Classics and Comics: Hour 10 Mini-Challenge

*******CHALLENGE CLOSED ***********

 Kristen (@glitterfem) is our winner!!!

I hope all of the readathon is going well for all of you! 

Classics and graphic novels are two of my favorite genres, but they're rarely paired together. Recently tons of classics have been turned into graphic novels, (like Jane Eyre seen above), and it's such a fun way to see a beloved story in a new format. 

For this challenge pick a classic novel and pair it with a companion graphic novel that is similar or shares themes in some way. For example, To Kill a Mockingbird would pair well with Persepolis because they are both books about a young girl coming-of-age in the midst of society filled with prejudices. 

Post your pairings in the comments or on Instagram with the hashtag #classicsandcomics and I'll pick a winner at random at the beginning of Hour 13. 

Please leave your email address in the comments!

PRIZE: $15 book of your choice from Amazon or Book Depository

Go Set a Watchman

Go Set a Watchman

by Harper Lee 

★★★★☆

 

I just want to start by saying I intentionally avoided articles and reviews of the book that came out before I had a chance to read it. There was way too much talk swirling around this book and I wanted to go into it without any preconceived notions. I actually tried to read it slowly, but it's not long and it's hard to put down. I was so nervous that it would be a disappointment and I'm so glad it wasn't!

Written before To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman is actually set after it. Scout is now in her 20s and living in New York City. She returns home to visit her family to find that not everything is how she left it. I don't want to compare Lee's two books, I think this one stands on its own. But I do love the style of writing that's prevalent in both, it's Harper Lee all over. You fall in love with the characters, particularly Atticus' brother Dr. Finch, who loves Victorian literature. You meet Jean Louise, not as the tomboy Scout, but as a 26-year-old woman who still trying to figure out who she is. 

There are shades of The Help in this book. A girl returns to her Southern roots to find that her friends and some of her family members seem racist in light of her new education and experiences. But Go Set a Watchman's focus is more on how Jean Louise reacts to this than it is about the issue itself. I think this is particularly true when you think about the fact that this was written in the midst of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s, not in retrospect when we already knew the outcome.

Honestly, I think the story is timeless because the issue itself is interchangeable. If it was written in the early 1900s it might have been about women's suffrage, if it was written today it might have been about gay marriage. The issue is what was being dealt with at that time. The story is about the people it affected and the hard truths you face when you grow up and realize your parents are human beings and have their own flaws.  

It's something most twenty-somethings go through, but it's never easy, especially for someone who has a parent like Atticus who is easy to place on a pedestal. Seeing your parents as real people for the first time is so hard. It's important to think about the context of their lives and the way they were raised when considering their actions. It doesn't justify their actions or beliefs, but it can help you understand them. Giving some context and perspective to their world is so crucial in understanding the people around us, flawed as they may be.

What I love the most is throughout the book everything so personal. We flashback to Jean Louise's childhood. There are glimpses of the To Kill a Mockingbird days and Dill. We see her as an awkward teen, misunderstanding things like pregnancy and periods. We even learn a bit more about Atticus' family history and his relationship with his deceased wife.  

Family provides the eternal conundrum. We love them so deeply, they are a part of us, but that doesn't mean we always hold to the same beliefs. It's the respect that we have for each other that keeps us close.  

BOTTOM LINE: I'm still processing the book and it's one that I'm sure I'll return to again in the future. It's not an easy book to think about, because it forces you to look at your own heroes and wonder about their flaws and how that changes your relationship with them. I really loved it though. The writing, the characters, the frank struggle, self-righteous indignation that it's so easy to feel when you're young. There was such a wonderful balance of nostalgia and new meat of a story. It was all that I was hoping and more.  

"She was afflicted with a restlessness of spirit he could not guess at, but he knew she was the one for him."

"Love's the only thing in this world that is unequivocal. There different kinds of love, certainly, but it's a you-do or you-don't proposition with them all."

"Any reference to her personal eccentricities, even from Henry, made her shy."

"She had never seen a shelter that reflected so strongly the personality of its owner. An eerie quality of untidiness prevailed amid order: Dr. Finch kept his house militarily spotless, the bookstand to pileup wherever he sat down."

"As sure as time, history is repeating itself, and as sure as man is man, history is the last place he'll look for his lessons."

"The only thing in America that is still unique in this tired world is that a man can go as far as his brains will take him or he can go to hell if he wants to."

"Remember this also: it's always easy to look back and see what we were, yesterday, ten years, it is hard to see what we are."

"He was the only person she ever knew who could paraphrase three authors into one sentence and have them all makes sense."

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!

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

by Mildred D. Taylor

★★★★★

This book! I just loved it. Through the eyes of a young African American girl named Cassie Logan we see the mounting racial tensions in a small Mississippi community in the 1930s. With her brothers, parents, and grandmother, she lives on a small farm that her family has owned for years.

I love the richness and diversely of the characters throughout the book. We see things from Cassie's point of view but we get to meet Jeremy, a young white boy who loves the Logan family and just wants to be part of it. We see his sister, who is naïve about her actions, a clear product of the prejudiced world in which she was raised. We see Cassie’s hothead Uncle Hammer and the damage that his attitude can have by escalating an already terrible state. We see the hopelessness of the sharecropper’s plight as they try to fight peaceably against the discrimination they are facing. We see Mr. Jamison who tries to stand up for them against the fellow white neighbors and we see the risk he’s willing to take. Each person plays their part, however small, in the fight against injustice.

The characters of T.J. and Stacey were particularly powerful. Stacey is in the midst of becoming a man and must learn how to deal with the anger and frustration he feels. T.J. is making the wrong decisions in life, but you’re left hoping he learns his lesson before it’s too late. I also loved the strength and courage of Cassie’s mother. She raises her children to have self-respect and quietly stands her ground as a teacher in the local school.

I can't believe I missed this book when I was younger. Although I went back and found a copy of another book that I loved when I was in grade school, called “Mississippi Bridge” and realize that not only is it by the same author, it's about the same characters!

I feel like this book would perfectly as a companion piece with To Kill a Mockingbird. It deals with the same issues in a similar time frame, but shows them from the opposite culture’s point of view. Cassie’s experience mirrors Scout’s, while Stacey’s mirrors Jem’s. The contrasting experiences would provide a great opportunity to give the issue more depth for students.

BOTTOM LINE: I loved it. The wonderfully written, diverse characters were empathetic and complex and made the book a must for my young adult keeper shelf in my library.

Top Ten Favorite Classic Books

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for our Top Ten Favorite Classic Books, which is one of my favorite topics! It's also incredibly hard to just pick ten!

1) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

2) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

3) Persuasion by Jane Austen

4) David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

5) The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

6) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

7) Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

8) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

9) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

10) Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

 

BONUS: Shakespeare! I can’t pick between his plays so I’m going to give him his own bonus spot.

July Classic Club Meme Question

  

What classic book has changed your view on life, social mores, political views, or religion? For this month’s Classic Club question I have two answers (obviously I have a problem keeping it to just one book).

To Kill a Mockingbird: This book had a big effect on the way I view the world and on what comes to mind when you think of a hero. One of its most important lessons didn’t even make it into the famous film version. When Scout’s brother Jem destroys an elderly woman’s garden his dad makes him spend time reading to her. She (Mrs. Dubose) is addicted to morphine and is often crabby, but Atticus’ punishment is meant to teach Jem that we should show others kindness no matter how they treat us. We often have no idea what they’ve gone through in their own lives.

Obviously there are also huge lessons about racial injustice, standing up to bullies, setting an example by your actions instead of your words, etc. Boo’s character teaches us that you should never trust rumors and stories to form your opinion of a person. You can find friends anywhere if you’re willing to get to know them. It’s such a beautiful book to read, especially when read at an impressionable age.

The other book is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. This dark tale taught me that the sins we commit have a larger effect on our own souls than on the lives of others. You may think you’ve “gotten away” with something, but that guilt will haunt you. It taught me that you have to live with the decisions you make, even if their consequences aren’t immediately visible. A person’s outer appearance often doesn’t reflect their true nature.

April Classic Club Meme Question

“Who is hands-down the best literary hero, in your opinion? Likewise, who is the best heroine?”

My two choices for literary hero are Atticus Finch and Gandalf. The first is the lawyer from the beloved novel To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a man of quiet strength. Not only is Atticus willing to stand up for those without a voice, he is also a wonderful father and the best shot in town! He defends Tom Robbins when no one else will take his case. He accepts bartered farm goods when his neighbors can’t pay for his services. He teaches his children that being kind to others is a way of life. You maintain that kindness even in the face of adversity. From a poor school boy to an elderly opium addict, he supports the people around him with unconditional respect and generosity. He is the ultimate hero.

Gandalf, the wizard from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, is hero in a more traditional sense. He is mysterious and powerful. He always appears when he is most needed. He is wise and kind, but he is also incredibly brave and willing to sacrifice himself for others.

The first of the two that tie for the spot of literary heroine is Hermione Granger. That girl is so strong and clever; Ron and Harry never would have made it to the seventh book without her! She helped them through the obstacles protecting the Sorcerer’s Stone in the first book, discovered the secret of the basilisk in the second book. In the third book she gets a time turner and what does she use it for through out the book… LEARNING! The fourth book, she continuously works to help Harry figure out his clues for the Tri-Wizard tournament, the fifth has her fighting Death Eaters along-side of her friends and encouraging Harry to start Dumbledore’s Army. In the seventh book she packs all of their belongings into a tiny clutch that she carries with them to the wedding. She’s always prepared! She is willing to leave her parents and give up her safety to travel with Harry and Ron in the wilderness and try to find horcruxes. She is brave and brilliant. She never dumbs herself down to fit in and her constant encouragement keeps Ron and Harry on track.

Now for a more traditional Classics choice, Marmee March is a minor character in Little Women, but her influence is seen throughout the book in the decisions her daughters make. She raises the four girls by herself for years while her husband is fighting in the Civil War. His bad financial decisions left them poor, but Marmee makes due and teaches her girls that wealth is not nearly as important as kindness. Even when they have barely anything Marmee still gives her time to those who are less fortunate than themselves. Marmee also encourages her daughters to follow their own dreams. When Meg wants to marry, Marmee only tells her to wait a few years so that they have time to mature first. She lets Jo travel to New York by herself to live in a boarding house and pursue her writing career. Marmee knows that Jo struggles with her temper and to help her cope with that she explains her own fiery temperament to Jo so she could understand she wasn’t alone.

Join in the fun here. 

Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was A Blogger

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for my Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was A Blogger. I started blogging in January of 2010, so I had a lot of favorite books under my belt before then. Actually, most of them are still favorite books!

  

1) The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

2) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

3) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

4) The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

5) To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

6) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

7) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

8) Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

9) A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

10) Persuasion by Jane Austen

A few bonus ones that could have made the list: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The History of Love, The Time Traveler's Wife, Anne of Green Gables, Nine Stories, Empire Falls, Watchmen, Gone with the Wind, Travels With Charley and 84, Charing Cross Road

Scout, Atticus, and Boo

Scout, Atticus, and Boo
A Celebration of To Kill a Mockingbird
by Mary McDonough Murphy
★★★★

The author created both a documentary and a book compiling the thoughts of authors, teachers and celebrities about the wonderful classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. She included everyone from Oprah to Harper Lee’s own sister to the actress who played Scout in the movie. The book chronicles people’s favorite scenes, their questions, their first experience reading it and the reasons why they love it.

People all over the world have been touched by the book because of the issues it addresses and the young characters’ unique points-of-view. Lee could talk about racism or a morphine addiction without it seeming too dark, because Scout and Jem were so innocent. Their questions don’t feel preachy because they ask them out of true spirit of curiosity. Lee also made the wise decision to set the book a few decades earlier than it was published, in the 1930s, so people in the south were able to look at the issue of racism while distancing themselves from the issue.

(Me and Harper Lee in the Monroeville Courthouse)

So many people in the book talk about how they wanted to know exactly what was fact and what was fiction. I never wondered about that. I suppose I always assume an author can’t help but put themselves in their novels in one way or another, but it doesn’t affect me too much as the reader.

One thing I loved discovering was that Harper's sister Alice was such a B.A. She worked for the IRS, then as a journalist, then as a lawyer, and even in her 90s, she still practices in Monroeville. She bucked the norms and worked in male-dominated fields, never backing down from a new challenge.

Many people compared the book to Gone with the Wind and there are some amazing similarities. Both are set in the south, deal with racism, were written by women, were the only novels written by their authors, etc. They are such different books, but it’s interesting to think about the threads that connect them.

The fact that Harper Lee withdrew from the public eye has always been a point of interest for people. One person in the book suggests that she may have done that after seeing what happened to her friend Truman Capote when he embraced his fame. It would be horrible to watch your friend self-destruct in that way. I’ve always had such respect for Lee’s choice to withdraw from the limelight. She knew she didn’t want that spotlight on her for the rest of her life; so instead, she went and lived a rich life with her friends and family in Monroeville.

I read this during my recent road trip through Alabama, while we were on our way to Monroeville to see the town and courthouse that started it all. I’m sure that played a huge part in why I enjoyed this so. I already felt immersed in the South and in that story, so reading others thoughts on it fit right in.

If you don’t adore To Kill a Mockingbird, this book isn’t for you, but hopefully that’s pretty obvious. For the rest of us, it’s a chance to revisit a favorite book and to look at it through a dozen different pairs of eyes.

*Photo by the Huz and from here.

Alabama Slammer

Our October road trip to Alabama was just fantastic. There’s so much to see there, who knew? I’ve included a few fun photos from the trip and a brief description of what they are below. Seriously though, road trips are the best. You never know what you’ll find along the way.

- The National Annual Shrimp Festival on the beach in Gulf Shores (which we just happened to stumbling upon)

- Noccalula Falls, a 90 ft. waterfall in Gasden

- A Japanese moon bridge in the Asian section of the Bellingrath Gardens

- The wall separating the lots of Truman Capote and Harper Lee’s childhood homes in Monroeville

- Mini golf at a cheesy putt-putt place with The Huz (it’s his favorite)

- Lots of seagulls on our ferry ride from Dauphin Island

- Margaritas, essential to any good trip

- The Alabama Booksmith bookstore in Birmingham

- The courthouse in Monroeville that Harper Lee based To Kill a Mockingbird on (it’s now an awesome museum)

- The Huz at the Parthenon in Nashville, TN (There are almost no photos of him, because he hates having photos taken, so unfortunately I end up in every picture).

- The Irondale Café, the inspiration for the Whistle Stop Café in Fried Green Tomatoes

- F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s home (now a museum) in Montgomery

- Dreamland BBQ in Birmingham (tangy deliciousness)

- Our tiny tent and such at one of our camping sites

- The Civil Rights Museum in Montgomery

It was a great trip and if you're ever headed to the Alabama area, I'd be more than happy to give you a few suggestions of places to stop. I still think that ever single state has so much to offer if you're willing to do a bit of research and exploring.

*All photos by moi or the Huz

Road Trip!

This week I will be out of town on vacation…woo hoo!!! I love traveling to foreign locales, but time and money are limited this year and so instead we’re staying a bit closer to home. My husband loves road trips and camping and I love visiting new places. So we looked at the states around us and picked one that we’d never been to.

Drum roll please… we’re going to Alabama! I’m a firm believer that every single state has some interesting and unique to offer visitors. With that in mind I started researching Alabama to figure out what we could do there and there’s so much!


We’ll be camping half the time and it turns out there are lots of fun parks with hiking trails and even waterfalls. We’ll be staying one night in Monroeville, where we can see Harper Lee’s stomping grounds, including the original courthouse from To Kill a Mockingbird, which is now a museum. We’re going to visit Civil Rights Museums, the Bellingrath Gardens, and the Fitzgerald’s home and, of course, eat lots of BBQ.

So guys, I won’t have too many posts up while I’m gone because I won’t be keeping track of comments. I can’t wait to catch up when I get back!

Also, anything I should not miss in Alabama?

p.s. For the first time in my life I've bought a car I actually like! Up until now I've driven old beaters (journalist work doesn't pay much), but the above beauty is my new (used) Subaru Forester. We're taking her on out vacation and I think I'm going to name her Scout in honor of her first road trip. Blue is my favorite color in the world and so that was a huge bonus for me.

p.p.s. If any of you love To Kill a Mockingbird, you should watch the documentary “Hey, Boo.” It’s wonderful!

Photos from here, here, here, here and here. Last photo by moi.