Summer Reading Comes Full Circle

It's no secret to those who know me - I love to read! Most times, I have at least two or three books going at the same time. Sometimes, however, I find that a book is so engaging I simply must lend all of my available reading time to that one 'great read'.

I have just experienced one such 'great read' - "Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee" by Charles J. Shields. Who among us has not read "To Kill a Mockingbird" as an assigned reading for school?

For me, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was one of those books I took out of our small town library one summer - long before it would become required reading. I read it all day under the big oak tree out back. When the sun set and 'lights out' was imposed, I continued to read it - under the covers by flashlight. But I always had one ear listening for the sound of a creak in the steps which would signal Daddy was on his way upstairs. That creak was my signal to (temporarily) turn the flashlight off and feign sleep until the coast was clear.

There are only a few books that I feel compelled to re-read multiple times. Charles Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities" runs a close second to "To Kill a Mockingbird." Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon" and Anne Morrow Lindbergh's "Gifts of the Sea" follow close behind the two classics.

I can't tell you the number of times I've read Harper Lee's classic. I've lost track. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is one of my all-time-favorite books! And, while I am not usually a fan of movies based on books, the movie version of Harper Lee's tale of life in a small Southern town ranks among my favorite movies as well.

This being said, it should come as no surprise that when I saw "Mockingbird" on the shelf, I couldn't resist. From the very first page, I was 'had'! Too bad if anyone or anything required my undivided attention while I was reading "Mockingbird"! That just wouldn't be happening because I did not want to pry myself away from the pages of this wonderful read.

It must have been an incredibly daunting task to undertake - the telling of Harper Lee's life. A task made even more daunting because she is still alive and did not participate in the telling of her story. I cannot imagine how great the desire to please and to "get it right" when crafting a book about someone's life. But I really cannot imagine doing so for a person who looms larger than life to many in the literary world!

Reading "Mockingbird" has not only left me in awe of the woman behind one of my favorite books of all time, it has conjured up a host of nostalgic memories of a childhood long gone. Reading it has sent me to the video store to search out the movie once again and caused me to pull my well-worn copy of Harper Lee's book down from the shelf so that I can re-read it. Doing so will no doubt bring another flood of childhood memories. But one thing's for sure! This time around I won't have to hide under the covers with a flashlight - but perhaps I will anyway! Just for the fun of it! Once more for old time's sake!