The Mockingbird

I recently stumbled upon an amazing lady..Scout Finch. My rank #2 favourite heroine position is now shared by Jo from Little Women and Scout. (rank #1 being Anne Frank).

My admiration started because like me, Scout knows reading and writing before she goes to school. The author succeeds to bring out emotions even during the minor subplots, like shocking the readers with the first-grader teacher's attitude.  Mr Atticus Finch is a lawyer and is defending an innocent (the mockingbird allegory) against a prejudiced society. For me, the best part of the book is when the 8 yr old Scout talks to one in an angry mob, and brings out the human in him! Hats off! I agree that it is a bit far fetched to imagine that an 8 yr old can be so wise, but the author has won hands down in this part.

Towards the end of the novel, another reference to the mockingbird is made. "Boo" Arthur radley is a misunderstood, and a much-gossiped-about man. He saves the lives of scout and Jem from a man bent on murder, but kills him instead in the process. The sheriff in the novel decides to let it be. Scout too decides to keep the incident to herself, lest Radley be subject to conjectures about his motives again.

It is a story about growing up,  be it learning when is it prudent to keep your mouth shut/ keep your fists to yourself  or learning that sometimes you have to take on a losing battle. But unforfunately, readers who praised the book failed to mature themselves, and alleged that the book could be ghost written, afterall, how can a female win a Pulitzer right! A mockingbird or two  keeps dying...thanks to the prejudiced society.  

Recent Reads

I came across the Melbourne public library when I needed to get the bus pass. My 1st few books were lycanthorpes etc, which have been on my hit list since Twilight series. The other "tends to supernatural/horror" was Stephen King's Rose Madder. I was completely disappointed by the book. Guess it really started a series of books, which I could have liked had I read it 10 years ago, but now I find them too vapid.

The new young adult series I started with was The Clique. I agree, Enid Blyton's school series are unparalleled, but some, like Sweet Valley twins series was a manageable mix of beauties with brains and more importantly, humility. But the Clique begs to differ. The protagonists are bitingly sardonic, its a shame to even call them protagonists. All they think of is their alpha position in their equally sycophanty school. And yeah, they have no issues ditching their friends who have really stood up for them.
The other series by Francine Pascal, is Fearless. Francine, I was aware of her thanks to the Sweet Valley series. Fearless is about a girl Gaia (I call the books "Gaia Gaia" series in tune to the bolly song "Maia Maia" much to the amusement of my new roomy) who is genetically fearless, and hence is the target of russian mafia and pharma companies. Did anyone consider that being brave Vs being fearless is as different as being wise Vs being intelligent?

And if the young adult books were a headache, the not-so-young adult books were a concussion on being hit on head with a comet. The books are called Harlequin Romances, and the definition of romance being that the pair is eager to shed their clothes at a moments notice.
Nora Roberts' Pagan Stone provided some respite from this crap. But again, whats the point of a thriller that doesnt even scare you?

The best book, currently being read, is To Kill a Mockingbird. Narrator is a smart girl who knows to read/write before she is formally schooled. The case being defended by her father is just hinted at at this point in the book.
So if all the worth reading books were by the likes of Enid Blytons n other authors of 1960's..what is the GenNext supposed to read?