To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1988, Paperback, Reprint)

It took me two years to finish reading the book. I didn't finish it the first time because I had to return it to my dormmate. Then, when our school's book club put it on their reading list, i remembered I haven't finished reading the book yet. So I took it out, and two weeks (+ 2 days of overdue) later, I'm done.

Must love it. Not really a big, big story. It's just how our perception of the world changes as we grow up. It's also about social justice. It's a good read. Scout Finch is just adorable.

The book actually won a Pulitzer Prize in the 60's.

"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions," said Atticus, "but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."

"The witnesses for the state...have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumptionthe evil assumptionthat all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber. Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson's skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men cannot be trusted around women, black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men..."

"As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget itwhenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash."

"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

Everything I have ever needed to know about moral values, decency, and human nature in general I have learned through the classic book To Kill a Mockingbird by perfectionist author Harper Lee.
These are the things that I have learned: Children watch their parents as role models more than may be apparent; kids may disobey their parents a lot, but still generally have the same outlook on life as their parents do; if a child is brought up by prejudiced parents then they are likely to have prejudice towards a group of people as well. Adult figures are the result of the environment they grew up in.
In a field of weeds and vines there will always be something that stands out from the overgrowth, be it a flower, a mockingbird, or a kind lawyer.
True courage is not a man with a gun in his hand, it’s when you know you will lose before you begin, but you see it through to the end no matter what. There are two big events in your life, birth and death, you can’t invite people to your birth, but -if you can- you should invite the ones you love and respect to your death. It is one of the most respectful things you can do for them.
There are people who were put into this world to be the good everyday heroes that society needs – you should try to be one of them.
The world would be a better place if everyone was not so wrapped up in their own little worlds and would put forth more effort to help the ones who live and act around them in ways both big and small in order to promote love, kindness, prosperity, and ultimately happiness.

(THIS IS THE HONESTLY THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!)

THIS CLASSIC NOVEL "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" IS ABOUT A YOUNG GIRL NAMED JEAN LOUISE FINCH (AKA "SCOUT") WHO GROWS UP IN MAYCOMB COUNTY, ALABAMA IN THE 1930S WITH HER STRONG WILLED BROTHER JEM, AND PATIENT, BUT UNDERSTANDING FATHER ATTICUS FINCH. TOLD FROM SCOUT'S POINT OF VIEW, THIS IS A COMING OF AGE STORY THAT WILL SURELY CAPTURE YOUR HEART FOREVER AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO FIND GOOD IN EVERY PERSON YOU MAY MEET IN LIFE. A MUST READ FOR ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS. IT IS EASY TO SEE WHY THIS BOOK CAN EASILY BE CONSTRUED AS THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.

This book is a must read for people of almost any age. This book gives great detail of what it was like for African Americans, and how cruelly they were treated, and also the way things were dealt with back in the time (taking place in the south). This is by far one of the best books i have read. At first i was reluctant to read it because i usually like to read thriller, and action books, but this book changed my mind completely.
I give my utmost respect to the author of this book, and appraise his excellent literature. Harper Lee does a great job of capturing what life was like during the depression down in the south.
To appreciate the experience i had, as well as others, one must read the book for themselves (and not just watch the movie; the movie is different, and leaves out a lot of good parts from the book).

I am glad that I did not miss out on reading this book in my lifetime! Harper Lee was ahead of her time when she wrote about the racial strife in this small town. Scout ( the narrator ) was a precocious, charming storyteller and her father Atticus was one of the most admirable characters in American fiction. The story is good and the telling of it is good. Subplots flesh out the novel to a true classic meant to be read more then one time.