>It’s almost here. The Big Read for Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County kicks off on Friday, February 29, at the Staunton Courthouse. That’s when free copies of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird will be distributed, and government officials from the three participating jurisdictions will read from the book. The program, sponsored by the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge will continue throughout March and includes visits to town by, among others, Charles Shields, author of Mockingbird, the biography of Harper Lee.
So, I have a confession to make. I’ve never read the book. Unless I did in school a million years ago and have forgotten, which is entirely possible. I therefore picked up a copy – I paid for one, figuring the free copies should go to county schoolkids – along with the Harper Lee biography, and I plan to read along with everyone else. I notice that the novel has 31 chapters, which it seems to me makes it perfect for a March read: one chapter a day.
>I hadn’t read this book until about a year ago. I recommend it strongly, it’s a brilliant novel.