lie.”

It’s two books, actually. One is Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a copy of which, a Fully Booked customer service rep just informed me, already has my name on it. The other is the 50th anniversary edition of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, whose official Facebook page and, by extension, gorgeous cover, I just “liked”—something I rarely ever do, not even to “you,” “to move it move it,” and “big butts and I cannot lie.”