2012 is nearly over. I have read 10 books so far, and I am halfway through Book #11. I think I have time for two more books by year-end. I am rather pleased with myself. Compare that to the two books I read last year! How are you going with your own reading? I trust that you will join me (again) next year for another twelve books. Perhaps, like me, you have the titles for 2013 lined up in your head already.
I found the time to read but it is more difficult to find the time to write. I can only produce a condensed version of my reviews. So here we go.
Book #5: To Kill A Mockingbird (May-Aug on and off) – Shelf it.
Ariel bought this 1960 classic in hardcover at his favourite bookstore Kinokuniya. I must admit, it was a very slow read in the beginning. I was distracted by the other books in waiting. In truth, I read other books in parallel. It must be the old English prose or the subject matter that I found lackluster – rape and racial inequality. There was no sword fighting nor sorcery. I persisted. After all, it won the Pulitzer Prize and was made into a movie starring Gregory Peck.
A summary from Wikipedia – “As a Southern Gothic novel…, the primary themes of To Kill a Mockingbird involve racial injustice and the destruction of innocence. Scholars have noted that Lee also addresses issues of class, courage, compassion, and gender roles in the American Deep South. The book is widely taught in schools in English-speaking countries with lessons that emphasize tolerance and decry prejudice. “
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.
– Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird
This book is easily one that you should have in your bookcase. Every lawyer or would-be lawyer must read it, if not everyone.
The next classic I want to get my hands on is “The Catcher in the Rye”, in hardcover please.