Reading My Share of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’

The literature world is all abuzz with today's release of Harper Lee's book, Go Set A Watchman. And to celebrate its release, I was lucky enough to take part in a reading of Lee's classic novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Monday night.

The event, at the Barnes & Noble store at Apache Mall, was held all day Monday. According their Facebook page, "It's a Harper Lee Celebration and we will be reading To Kill a Mockingbird aloud in the store from open to close (9am-9pm). Anticipation builds to see folks like Mayor Brede, John Wade, Tom Overlie, Betsy Singer, James Wilcox, State Sen Nelson, State Reps Norton and Liebling and MANY more take a turn reading the perennial favorite. Over 30 Rochester notables will lend their voices to the story that continues to shape a nation and is just as relevant now as it was when it was released in the 60s!"

I was able to read a portion of the book near the end-- the denouement, if you will-- where most of the loose pieces of the plot finally come together. I'll confess I was a little nervous about a few things. First, I hadn't read the novel since high school, and didn't want to screw up any obvious names. Secondly, the 'ol eyesight isn't quite as good as it once was, and while I have a pair of 'cheaters' I use sometimes at home, I neglected to bring them with me. And, your arms only reach out so far, mind you. So, I was hoping the printing was large enough for me to read without creating extra stumbles.

Fortunately, neither of those fears were well-founded. I was able to see the words on the page just fine, and I don't think I butchered any obvious names-- well, too many, any way. All in all, it was a cool event. Many thanks to Sherri Halleland at Barnes & Noble for inviting me to take part!