State of My Fall Into Reading

I have completed these books so far, except Washington's Crossing, which is still in progress. (I reported on some of them last month, but I have handy dandy pictures now, and wanted to be all cool.)

Since my last update, I've read The Scarlet Pimpernel, which thrilled me as much as it ever did; The Enchanted April, which I found less than enchanting this time around - a little too trite and a bit contrived - I think Under the Tuscan Sun spoiled me; and To Kill a Mockingbird - sorry to admit that I have never read it before now.

Can I just say that if there is one piece of writing (aside from scripture and the founding documents of our country) that every person, particularly every American, needs to read and internalize, it is To Kill A Mockingbird. And if I didn't read any other book in the Fall Into Reading challenge, I am so grateful that I read this one.

I haven't felt so deeply and learned so much from literature in a long, long time, and it was truly amazing to read such perfection in simple prose, and to see prejudice and gentleness and hope in humanity through the eyes of Scout. The last few pages from the front porch of Boo Radley's place - unforgettably precious.

One of the lines that keeps recurring to me is a comment Atticus makes that when great injustices happen, only the children weep. I think one of the keys to raising children who respect and appreciate others is to encourage them in that child-like instinct, not to "educate" them out of it or pass on our own jaded views of how things "are", and to teach them not only to weep for the "hell people give other people," but to show them that they can make a difference by just pausing long enough to walk in other people's shoes a bit.

It's been weeks since I finished To Kill A Mockingbird, but I am still crying over passages from it. A book like this is why we read.

For more about Katrina's Fall Into Reading Challenge, visit this post over at Callapidder Days. (I think you can still join in!)