The Great American Read discussion

This topic is about
To Kill a Mockingbird
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Comments - other GAR Books
>
To Kill a Mockingbird: #1 on the list!
date
newest »

message 1:
by
Marnie
(new)
-
added it
May 28, 2018 04:51PM

reply
|
flag


On the flip side, TKAM is the first book that comes to mind when asked to name the Greatest American Novel. It's also high on my list of greatest movies. This just goes to show that The Great American Read list is just a popularity contest. It boggles my mind that The Twilight Saga and Fifty Shades of Grey are on the list and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn isn't.

I am the same way, if a book isn't related to work, I try to avoid seeing the movie first. Once I do, I rarely make time away from work reading to read the novel, even if people say that they're different.


Linda - I try to ALWAYS read the book AFTER, because otherwise I can get very aggravated watching the film.

Then may I recommend "My Cousin Rachel"? Very, very different takes on the story.
Roseanne wrote: "The adventures of Tom Sawyer is on the list. I am pretty sure each author was only allowed one book on the list which is why Huck Finn can’t be."
Tom Sawyer is my personal favorite, and I really truly love it, but I was still surprised Huck Finn wasn't chosen instead. I think it's because of that one word. I do believe words matter, so I don't fault them for being PC, but I wonder how many books were vetoed or substituted with something else because of modern day sensibilities. (I was curious how a less popular Vonnegut book got selected too.)
Tom Sawyer is my personal favorite, and I really truly love it, but I was still surprised Huck Finn wasn't chosen instead. I think it's because of that one word. I do believe words matter, so I don't fault them for being PC, but I wonder how many books were vetoed or substituted with something else because of modern day sensibilities. (I was curious how a less popular Vonnegut book got selected too.)

I agree. I will be much more likely to be disappointed with a movie that I've seen after reading the book than the other way around.
Yes, this is the book I thought of first when I heard about the project. I saw the movie many years ago, but I'm not sure I read it as a teenager. I read it a couple of years ago and loved it. I loved all the extra details and richness in the book. It was so evocative of the south, even beyond what I saw in the film. Though I might have been "hearing" the voices of the characters in the film while I was reading the book.

The list was a compiled based on a poll asking people what their favorite novel was, not what they thought the best one was. I personally enjoyed The Adventures of Tom Sawyer more but readily admit that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is better. I don't think the inclusion of that word that cannot be spoken has much, if anything, to do with the decision.


A lot of people weren't. I enjoyed it (bought it the day it came out).

I read TKAM in high school the first time. I read it the second time when I found out they were releasing the “new� one. So I read the two back to back and TKAM was fresh in my mind when I read the new one.

I get similar feelings from other similar books, especially The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
Bill wrote: "This has long been ranked as one of my top ten favorite books and movies. I do love a growing of age story. It was so powerful to me and I get the same reaction whenever I read it again. I will say..."
I saw all three movies last year when family visited. Heart is a Lonely Hunter was more complex than I remembered. I always loved TKAM - and it was great sharing it with family who hadn't seen it. I'm looking forward to reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
I saw all three movies last year when family visited. Heart is a Lonely Hunter was more complex than I remembered. I always loved TKAM - and it was great sharing it with family who hadn't seen it. I'm looking forward to reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
This book was a past group read ... See links below to the discussion threads.
Spoiler-free-
/topic/show/...
Spoilers-
/topic/show/...
Spoiler-free-
/topic/show/...
Spoilers-
/topic/show/...
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.