To Kill A Mockingbird.

You know I'm a Writer.

Everybody else thinks that I'm a privileged homemaker who cooks, tends to family and is left with enormous amount of time to do nothing.

I cant stop everyone's thinking what I can do is utilize my time productively. So I paint a little, binge watch a little more, write a lot more and give maximum of my day to something I'm in awe of - Books!!!

Every time I pick a book, there are two things I do without fail. One, I silently thanked one person who's solely responsible for my love for books. He introduced me to the world of books, pushed me to read and now I can't get enough of books. Two, I get closer to  my dream of holding my book in my hand someday.

To help me in that, I did a course that would help me be a better writer. Took it up in April and finished the 45 day course in 20 days. My mentor had mentioned you must read books and I seemed to have ran out of books that time. So I went home and looted Chetan of some classic, marvelous books that accommodated the cupboard rather than his hands.

To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, first published in 1960. We had an excerpt from this one to explain how use of correct words can be of great impact. I picked this one first out of my new lot and started reading. A couple of pages later, I could not relate to the era the writer was talking about. I grew weary. I thought I am not going to like it and it will be very difficult to finish this one but I went on keeping the words of my mentor in mind. "Read everything you can get your hands on. Reading will improve your vocabulary and knowledge. Never restrict yourself to one genre."

Interestingly, the story is told by a 9 year old girl Scout. It is about how she sees things around her. It's about her, her brother, her father and their lives and events in Maycomb County. It takes a few pages to get you acquainted with the language and the young girl's point of view. Once, you do, you're hooked.

I fell in love with Atticus Finch, the father. He's a lawyer and a single parent and raises his boy and girl impressively. His work does not allow him much time with his kids but he makes sure to have dinner with them and read to them every night. He may not be wealthy enough to give them everything they want but he encourages them to do what they like. He is their go to person, their idol, their teacher. He never leaves questions unanswered (no  matter how bizarre or how awkward) but also makes sure he never oversteps.

There are few other things that I love thoroughly. The way it presents a picture from a child's view. The do's and dont's we can take from the book as parents. The possibility of being happy in any circumstance. The true potential of children generally missed / ignored by elders, especially their capability to understand tricky situations and handle difficult ones.

It also highlights the divide in society and its harsh truth. I was of the opinion that Indians were the ones suppressed for a long time. This book threw light on real struggles of people in the world that we usually imagine being the better off. While the book touches serious topics like racism, rape and injustice you can not miss the warmth, humour and innocence that soothes your soul in the midst of the tension.

After I finished it, I turned to the first page and then noticed the year it was first published. I then realized that the one I was holding was a 50th anniversary edition of this bestseller published in 2010. Shame I didn't get my hands on this marvelous piece earlier but was tremendously happy for finally finishing it.

In the words of Harper Lee "Kill all the bluejays if you can get them but it is a sin to kill a mockingbird". I am not going to spill any more beans here but I can only request you to pick this one up. It is an out an out treat.

I am going to start with a new one soon, tad to lazy to take a break from books. Will let you know about the next one too. 

For those who still don't read, start right away. Try to squeeze in half an hour of reading per day. This may be one of the habits our children learn merely by observing us. One habit that can change the way they think. One that can make their world lot better.

Happy Reading.

CHEERS!

GOD BLESS!!

CHS