To Kill a Mockingbird

A conversation I had yesterday got me thinking about how long it has been since I read a book. There was a time when I would go through at least a couple of books a week.

I being a science fiction and fantasy fan obviously read a lot of Assimov, Arthur C Clark, Robert Jordan, J RR Tolkien, Terry Brooks, Frank Herbert and recently C J Cherry and unashamedly J.K. Rowling. However, I used to read a lot of westerns almost all the books from Max Brand, Luis L’Amour and Zane Grey, Action books from Allister Mclain, Michael Crichton and paperbacks from Sydney Sheldon, Jeffrey Archer, Irving Wallace and humor of PG Woodhouse, James Herriot and Gerald Durrel. Irving Stone, Ayan Rand, John Steinbeck, Paulo Coehlo and Richard Bach wrote the more serious books I loved reading.

While due credit goes to this entire august company for enriching my life.

By far my favorite book of all time has got to be “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee

The child like perspective captures brilliantly the irony of the human condition and of trials, small mercies and tragedy of everyday ordinary people caught in extraordinary situations.

The fact the Harper Lee never again wrote another book may be one of the greatest losses of mankind but then again maybe she was a medium for a great story wanting to be told and her other books might not have been as great.

We will never know.

A definite must read