I am a member of two book clubs, one I am an active member (I read all the books in the time allotted) and the other I am a optional member. How does the optional status work? Well, it really is a knitting group that the members choose to read the same book every month and then we have something to discuss at our monthly knitting night. Both groups chose very different subjects. The knitting group, ironically, chooses craft themed books and the other group is more random (with each member getting to take their turn to pick). Funnily enough, both groups chose the same book for the month of August: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This summer marked the 50th anniversary of this story's existence.
It is written in the perspective of a six year old girl from the tired old (fictional) town of Maycomb, Alabama. The story takes place during the height of America's Great Depression, World War II, and racial segregation. There are really two stories in the book, which start separately but by the end are intertwined in such a way one couldn't speak of one without the other. A strange recluse, a trial where one man's word challenges another, and the coming of age of two southern children create a sobering glimpse into our nation's history.
If you've never read this book, or it has been a long time, you really should read it again. I had forgotten the details of the book, and how much I really liked it. I had read it before, in high school, when it was required of me but as a teenager I had the tendency to read it, write the report, and then promptly forget about it. I think that as an adult I could really appreciate the story on a more mature level.
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