The Mockingbird Next Door

The Mockingbird Next Door

Life with Harper Lee

by Marja Mills

★★★★☆

Like so many other, I’ve always loved To Kill a Mockingbird. In 2011 I took a road trip with the Huz and we visited the Mockingbird museum in Monroeville, Alabama. We got to see the original site where Harper Lee and Truman Capote’s homes were and we even ate at a few local places said to be Lee’s favorites. I think that trip is a huge part of why I enjoyed this book so much.

Reading about the author’s own trips to the same place brought back great memories. Her first person account of getting to know the Lee sisters takes place in the tiny town of Monroeville. We had stayed in the same hotel and ate at the same restaurants. Mills visits Lee’s hometown for a simple article, assuming she’ll never have the opportunity to speak with the infamous author herself. Yet over the course of the next few years she actually becomes friends with the author and rents a house next door for a while. They watched movies from Netflix together and shared the occasional cup of coffee in the morning.

It was like sinking into a porch rocker on a humid afternoon. Mills tells you about the slow, unexpected friendship in a leisurely way that suits the setting. Lee comes across as witty and feisty. If the whole things had been fiction I wouldn’t have been surprised because it reads like such a dream for any fan of TKAM.

Mill’s portrait is exactly how I always pictured Lee would actually be. I’ve heard about the recent complaints about the authenticity of the book. I hope it’s all unfounded. I suppose there’s no way to know for sure, but in my opinion I felt like the author was constantly respectful of the Lees and their privacy. There’s no feel of privacy being evaded or secrets being aired to the public. It’s just a glimpse into their quiet world.

A few years ago I read Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields. It came across as dry and a bit boring. I think the thing that was obviously missing is that irreplaceable spark that Harper Lee herself provides.

I loved the honest way it addressed Lee’s complicated relationship with fame. The sincerity about being proud of her work, but hating the attention and press that came with it. She was honored when she won the Pulitzer, but she still didn’t want to go through the stress of publishing another book.

BOTTOM LINE: A wonderful read for any fan of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s also a great way to get excited before the release of Go Set a Watchman on July 14th!

Reading the States is Updated

 

If you're planning on traveling soon or just want to explore a new state through a book, I've just updated my Reading the States posts (at the tab above.) There is one post for every state and a bonus one for cross country road trips.

 

Each posts includes fiction and nonfiction books set in the state. It also includes authors who live there or frequently write about the state. There are also links to bookstores and literary places to visit in each state. 

 

Feel free to let me know if there's a book, bookstore or literary tourist spot I should add to a post!   

Hello 29!

Oh my goodness how I love birthdays and lucky me, today is mine! Seriously guys, birthdays are the absolute best. It's not about presents or anything like that. I love having an excuse to celebrate life, to do fun things that you might not normally do and to spend time with all the people you love. Instead of presents, the Huz always spends a whole weekend having fun adventures with me around the city. We check out new restaurants and go to museums or events that I've always wanted to check out. 

I've never dreaded becoming a year older. I think it's fantastic. I've never regretted one year of my life or the way I've lived it, so each new birthday is a chance to celebrate another year of possibilities. Who knows what adventures this year will hold! 

So here's a few lists to celebrate turning 29! 

5 Things I'm doing during my birthday weekend:

1) Attending my first roller derby game

2) Dinner at a Kurt Vonnegut inspired restaurant 

3) Touring Monument Circle 

4) Drinks at a cool new martini bar

5) Check out the local craft brews at Tomlinson Tap Room

5 Things I'm planning to do this year:

1) Go to Harry Potter World in September! (already bought the tickets!) 

2) Celebrate my BFF's destination wedding as the MOH in June, so freakin' excited for her!

3) Visit Margaret Mitchell's house in Atlanta 

4) Swim with Dolphins 

5) Attend my first Indy 500 Race (I'm a Hoosier and I've never been, shameful)

5 things I'm grateful for:

1) The Huz, always

2) Health, I take it for granted, but all of the people who are incredibly important to me are healthy, such a blessing.

3) Steady jobs for both me and the Huz

4) My niece and nephews. I may not be ready for kids, but these guys are such a joy.

5) The pup, I post way too many Ollie photos on Instagram, but I seriously love that dog. 

5 awesome things I'm grateful for in the past year:

1) Lots of weekend trips and the friends I've taken them with: Shakespeare plays in Wisconsin, a lake house in Kentucky, the Smokey Mountains, Washington DC, Louisville, and Chicago. Each one of those trips was a chance to spend time with family or friends who I love so much. There's something about traveling with people that gives you a chance to get to know them so much better, I love it.

2) Every new thing I learn how to cook

3) Time to read and the desire to do so, such a gift! 

4) A massive road trip to Montana with the Huz

5) All of the joyous events in the lives of the people I love: graduations, babies, marriages, success at work, new houses, new pets, new adventures; each one makes me so happy.

Image from here, because birthday pie is way better than birthday cake.

Reading the States: Road Trip

Over the past year I’ve posted about books and authors from every single state in America. You can see the complete list here.

I loved learning a bit more about each state and the authors and books that capture its unique characteristics. But I must admit I’m glad I finally reached the end! I hope people are able to use the lists as references in the future when they’re hoping to explore a new state. It’s always fun to read books set in a state you’re about to visit.

For this final post I wanted to give you all a few great road trip books. These are all books that are set in multiple states or involve a trip across the United States. Read a few and I promise you you’ll have a hard time resisting the urge to hit the road.

Also, here's another great blog to check out for more suggestions: LitMap Project.

- Travels with Charley* by John Steinbeck 

- April 1865* by Jay Winik

- A Journey through Literary America by Thomas Hummel

- The Lost Continent* by Bill Bryson

- Blue Highways* by William Least Heat-Moon

- On the Road* by Jack Kerouac
- The Island of Lost Maps by Miles Harvey

- A Walk across America by Peter Jenkins

- Way Off the Road by Bill Geist

- I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson

- Undaunted Courage* by Stephen E. Ambrose 

- Roughing It* by Mark Twain 
- State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America by Matt Weiland
- The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet* by Reif Larsen
- Liner Notes* by Emily Franklin
- Amy & Roger's Epic Detour* by Morgan Matson

On the Road Again

The Huz and I have serious love of road trips. In the past few years we’ve trekked out to the South Dakota Badlands, the Gulf Shore in Alabama, Lake Powell in Utah, the Redwoods in California, Crater Lake in Oregon, the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado to name a few.

So we’re excited about our next big trip. We’re leaving today to meander out to Glacier National Park (see that gorgeous picture above!) in Montana. We’re so excited! We’ll be hanging out in the Twin Cities, camping in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and enjoying the beautiful trails in Glacier.

So anyway, I’ll be out of commission for the next couple weeks as we make our way through Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana. I have posts scheduled, but I will probably not be doing great on responding to your comments and commenting on your blogs. I will be enjoying your comments though! I have an iPhone, but won’t have great internet access. So I hope you all have a great couple weeks and I’ll be back soon with fun pictures!

Image from here.