To Kill a Mockingbird

My Life Monday: Week 4 -- what is your favorite book and why.

Okay, so I'm kind of cheating for this one. For enrichment night a little while back, a friend asked me if I'd give a short little presentation on my favorite book along with a few other sisters in the ward. Being the dork that I am, and sadly deprived of opportunities to write essays and papers and so forth, I probably went a little overboard in the presentation I prepared. Nevertheless, To Kill a Mockingbird IS my favorite book, and the following description IS what I truly feel. So here you go...

"Through the eyes of Scout Finch, [the novel's young narrator], Harper Lee explores with rich humour and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930's. 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..." (excerpt from the jacket cover).

Written during a period of deep political and civil unrest in 1960, this book is one of the rare finds that transcends time and remains as potent and applicable today as it did 50 years ago.

In his 1950 Nobel Literature prize acceptance speech, William Faulkner declared the only thing worth writing about involves the human heart in conflict with itself. As Scout struggles to make sense of the world in which she lives and the conflict between what her heart feels is right and what society tells her is right, she comes to the conclusion that "there's only one kind of folks in this world, and thats just folks."

As for why this is my favorite book, and why I think it is perhaps one of the best books of the 20th century, I want to refer again to Faulkner's acceptance speech. I'll close this little presentation with his concluding remarks: "I believe that man will not merely endure: he wil prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help men endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail."

So there you have it. Read it if you haven't already.

I thought I'd list a few other books that I've read lately that I think are good reads:

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini is EXCELLENT. I really like books that have a redemptive quality to them. This book has some serious subject matter in it, but in the end is the triumph of the human spirit, which makes any book worthwhile for me.

As far as epics go, "The Far Pavillions" by M.M. Kaye is probably not one you've heard of. Its by a British author, and it is a sweeping tale that will just suck you in. The ending felt a bit long to me, but I still loved it overall.

If you like mysteries, M. M. Kaye also has a series of "Death in ---" books which are fun reads. I really liked "Death in Zanzibar" and "Death in Cyprus." Also in the mystery genre is the series that starts with "The Beekeeper's Apprentice" by Laurie King that is a Sherlock Holmes spin-off.

If you're in the mood for some non-fiction, I just finished a fascinating book called "Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology" by Eric Brende. This guy decides to try an experiment of living without any type of modern technology for a year to see if the quality of his life actually improves. I really thought his ideas and conclusions were interesting.

As for juvenile literature, I love Andrew Clements' books. My favorite by far is "Frindle" -- probably because it has to do with words and their meanings. In this book a 5th grade student decides to try and get his whole class to stop calling a a pen "pen" and call it a "frindle" instead. Its a really quick read and I love how it shows that it just takes one person to institute a big change.

Okay, you're probably tired of reading all my ramblings by now. Sorry!

Next week's topic - Take a picture of something (not somebody) that represents part of who you are. Share that object and tell why it is significant to you.