A Sequel to 'To Kill a Mockingbird' on Sale This July!

Many years ago, I realized that despite all the reading I do, I had never read many of the classics. I created a list and set a goal to read as many of them as I could and dove head-first into a pile of literature loved by generations. Some I liked, some I loved, and some ... not so much! I loved 'Anne of Green Gables', but 'Old Man and the Sea' bored me to tears. I firmly believe here are a handful of books everyone needs to read, and 'To Kill a Mockingbird', by Harper Lee, is one of them.

After I read 'To Kill a Mockingbird', I rushed out and rented the movie. (In the olden days, we had to drive to the video store and rent them!) I wanted the kids to see this movie. Actually, I wanted them to read the book, and I hoped if they saw the movie, they would want to read it. Thing 1 loves reading as much as I do. It is a source of sadness to me that Things 2 and 3 don't read very much. In recent years, however, Thing 2 has begun to discover the joy of reading, and I'm holding out hope that Thing 3 will follow. I consider the love of reading to be the greatest gift my mother passed on to me. I read to my kids every day when they were little, and have long considered Thing 2 and 3's lack of love for the written word to be my greatest failure.

The kids and I piled onto the sofa and watched the movie. They weren't as thrilled with it as I was, but they were young ... too young to grasp the significance of the plot ... but I knew one day they would. And it didn't help that the film is in black and white, which signifies "old and irrelevant" to young kids. 

I recently read an article that a sequel to 'To Kill a Mockingbird', entitled 'Go Set a Watchman', will go on sale this July. 'Go Set a Watchman' was Ms. Lee's first novel and submission to an agent. It portrayed Scout as an adult, with flashbacks to her childhood. Her editor was so intrigued by young Scout that she requested Lee write a book from the point of view of Scout as a child. Hence, 'To Kill a Mockingbird'  was born.

'Go Set a Watchman' was forgotten and assumed lost forever until Ms. Lee's attorney discovered the only known manuscript attached to the original, typed manuscript of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.

I can't wait to get my hands on this book!!!