To Kill a Mockingbird, Pillars of the Earth and My English Teacher

Well, I am a delinquent as you can see by the fact that I haven't written since November. Yep - a Delinquent.

When I last checked in, I was starting to read To Kill a Mockingbird and I have finished it. I should've written about it long ago because I finished it before Christmas, but with the holidays . . . well, you know. Excuses . . .

Excuses . . .

To Kill a Mockingbird was wonderful. I wish I had read it earlier. My absolute favorite bird is the Mockingbird. We have an abundance of them here in Southern California and I love them because of their fierceness and the fact that they sing a million different songs all at the same time. Love to listen to them even if it is 3am. Yes, they do like to sing that early sometimes in the summer. They are very unique birds and to kill one would be a crime.

I read and read and read waiting to be clued in on what the signifance of the title was. I love Mockingbirds. This is a book ABOUT mockingbirds . . . or so I thought. There is one small reference in the book to it being a crime to kill a mockingbird. The title is only significant at the end of the book when the reader equates the mockingbird with the uniqueness of Boo Radley. Had he been "killed" he would not have been around in the end to save Gem and Scout.

I watched the movie after I was done reading the book. It was, after all, an academy award winning film. While it is not 100% faithful to the book, it does a great job of capturing the essence. It was also very strange to see a very young Robert Duvall as Boo Radley.

I am now on to a BIG book. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. This is a HUGE book. I will be reading it forever. I am on page 400, but again, it is sooo huge that I have a cheater book I am reading during my intermission. The book is called The Book Thief and it is narrated by Death!! It is set during WWII and is written in an odd style that is actually quite fascinating.

I have reconnected with my High School English teacher through Facebook and we are reading The Pillars together (Although she just started!!). We shall see what she thinks when we are done. Maybe she will guest write a post!

On to my reading . . .