NaBloPoMo - Favorite book

I read a lot. When I was married, we had an entire room devoted to books. In fact, we had to design the shelves ourselves, to make sure we had enough room.

Now, storage is at more of a premium for me, and I keep my books in my Nook, for the most part. I read books by James Patterson and Janet Evanovich (whose newest Stephanie Plum novel comes out today!).

But my favorite book of all time? To Kill a Mockingbird.

If you're not familiar with the story - you've apparently been living under a rock for your whole life. I can help. You're welcome.

The book is narrated by Scout, a young girl whose given name is Jean Louise Finch. She tells us the story of how she and her older brother, Jem, came to meet up with a mysterious neighbor, about whom the whole town had made assumptions. He turns out to be none of the things they thought.

The backdrop for the story is Scout's father, Atticus, defending a client in criminal court. Atticus is a white lawyer, defending a black man, accused of raping a white woman. In the south, in 1931.

There's a ton of lessons in the book. I'm no English professor, and I won't even bother trying to pretend like I understand all the symbolism or literary techniques used by the author, Harper Lee.

What I learned from To Kill a Mockingbird:

• There is no room in my life for prejudice of any kind.
• Words are powerful and should be chosen carefully.
• "People are people, no matter where you put them." - Harper Lee in a 1961 interview.
• "It's a sin to kill a mockingbird...mockingbirds don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us." - From Chapter 10. Evil destroys innocence, but it is should still be preserved. We all have a "moral imperative to protect the vulnerable." Help when you can, give what you have.

I've learned a lot of lessons in my life. I can't think of one more important than knowing we're all here to help someone.