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GIVEAWAY ENDED
SCOUT, ATTICUS & BOO:
A Celebration of Fifty Years of
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
BY MARY McDONAGH MURPHY
ABOUT THE BOOK:
To Kill a Mockingbird may well be our national novel. It is the first adult novel that many of us remember reading, one book that millions of us have in common. It sells nearly a million copies a year, more than any other twentieth-century American classic. Harper Lee's first and only novel, published in July 1960, is a beloved classic and touchstone in American literary and social history.
Mary McDonagh Murphy is an independent writer, director, and producer. The recipient of six Emmy Awards, her documentaries include Digital Days, Before Your Eyes, and Cry for Help, which aired nationally on PBS. She spent twenty years as a producer at CBS News, and her writing has appeared in New York magazine, the Chicago Tribune, and other publications, and she is the author of the book Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird. She lives in Scarborough, New York.
ABOUT TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD:
A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel—a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice—but the weight of history will only tolerate so much.
The author of one of the most important works in American fiction, Harper Lee remains an enigma, rising out of obscurity to write To Kill a Mockingbird, and determinedly vanishing from the public eye soon after its publication. Born in Monroeville, Alabama, a descendant from Robert E. Lee, the Southern Civil War general, in 1926, where her father was a former newspaper editor and proprietor, who had served as a state senator and practiced as a lawyer in Monroeville. Lee studied law at the University of Alabama from 1945 to 1949, and spent a year as an exchange student in Oxford University, Wellington Square. Six months before finishing her studies, she went to New York to pursue a literary career. She worked as an Airline reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and British Overseas Airways during the 1950s. In 1959, Lee accompanied Truman Capote, her childhood neighbor from Monroeville, to Holcombe, Kansas, as a research assistant for Capote's classic 'non-fiction' novel In Cold Blood (1966).
Lee finished her classic book in 1959, after donations from her friends allowed her to take time off from her job and work uninterrupted. The setting and several of the characters are drawn from life - Finch was the maiden name of Lee's mother and the character of Dill was drawn from Capote, Lee's childhood friend. To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate bestseller, was adapted into screen in 1962, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and, in 1999, was voted “Best Novel of the Century” in a poll by the Library Journal. She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian award in the United States—in 2007. Lee was 34 when the work was published, and it has remained her only novel.
"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
MY REVIEW:
Today is the 50th Anniversary of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee. With a book that has been so influential in American literature and to so many people, filmmaker Mary McDonagh Murphy decided to produce a documentary about it called "Hey, Boo." SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO: A CELEBRATION OF FIFTY YEARS OF “TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD” is the book that goes along with the documentary and features Murphy’s various interviews and conversations with readers of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, some famous and some maybe not so much. The memories and impact this book has had on so many people is what has kept it a best seller all these years and what for many, as myself, was the force behind a passion that rose to become a lifelong love of reading.
SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO includes information on how so many, including Mary McDonagh Murphy herself have tried to interview the reclusive Harper Lee. Since writing her best selling book, Lee withdrew from public life for all purposes. Oprah Winfrey, who tells her story in SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO, was even denied an interview but was able to have lunch with Harper Lee which to me would be something extraordinary in itself.
Winfrey says, "I knew 20 minutes into the conversation that I would never be able to convince her to do an interview and it is not my style to push," Winfrey remembered, describing Ms. Lee's polite refusal during their lunch. "She said to me, 'I already said everything I needed to say.… You know the character Boo Radley? Well, if you know Boo, then you understand why I wouldn't be doing an interview because I am really Boo.' I knew that was the end of it. I just enjoyed the lunch.” And so, Winfrey left it at that.
Others interviewed include authors like Anna Quindlen, Adriana Trigiani, Lee Smith, and Richard Russo, each talk about the effect the book had on them: some personally, some politically, some in their work, and some in a combination of it all-their life. Andrew Young and Tom Brokaw add their take on the book’s impact especially as it played out in response to racial issues. Some lesser known, but no less important interviewees like Jane Ellen Clark, the director of Lee’s hometown museum; the Rev. Thomas Lane Butts, Lee’s minister; and Alice Finch Lee, the 99-year-old sister of Harper Lee, all add a special take on the book as well as the author.
It has been said that reading SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO is like attending a “big book club meeting with 26 lovers of “TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD”. I think to read the book was very much like that for me; VERY much like that as well as instant access to the memories I have from EACH time I read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD starting in 8th grade. Growing up in the sixties, it is easy to look back and understand the impact this book had when it came out, on the civil right movement. That influence still lives on coincidentally, as this much loved book is also the most routinely requested book to be challenged or banned according to the American Library Association’s Top 100 of those books.
You note, I am sure, that this is NOT a review of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD as I would not attempt to “review” the book…who am I to do that? I can’t imagine too many people knowledgeable enough and brave enough to even try. I can give you my impression and reflection on the book but I am pretty sure you understand that now having read my review of the marvelous and memorable SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO. And so today, I hope you will think about Scout, Boo, Atticus, and Harper Lee, and see if you don’t want to take that trip once again (in case you don’t do it routinely like many of us) and win a copy of the 50th Anniversary Edition of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and the preeminent anthem to it, SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO by Mary McDonagh Murphy .
To Kill a Mockingbird may well be our national novel. It is the first adult novel that many of us remember reading, one book that millions of us have in common. It sells nearly a million copies a year, more than any other twentieth-century American classic. Harper Lee's first and only novel, published in July 1960, is a beloved classic and touchstone in American literary and social history.
To mark the fiftieth anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird, Mary McDonagh Murphy reviews its history and examines how the novel has left its mark on a broad range of novelists, historians, journalists, and artists.
In compelling interviews, Anna Quindlen, Tom Brokaw, Oprah Winfrey, James Patterson, James McBride, Scott Turow, Wally Lamb, Andrew Young, Richard Russo, Adriana Trigiani, Rick Bragg, Jon Meacham, Allan Gurganus, Diane McWhorter, Lee Smith, RosanneCash, and others reflect on when they first read the novel, what it means to them—then and now—and how it has affected their lives and careers.
Harper Lee has not given an interview since 1964, but Murphy's reporting, research, and rare interviews with the author's sister and friends stitch together a brief history of how the novel, as well as the acclaimed 1962 movie, came to be.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mary McDonagh Murphy is an independent writer, director, and producer. The recipient of six Emmy Awards, her documentaries include Digital Days, Before Your Eyes, and Cry for Help, which aired nationally on PBS. She spent twenty years as a producer at CBS News, and her writing has appeared in New York magazine, the Chicago Tribune, and other publications, and she is the author of the book Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird. She lives in Scarborough, New York.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel—a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice—but the weight of history will only tolerate so much.
One of the best-loved classics of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has earned many distinctions since its original publication in 1960. It has won the Pulitzer Prize, been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, and been made into an enormously popular movie. It was also named the best novel of the twentieth century by librarians across the country (Library Journal). HarperCollins is proud to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the book's publication with this special hardcover edition.
ABOUT AUTHOR HARPER LEE:
The author of one of the most important works in American fiction, Harper Lee remains an enigma, rising out of obscurity to write To Kill a Mockingbird, and determinedly vanishing from the public eye soon after its publication. Born in Monroeville, Alabama, a descendant from Robert E. Lee, the Southern Civil War general, in 1926, where her father was a former newspaper editor and proprietor, who had served as a state senator and practiced as a lawyer in Monroeville. Lee studied law at the University of Alabama from 1945 to 1949, and spent a year as an exchange student in Oxford University, Wellington Square. Six months before finishing her studies, she went to New York to pursue a literary career. She worked as an Airline reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and British Overseas Airways during the 1950s. In 1959, Lee accompanied Truman Capote, her childhood neighbor from Monroeville, to Holcombe, Kansas, as a research assistant for Capote's classic 'non-fiction' novel In Cold Blood (1966).
Lee finished her classic book in 1959, after donations from her friends allowed her to take time off from her job and work uninterrupted. The setting and several of the characters are drawn from life - Finch was the maiden name of Lee's mother and the character of Dill was drawn from Capote, Lee's childhood friend. To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate bestseller, was adapted into screen in 1962, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and, in 1999, was voted “Best Novel of the Century” in a poll by the Library Journal. She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian award in the United States—in 2007. Lee was 34 when the work was published, and it has remained her only novel.
"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
MY REVIEW:
Today is the 50th Anniversary of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee. With a book that has been so influential in American literature and to so many people, filmmaker Mary McDonagh Murphy decided to produce a documentary about it called "Hey, Boo." SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO: A CELEBRATION OF FIFTY YEARS OF “TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD” is the book that goes along with the documentary and features Murphy’s various interviews and conversations with readers of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, some famous and some maybe not so much. The memories and impact this book has had on so many people is what has kept it a best seller all these years and what for many, as myself, was the force behind a passion that rose to become a lifelong love of reading.
SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO includes information on how so many, including Mary McDonagh Murphy herself have tried to interview the reclusive Harper Lee. Since writing her best selling book, Lee withdrew from public life for all purposes. Oprah Winfrey, who tells her story in SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO, was even denied an interview but was able to have lunch with Harper Lee which to me would be something extraordinary in itself.
Winfrey says, "I knew 20 minutes into the conversation that I would never be able to convince her to do an interview and it is not my style to push," Winfrey remembered, describing Ms. Lee's polite refusal during their lunch. "She said to me, 'I already said everything I needed to say.… You know the character Boo Radley? Well, if you know Boo, then you understand why I wouldn't be doing an interview because I am really Boo.' I knew that was the end of it. I just enjoyed the lunch.” And so, Winfrey left it at that.
Others interviewed include authors like Anna Quindlen, Adriana Trigiani, Lee Smith, and Richard Russo, each talk about the effect the book had on them: some personally, some politically, some in their work, and some in a combination of it all-their life. Andrew Young and Tom Brokaw add their take on the book’s impact especially as it played out in response to racial issues. Some lesser known, but no less important interviewees like Jane Ellen Clark, the director of Lee’s hometown museum; the Rev. Thomas Lane Butts, Lee’s minister; and Alice Finch Lee, the 99-year-old sister of Harper Lee, all add a special take on the book as well as the author.
It has been said that reading SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO is like attending a “big book club meeting with 26 lovers of “TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD”. I think to read the book was very much like that for me; VERY much like that as well as instant access to the memories I have from EACH time I read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD starting in 8th grade. Growing up in the sixties, it is easy to look back and understand the impact this book had when it came out, on the civil right movement. That influence still lives on coincidentally, as this much loved book is also the most routinely requested book to be challenged or banned according to the American Library Association’s Top 100 of those books.
You note, I am sure, that this is NOT a review of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD as I would not attempt to “review” the book…who am I to do that? I can’t imagine too many people knowledgeable enough and brave enough to even try. I can give you my impression and reflection on the book but I am pretty sure you understand that now having read my review of the marvelous and memorable SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO. And so today, I hope you will think about Scout, Boo, Atticus, and Harper Lee, and see if you don’t want to take that trip once again (in case you don’t do it routinely like many of us) and win a copy of the 50th Anniversary Edition of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and the preeminent anthem to it, SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO by Mary McDonagh Murphy .
THANKS TO KYLE AND MY FRIENDS
AT HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHING,
I HAVE 3 SETS OF BOTH OF THESE
MEMORABLE BOOKS TO GIVE AWAY.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN
SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO and
THE 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD!
AT HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHING,
I HAVE 3 SETS OF BOTH OF THESE
MEMORABLE BOOKS TO GIVE AWAY.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN
SCOUT, ATTICUS, AND BOO and
THE 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD!
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
HOW TO ENTER:
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
HOW TO ENTER:
+1 MORE ENTRY: WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE AND COMMENT ON YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHAT YOU HEARD AND SAW IN IT
+1 MORE ENTRY: GO TO THE USA TODAY ARTICLE HERE AND READ SOME MORE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THIS CELEBRATION AND THE NEW BOOK THAT HONORS IT. COME BACK AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING IN THE ARTICLE
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON A BOOK, OTHER THAN "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" THAT HAD SOME KIND OF IMPACT ON YOU IN YOUR LIFE. IT COULD BE A BOOK YOU READ AS A CHILD OR LAST WEEK.
+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY
+1 MORE ENTRY: GO TO THE USA TODAY ARTICLE HERE AND READ SOME MORE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THIS CELEBRATION AND THE NEW BOOK THAT HONORS IT. COME BACK AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING IN THE ARTICLE
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON A BOOK, OTHER THAN "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" THAT HAD SOME KIND OF IMPACT ON YOU IN YOUR LIFE. IT COULD BE A BOOK YOU READ AS A CHILD OR LAST WEEK.
+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY
143 comments:
I have never read the book but would love to. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com
I Read To Kill a Mockingbird many years ago and this book was unforgettable and memorable. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
I thought the video captured so many wonderful moments about this book. The interviews, the era and the emotions were beautiful. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
The celebration taking place for 4 days in Monroeville sounds extraordinary and lovely. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
A book that I read that I felt was special for me was Anne of Green Gables. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
I enjoyed this interesting and unique video. More than ever was the time period shown so well. rojosho(at)hotmail(dot)com
I read To Kill a Mockingbird in School and then again as an adult and appreciated it even more. rojosho(at)hotmail(dot)com
A book that meant a great deal to me was another classic that I treasure. Gentlemen's Agreement. rojosho(at)hotmail(dot)com
The libraries and towns are having parties devoted to this wonderful book. Monroeville is having a huge bash. rojosho(at)hotmail(dot)com
This was one of my favorite books from school. I like this book so much because it was one of the first books I actually enjoyed learning about themes, motifs, and symbols.
patientlywaitingbooks at gmail dot com
The descriptions are so true, a simply written book with such complex ideas. Ideas that are still occurring our society today. After watching the video, I can't wait to read this one again. It truly is a page turner and one that will live on forever.
Patientlywaitingbooks at gmail dot com
I find it interesting that Harper Lee only wrote one book, and has never been a major part of publicity. That is amazing and shows that the book is that much more incredible, It sells itself.
Patientlywaitingbooks at gmail dot com
Another great school read that I could not get my hands off of was Of Mice and Men. I liked this book because Lennie had such a sweet character and made me so mad of his destiny in the end. I am now pursuing a career in special education with children who have mental disabilities.
patientlywaitingbooks at gmail dot com
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tweet
patientlywaitingbooks at gmail dot com
Posted to my blog
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patientlywaitingbooks at gmail dot com
I read TKAM for the first time in the 8th grade when I first moved to Florida from "up north." It was the first book I had ever read through in a day and a half. I remember my grandmother commenting that I should go outside to get some fresh air to take a break, so I took the book and sat outside on the porch to continue reading. (Not her idea, I'm sure, but I was technically outside.) I wanted to find out more about Boo Radley and why he was so "strange." I also wanted to know if Atticus would win his court case. It was really my first exposure to prejudice and how things were "done in the south" well before I moved here. As a librarian, every time the students come into the library and start complaining about having to read the book we get to discuss why they "have to" read it and why they "should want to" read it. I still think it's one of my favorites--even when I had to read it for a second time in high school, and for a third time in college.
I read To Kill a Mockingbird as a teenager and it has remained my most favorite book of all time throughout the (many) decades of my life!
skkorman AT bellsouth DOT net
I haven't read the book; however, I have watched the movie twice and if the movie follows the book then this book would be an emotional read. Thanks for hosting this contest.
steven(dot)capell(at)gmail(dot)com
I have never read the book (to date) but I should. Please include me.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
The video pushed me to pull out my copy (my son's, actually) to read.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
The most impactful book I have read is In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
To Kill a Mockingbird is considered a national novel.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
I read TKAM in HS and I loved it but I think it would be interesting to reread as an adult
I tweeted here
https://twitter.com/Erika_Lynn_C/status/18323041620
sportsDOTerikalynnATgmailDOTcom
A book that really affected my when I was younger was little house on the prairie.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com
I am very sorry to say I have never read the book. I have heard it is very good though.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com
I have never read TKAM but it has been on my wish list for quite some time. Please enter me!
Thanks so much! schaefer7382 (at) aol (dot) com
Yes, I have read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD BY HARPER LEE. To me the book means there are still good people in the world. As long as good people are in a society, justice will continue to prevail because without good people there is no such thing as justice.
I have read this book, but it was quite a while ago. I remember I really enjoyed it at the time, but I would really like to read it again.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com
From the USA Article...
It is Lee's only book and one of the handful that could earn the title of Great American Novel.
mtakala AT yahoo DOT com
I didn't realize HARPER LEE had received The Presidential Metal of Freedom from President George Bush. She deserved that honor.
A great video! It was fascinating to hear how this book influenced some of today's authors. This book was written before the Civil Rights movement...I didn't realize that before. Interesting to see how reclusive the author remains.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com
One book that influenced me was Three Cups of Tea...to see just how much influence one single person can have.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com
+4 Swag
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com
While thinking of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, my mind slipped on to the memory of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS BY MAYA ANGELOU. In a way, both books are like coming of age stories. In both instances sadly, the children lose that wonderful thing called innocence. Maya became so broken by her lost of innocence that she stopped speaking for six or seven years. Scout and Jem begin to think of questions that boggle the minds of adults.
Another comparison is that Scout and Jem had a wise father, Atticus Finch. Maya had a wise grandmother and uncle. Maya grew up in Arkansas. Scout and Jem grew up in Alabama. There are so many comparisons and contrasts between the two stories. The most telling one is that both books are emotionally heart wrenching. Also, both books are unforgettable. Each book is a classic because the lessons fit in every year and century.
I have blogged about it on my sidebar. Thanks for entering me.
teakettle58(at)yahoo(dot)com
I read To Kill a Mockingbird in High School. I remember injustice and compelling courtroom scenes.
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
The video did take me back in time. I'm glad there is a revival of this reading.
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
In the USA Today article, I learned that the author is still alive. Lee's last major public appearance was in 2007, when she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House by President Bush
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
I just finished reading The Mountain Between Us and it did have an impact on me.
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
I have never read the book but have seen the movie made from it so many times, just about everytime that it is on TV. It is one of my most favorite movies.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
I was surprise to find out that Dill, her childhood friend in the book was based on her friend Truman Copote.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
The first book that ever made an impact on me was the first one that I can remember reading, "The Little Engine that could".
When I read it, I already loved having books read to me but was struggling with sounding out words. Going up and down the hill with "I think I can, I can and I thought I could" was the magic moment that I knew that I could do it. I remember getting so excited about it and my mother having tears in her eyes.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
I loved the video! It is amazing how many people this book has touched and how it influences just about everyone who reads it. I will have to pick it up again!
candc320@gmail.com
To Kill A Mockingbird is definitely one of my favorite books of all time and one that made me the avid reader I am today. The mark of a wonderful book, to me, is if I want to read it again, and I have read this book more times than I can remember. There is something so innocent and yet so startlingly forward and progressive about the novel that I just cannot express how much I love it!
Thanks,
candc320@gmail.com
+4 swagbucks!
candc320@gmail.com
Another book that influenced me and made me the book lover I am now is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It is just so heartbreaking and beautiful I cannot put it down once I start it.
candc320@gmail.com
I read this in high school and I think it was the beginning of my journey into the classics. I loved this book and would like to have a copy. Im a follower.
Laura
laura.leahj@gmail.com
I first read it in 9th grade, as many did. I was very struck by the courtrooms scenes and the respect Atticus gave and received from the townspeople.
Thanks for the chance to win!
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com
The courtroom scenes in Snow Falling on Cedars and the young girl's voice in Tallgrass have stuck with me since reading them because of my comparison's of the to TKAM.
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com
The video is top-notch. I concur with Brokaw's thoughts about it coming about at such an impressionable time. It really makes me want to read the Scout Atticus and Boo book too!
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com
The USA Today articles is very interesting too. I actually saw a lot of coverage on the new last night from the goings-on in Monroeville. One thing I never knew was that Harper wrote it as a gift for her father in a way, as he was a lawyer too and the model for Atticus.
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com
I never read To Kill a Mockingbird but I saw the movie and loved it.
Smiles,
Cindy W.
countrybear52[at]yahoo[dot]com
I haven't read it yet, but want to! :)
The video was wonderful. It just doesn't seem like the book is only 50 years old. It really hit home when A Summers Place started playing just before Tom Brokaw started talking. Wow. A masterpiece written in my lifetime.
Smiles,
Cindy W.
countrybear52[at]yahoo[dot]com
One of my favorite books as a child was And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss. It taught me at an early age that you can create stories in your mind. Loved it!
Smiles,
Cindy W.
countrybear52[at]yahoo[dot]com
I found it interesting that Harper Lee only wrote one book...much like Margaret Mitchell with Gone With the Wind. I guess neither had to write another as they did everything right the first time.
Smiles,
Cindy W.
countrybear52[at]yahoo[dot]com
I read the book a long time ago and it was one of my first exposures to reading about prejudice. I would really enjoy reading it again. This is a great prize!
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net
I loved the video. So many people voiced their opinion of the book and they all made me stop and think. Like they said, the book never ages.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net
USA Today said that To Kill a Mockingbird is one of a handful of books that could earn the title of Great American Novel.
pbclark(at(netins(dot)net
After my husband was diagnosed we read The Last Lecture by Randy Paush and it was a very moving book.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net
+4swag shundelt@yahoo.com
+4swag jeff72768@yahoo.com
+4swag chirth7@yahoo.com
Hi! I have never read this classic. Everyone says that I should. :)
Thank you for a really nice giveaway!!
Connie
connie_bryant@hotmail.com
I am not surprised by the comments but am glad that so many notable people would reflect on the importance of this novel
anjamie4 AT gmail DOT com
I have read it multiple times and think it is what started me on the path of being an English Lit teacher from my first read in grade 9.
anjamie4 AT gmail DOT com
I totally related to what Wally Lamb said about the book making readers out of reluctant readers as I found that true in my teaching as well
anjamie4 AT gmail DOT com
So many books as most give something to your life but one that had impact was Romeo and Juliet as it made me want to read more Shakespeare and I am so glad I did
anjamie4 AT gmail DOT com
I have read "To Kill a Mockingbird" several times throughout my life. It's a timeless book and I find I get a little more out of it every time I read it. It is also my mom's all-time favorite book with "Out of Africa" running a close second. Although I'd love to keep the interview book for myself, I hope to win and give it to her. She'll love it!
AlexDean03(at)yahoo.com
The book that had a profound effect on me was "Jonathan Livingston Seagull."
AlexDean03(at)yahoo.com
I love how this small town of Monroeville is going all out with the anniversary of this book. They're on the map now!
AlexDean03(at)yahoo.com
The video takes me back. Very touching. Now I want to watch the movie again. Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch was hot!
AlexDean03(at)yahoo.com
I have read the book a couple of times and loved it. I've also watched the movie too. I would love to win this book for my best friend, it's her favorite book of all the books she's read.
Dutchlvr1(at)aol(dot)com
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is another book that I have read many times, and is still one of my all time favorites.
Dutchlvr1(at)aol(dot)com
I have read To Kill a Mockingbird, but it was a long time ago. I remember that I really loved the book and I have been meaning to buy a copy of it. Thanks for the giveaway!
Latsyrc728@yahoo.com
Since I read this book in High School, I will stick to that theme. Some other books that have had an impact on me are Catch 22, Their Eyes Were Watching God and Catcher in the Rye. All Classics!
Latsyrc728@yahoo.coma
I found it very interesting that this is Lee's only book...kind of a shame. I also learned that it is still a bestseller! That's amazing.
Latsyrc728@yahoo.com
tweet: http://twitter.com/Latsyrc728/status/18590167527
Latsyrc728@yahoo.com
I am ashamed to say that I have never read the book or even saw the movie. I need to rectify that soon.
Love & Hugs,
Pam
pk4290(at)comcast(dot)net
The video makes me want to read the book To Kill a Mockingbird even more. Some of my favorite authors and personalities are in the video saying what the book meant to them. I like that it is timeless.
Love & Hugs,
Pam
pk4290(at)comcast(dot)net
My favorite all time book has to be The Last Noel by Michael Malone.
That story has stayed with me long after I have read it and I believe it had to be about 10 years ago. I never heard any hype about the book but it impacted me.
Love & Hugs,
Pam
pk4290(at(comcast(dot)net
In The USA today article it said that Harper Lee meant the book to be a gift to her father, a love story from a daughter to her father, who was a great man in a small town.
Love & Hugs,
Pam
pk4290(at)comcast(dot)net
+4 Swagbucks
Love & Hugs,
Pam
pk4290(at)comcast(dot)net
I have never read the book-I love the movie
tiramisu392 (at) yahoo.com
I loved the book. I went to school with a lot of racists who hated it. It taught me a lot about human nature. Plus I looooove the movie.
misusedinnocence@aol.com
I really enjoyed reading To Kill A Mockingbird.
allisonsbj3(at)gmail(dot)com
Another book that had an impact on me was the Harry Potter series.
allisonsbj3(at)gmail(dot)com
I have never read this book I am embarrassed to admit
misaacmom at gmail dot com
I loved The Time Traveler's Wife - it is the most beautiful story I ever read.
misaacmom at gmail dot com
Harper Lee still won't give interviews is one tidbit I learned.
Garden and Gun also has an interesting article on Harper Lee this month that discusses her intense desire for privacy.
I love TKAM! I read it my Freshman year of high school and still remember the class projects that my friends and I did - it was definitely a favorite.
akreese (at) hotmail (dot) com
I remember reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and being amazed at what life was like living in a big city. But really there was so much about that book that affected me and made me realize how good I had it as a kid.
akreese (at) hotmail (dot) com
I've read To Kill A Mockingbird a few times and am always awed by this wonderful book. The first time I read it, I realized that lawyers can help individual people. There are several lawyers in my family but they practice in the areas of tax, corporate and finance law. When I read Mockingbird I was entranced by the idea of a lawyer with a single client in a bad spot and helping this person to get out of the trouble. I also was thrilled with the idea of going to trial and speaking in front of a jury. Of course, Atticus made that park look so easy!
I didn't know it then but my first reading of Mockingbird planted the seeds for my career-path! I had a lot to learn but we all start somewhere!
Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com
I read "Moving Violations" by John Hockenberry many years ago. It was a terrific book for me because he is an award-winning journalist who has been in a wheelchair since he was a young man following an accident that left him paralyzed. I felt comforted and understood when I read this book because John knows what it's like to live in a world where people act afraid of you or dislike you because you're different. He refused to disappear and, instead, embraced life and did whatever he wanted to, adapting himself to the situation. He even went over sease and reported from war torn areas in the midst of fierce battles...while in a wheelchair! He never quit, he never cowered, he never hid. I learned from reading "Moving Violations" that I have as much right as anyone else to get out in the world and live despite my crutches and wheelchair. I learned not to be afraid of life!
Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com
I didn't know Harper Lee wrote TKAM as a gift for her father who was the model for Atticus Finch. I love this!
I think it's wonderful that Harper Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor. I think she's quite deserving of it.
Harper Lee has lived her life in an honorable way. I think staying out of the limelight and moving on with her life rather than getting involved with all the attention her book received and is receiving gives more integrity to her story, emphasizes it's importance and allows the book to receive all of the attention.
Harper Lee gave us all a gift by writing To Kill A Mockingbird and then stepping back and away from it and allowing it to bask in the limelight alone!
Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com
I tweeted:
http://twitter.com/Amestir/status/19736143078
Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com
It's the first book I ever read that made me truly understand the power of literature in explaining abstract concepts like love and justice.
chrisharrell20 at yahoo dot com
I grew up in Brewton, AL which is about 30 miles from Monroeville, the town of this book. I have read To Kill A Mockingbird and love the small town characters and atmosphere. It makes me appreciate the town I grew up in.
lag110 at mchsi dot com
The video captures the essence of the book and the small town.
lag110 at mchsi dot com
I found it interesting that she modeled Atticus after her father.
lag110 at mchsi dot com
Fried Green Tomatos at The Whistlestop Cafe is my all time favorite book. It captured small town life in the South.
lag110 at mchsi dot com
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/lag32583/status/20074130064
Yes, I've read the book, a couple of times~a very powerful book. One that sticks in your mind!
Luvdaylilies at bellsouth dot net
The video just shows what a powerful impact this book had on our society!
Luvdaylilies at bellsouth dot net
I read this book in high school, and I read it every so often. It is a part of my permanent library. I recall the quote about the American Nightingale, AKA the "Mockingbird," but disagree on one point. When living in the South, our very docile cat, Miss Kitty, never a hunter, would lie in our driveway, sunning herself and enjoying the scenery. Apparently, a nest of mockingbirds was nearby because one continually dove down in an attack mode at Miss Kitty. She would simply swat at it before it came near and chatter away at it to leave her alone. They are very territorial.
cyeates AT nycap DOT rr DOT com
It always amazed me that Harper Lee never wrote another book. Thank goodness, she did write this one.
cyeates AT nycap DOT rr DOT com
Another absolute favorite of mine growing up was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Another treasure.
cyeates AT nycap DOT rr DOT com
I've read To Kill a Mockingbird and I thought it was so lovely. Scout was such a sweet character.
Thanks for the giveaway.
s.mickelson at gmail dot com
I read "To Kill A Mockingbird" in high school and have recently read it as part of a study group through our local library. This is one of those books that makes a lasting impression upon those who read it. It brought out in the open some of those things that were just never discussed. I would dearly love to win both of these books.
Thank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
It is nice to realize that people whose thoughts I highly respect, also were taken by what was said in "To Kill A Mockingbird." I agree with Oprah as to how powerful it was when Scout was told by a black man forced to sit in the upstairs gallery told her to stand because her dad was walking by. What a sign of respect!
Thank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
I did not know that she had written this book as a sign of her love for her father whom she admired. Atticus Finch is based upon her father. It is amazing the number of topics that were discussed in this book. "It encompasses multiple themes: coming of age, tolerance and empathy, fatherhood and hero worship, and the eccentricities of small-town people. It's also about racism and incest, murder and injustice, fear and ignorance, and the possibility of redemption."
Thank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
A book that I read that had a great impact upon my life was "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee." I am part Choctaw Indian whose great great grandfather captured a white woman. My grandmother was raised in an Indian orphanage. It just explained some of those things that are just never discussed.
Thank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
I tweeted about this giveaway http://twitter.com/ossmcalc/status/20291537591
thank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
I've never read the book, but I'd like too. We might have read it in school but I can't remember it.
chirth7@yahoo.com
http://twitter.com/Romantic73/status/20305679116
chirth7@yahoo.com
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100000641625482&v=wall&story_fbid=144075438944628
chirth7@yahoo.com
http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/chirth7/review/44539537/
chirth7@yahoo.com
http://bulletins.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=bulletin.read&authorID=533391661&messageID=6678741782&hash
chirth7@yahoo.com
+5swag chirth7@yahoo.com
After watching the video I want to read it even more and I'm wondering why I've lived 37 years and haven't read it? I'll buy the book and read it if I don't win it!
Must be one of the worlds best novels!
chirth7@yahoo.com
"It's our national novel," proclaims Oprah Winfrey.
"It changed how people think," said former first lady and lifetime book lover Laura Bush
chirth7@yahoo.com
the book that had an impact on my life had to be my childrens Bible. It was the first book that moved me and made me believe in heaven and hell and I knew that I didn't want to end up there. I'll never forget the picture of the devil in my childrens Bible, I was so scared by that. It taught me right from worng.
chirth7@yahoo.com
I just re-read this book last month! What a great read, it's a great look at racial relations through the eye of a child. I'd love to win this 50th anniversary celebration of the book!
jeff72768@yahoo.com
I agree with wehat everyone has said about the book. Having just read it again, I feel as connect3d to it as they do.
jeff72768@yahoo.com
this doesn't suprise me: but it is amazing:
There are more than 30 million copies of the book in print, it's never been out of print, nearly1 million are sold every year, it remains a best seller (it's No. 56 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list
jeff72768@yahoo.com
other than the Bible I've not read anything as great as To kill a Mockingbird. jeff72768@yahoo.com
http://twitter.com/jeff72768/status/20307869560
jeff72768@yahoo.com
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100000609680005&v=wall&story_fbid=143481629013859
jeff72768@yahoo.com
http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/Jeff72768/review/44540427/
jeff72768@yahoo.com
http://bulletins.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=bulletin.read&authorID=540594583&messageID=6677750829&hash
jeff72768@yahoo.com
+5swag jeff72768@yahoo.com
I did read To Kill a Mockingbird but it was so long ago, I'd love to read it again, I could use a refresher. I read it with my daughter when she had to read it for school back in the 80's. lol
shundelt@yahoo.com
WOW. I would love this set, though I already own TKAM. I would share the new copy!
The video was great! Were big fans of Oprah and she was really moved by the book, you could see how much that book meant to her.
shundelt@yahoo.com
(Previously I didn't share how it influenced me. You can delete it.)
I loved TKAM. I read it so many times in high school, then finally bought my own copy.
It left me in awe of the power of children and the kindness from the unexpected. It made me sad and angry at how life can be bc of race and class.
derekannette at gmail dot com
A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller opened my eyes to prayer like nothing else I had read...adn I don't usually like books about prayer!
I agree with what was said in the video...TKAM is NOT over!
I didn't realize it was published around the time of civil rights and impacted it! derekannette at gmail dot com
In celebration of 50 years, Lee's current publisher, HarperCollins, bookstores, libraries and scores of writers and readers across the country are preparing to give Lee and Mockingbird a grand shout-out this summer with new editions, new books, readings, stagings and screenings of the 1962 movie.
I seen the movie but that was a long time ago I think it would be fun to see at the movies. Something we'll have to do if it shows here.
shundelt@yahoo.com
http://twitter.com/Grandmamaof10/status/20309370774
shundelt@yahoo.com
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100001087052807&v=wall&story_fbid=142003512488176
shundelt@yahoo.com
http://bulletins.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=bulletin.read&authorID=540593519&messageID=6677751886&hash
shundelt@yahoo.com
http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/shundelt45/review/44541123/
shundelt@yahoo.com
+5swag shundelt@yahoo.com
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