Identify what is most important )0( Eliminate everything else
The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world. Dr. Paul Farmer
The suffering of others is not alleviated when no one knows about it.
There is no one right way to live. Daniel Quinn Ishmael
The only thing that you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right sort of people.
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. Kurt Vonnegut

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Harper Lee

Harper Collins P. released the information that they will be publishing a new book from Harper Lee.

It was the first manuscript she submitted to them, but they thought that the story of why the character (Scout, as an adult) was returning home and they published that instead of Go Set A Watchman.

After Monday, July 13th.  we get to read that novel.  Woo-Hoo!

I immediately ordered it and set about sharing the good news with my close friends. 

I guess that all of us To Kill A Mockingbird lovers are as mixed a lot as any group of people.  I am thrilled, but I keep hearing back that the new book will most likely be a disappointment or be lacking in some undefined manners.  TKaM is one of the half-dozen or so books that I re-read at least every year.  I think that for many of us fans reading it again before reading the sequel is going to be a unique, once-in-a-lifetime pleasure. 

Well, duh.  It puts this in the perspective of my never having used that culturally guttural sound of disbelief before now.

I am not alone in believing that TKaM is flawless.  That, however, does not mean that GSaW has to be anything more than the inspiration for her first book.  That the manuscript survived all this time is a miracle that I, for one, will not judge, only blissfully stew in the five month wait.  Anticipation is a good thing.  Patience is, too.  Embracing this book, even if it turns out to be a mess...which it will not...is something I am grateful to have lived long enough to experience.

When I shared this information with my daughter she replied, "That's crazy, is she gonna write 1 book per century?"

We should only be so lucky
Posted by at

7 comments:

  1. The Webbers living a life at the beachFebruary 4, 2015 at 10:52 AM

    hahah lol @ your daughter :D You know I read TKaM for the first time ever last year, one of the Book Discussion Scheme selections, loved it. The first book this year for the BDS is Kate Atkinson's Life after life, coincidence? :D I'm looking forward to reading it too, I might have to pre-order and pay full price because it could be ages before it ends up in an op shop xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JFebruary 5, 2015 at 4:37 PM

      I couple of my Saturday morning coffee friends are in a community center book club, just finished Atkinson's book and most of the group did not understand it. Frankly, it sounds exactly my cup of bourbon. Frankly, Anyway, I pick up my reserved copy at the library tomorrow morning. It probably means that I will have an excuse to sit and monitor the laundry, without guilt over all the stuff left undone.

      I am paying premium price, plus overnight delivery for Go Set A Watchman. Sounds pretty darn frugal, yes? Oh, yeah, baby.

      Delete
  2. RobynLouiseFebruary 4, 2015 at 6:06 PM

    TKaM was required reading when I was at high school. Looking forward to reading the sequel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JFebruary 5, 2015 at 4:37 PM

      Whatever it is, it will be in Harper Lee's voice. Divine.

      Delete
  3. Nanna ChelFebruary 5, 2015 at 4:35 AM

    I loved the book and the movie. I wonder when the book will be on sale in Australia. How amazing that it was only unearthed recently!

    ReplyDelete
  4. JFebruary 5, 2015 at 4:38 PM

    It is being first published in the UK, but I do not know how that affects when it will find its way to your bookstores. You can always order it from Amazon. They already have it for a bit of a discount.

    ReplyDelete
  5. JFebruary 5, 2015 at 4:42 PM

    From HCP/US:
    "Go Set a Watchman will be published in the UK and Commonwealth by William Heinemann, an imprint of Penguin Random House Inc."

    I checked the HCP/Australia web site, and it is not yet listed there, even though I did a site search for author and title.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)