The "Adolescent" Novel Idea!

It's a classic that many of us read growing up in high school, Harper Lee's only novel, "To Kill A Mockingbird" was featured this morning on our Friday segment of Diane's Novel Idea! This book is one of the few books that has NEVER been out of print since its original publication in 1960. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1961 and, of course, who could forget the screen version that won an Academy Award, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. According to my friend at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library, Mary Stein, (without whose help this segment would not be possible) Gregory Peck is consistently rated as the #1 Movie Hero of all time for his portrayal of Attorney Finch. Mary also pointed out that though many of us HAVE read this novel, we read it "with adolescent eyes" and to reread it today, would be to bring our realm of "adult experiences and life lessons" into play.

Rating "To Kill A Mockingbird":

Readability: 5 out of 5

Reading Time: takes around 6 hours for most readers

Available in regular print, large print, Spanish
Audiocassette takes 12-13 hours to listen to, depending on the version
DVD and Video of the 1962 movie classic

Other Books that "Read Like":

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
"A Gathering of Old Men" by Ernest Gaines
"Ellen Foster" by Kaye Gibbons
"The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
"Wolf Whistle" by Lewis Nordan
"The Voice at the Back Door" by Elizabeth Spencer
"A Time to Kill" by John Grisham
"A Quiet Game" by Greg Iles
"Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain


Take a moment, perhaps this weekend, to revisit this American Classic! Until next week and another "novel idea", Happy Reading!!