Lulu's July book

I'm thinking of reading I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem. Anyone read it? And I'm thinking of re-reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

July book choice

I haven't picked my book yet but have been searching. Some of you might find it helpful to know that you can google "colonial america historical fiction" for some historical fiction booklists. And here are some subjects you might find on your library's webpage or catalog:
- Jamestown
- Samuel de Champlain
- Pocahontas
- Mayflower & Plymouth Rock
- Pequot War
- Anne Hutchinson
- Roger Williams
- American Revolution
- Salem Witch Trials
- Boston Massacre

p.s.

Regarding what Rae posted on Nelle Harper Lee's comment about introductions:
Makes me feel not so bad for hating introductions as much as I do.

I must confess.....

Much as I've read of the classics and the should-reads, I have NOT actually read To Kill a Mockingbird! I own it, I've read about it, I've learned about it, seen a play of the courtroom scene, seen part of the movie....I've walked all the way around it--but just haven't read it! Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) I'm going to read it.

About the play I saw of the courtroom scene: It was part of the National Endowment for the Arts initiative The Big Read. (http://www.neabigread.org/) The Education Department of the Utah Shakespearean Festival (with the Cedar City Public Library) put on a play of the trial scene of To Kill a Mockingbird. Phill and I went for a date, even though he's read the book and I haven't. He received extra credit in his history class for going, and his history teacher played the part of Horace Gilmer, and another teacher of his played the part of Atticus Finch. I don't mean to sound cheesy, but I will never forget that date!! One very interesting aspect of the play was that the director simply chose people from the audience (beforehand) to play the jury. So they were watching everything unfold just as we were, and at the end, they were told to give the "guilty" verdict. You could see in their eyes and hear in their voices how hard it was for them. I was one of many in the audience who were crying. And in a way, I'm glad I had never read the book, and only knew the premise of it....I didn't really know, I guess, because I didn't expect the "guilty" verdict. I actually gasped, and so did most of the audience. The man who played Tom Robinson was one of the most beautiful black men I've ever seen--enormous hands, and very tall, and with a really resonant, deep voice. He cried while doing the part where he testifies. It just seemed so real and so relevant, and then afterwards, there was a great--REALLY great--discussion between the audience and the actors. One of the "jury" was an SUU English professor who has a very obvious love for books. He was very adamant about all his opinions and comments, and fun to watch. Afterwards, we went up to the actor who played Tom Robinson, because we just had to tell him how moving his performance was. He's a fascinating man. His dad is from somewhere in the Middle East, and his mother is African-American. I think. Phill pronounced his name correctly right off the bat. :) The actor's name is Alem Brhan Sapp. (Ah-lemm Bruh-hahn Sopp, if I remember right) Oh--Rae, the director was saying he wondered if Nelle Harper Lee didn't do another book because she didn't feel she could "do it again"--that is, live up to the first, I guess. Abby and Eric call that "perfectionist paralysis", I think. But I also wonder if it really was just a privacy issue, and the overwhelming nature of the success of the book that prevented her from diving into that kind of fame again.

I feel like I'm "wading" through my read. Not that it isn't interesting me--on the contrary, it's getting more and more fascinating for me, I'm just finding only tiny chunks of time in which to read it. (Not surprising, considering the various time-consuming aspects of my life.)I'm halfway through, though. I'm wishing I had started noting my thoughts in a notebook right when I began the book. I used to do that in tenth-grade English, at the request of our wonderful teacher. It always helped me process what I was reading. I did want to share an interesting part with everyone. A little background, just in case it's needed: Patty's been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. They have delusions of all kinds, and one of them is that they've declared war on the U.S., and Patty is their prisoner of war. For the first two months of her captivity, she was kept blindfolded in a closet, fed a piece of bread and some tea each day. I found this part sort of odd, and very interesting.

"As the days and nights dragged on, out of all my deprivations as a prisoner of war, I developed a powerful craving for pizza. I could taste it, see it, smell it, feel the gooey cheese on my hands--all vividly in my imagination. There was no explaining it: I had never been a pizza addict before and there were dozens of other foods I liked better. Nevertheless, it was the sharp, tangy taste of pizza that I craved. It lasted for several days and nights before the urge subsided, unfulfilled."
-pg.94, Every Secret Thing, Patricia Campbell Hearst

Also interesting: Since she was blindfolded for so long, her other senses became heightened, somewhat like a blind person. She says that she knew her captors by their voices, movements, and scents (or odors), and could identify them by name when they at last took off her blindfold.

July Book

Note: I am posting this early because you may need to visit a library to find your July read.

The month of July. It conjures up visions of summer, copious vacation time, beach reading, Harry Potter (on the 21st), parades and fireworks. We celebrate our country's independence from England and this year, we also celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in 1607.

Our July read will reflect these historical events, as the focus in our fiction this month will be the setting. Choose any work of fiction with a historical setting in America (or Great Britain) between 1607 (Jamestown) and 1789 (ratification of Constitution).

Although finding your book may be a challenge, any fiction leaves your genre choice wide open. You may choose a classic, a young adult novel, a romance, a mystery, a historical novel, etc. Try to choose a book you've not read before (or at least one you've not read in a very long time).

The idea is to learn something new about that time period and to appreciate and be more aware this month of our country's remarkable history.

Happy hunting and happy reading!

Mockingbird Three: The Book and the Film

The book is probably based on a local crime that occurred in Nelle's childhood that involved a white woman accusing a black man of rape. It was thought to have been a false accusation. It was not based on the Scottsboro criminal case, as many assume.

Her characters came from people she knew in town...although she wasn't always specific as to who they were. What we do know is that Scout was based on her own childhood life. Dill was modeled after Truman Capote. He, in turn, modeled some of his fictional characters after Nelle. Atticus was definitely based on her father, A.C. She even called him by his initials, just as Scout calls her father Atticus. Jem was based on her brother Edwin. The Boleware family and house two doors south of her own house was the inspiration for the Radley place and character Boo. [Note: I always think of the Casperson house in Preston, Mim, whenever I read about the Radleys. Funny what impressions from your childhood stay with you.]

Nelle originally wanted Spencer Tracy to play Atticus in the film. He would have been good, but was working on another film at the time. Rock Hudson was also considered. In my opinion, he just wouldn't have cut it. When Gregory Peck was chosen, he came to Monroeville and spent time with the town minister, asking questions about the town and the Lee family. He then went to meet Nelle's aged father so that he could get to know him and pick up some of his mannerisms. Peck and Nelle became lifelong friends.

With the exception of Peck, the directors wanted newcomers to the screen to play the other characters. This was so there would be no preconceived notions or typecasting. They picked many character actors from old Westerns and a few Broadway actors, as well. The kids had little or no acting experience.

During the filming of the courtroom proceedings, they filmed the children as though they were watching it all unfold. In reality, they were not allowed to hear what went on in the courtroom. It was filmed separately because the subject matter was inappropriate for their little ears. [Which doesn't make much sense, if they see the completed film in the end or read the book...]

"To prepare for the role of Boo Radley, [Robert] Duvall stayed out of the sun for six weeks and dyed his hair blonde, thinking it would give him an angelic look."

Horton Foote, a Texan, wrote the screenplay, as Nelle had never done one before and was unsure if she wanted to tackle it. Of his screenplay, she said, "If the integrity of a film adaptation is measured by the degree to which the novelist's intent is preserved, Mr. Foote's screenplay should be studied as a classic."

I think that's enough. Sorry to write so much, but I love this stuff!

Mockingbird Two

Here are a few tidbits and quotes from or about Nelle Harper Lee that I liked.

She wrote the foreword to the 35th anniversary edition of TKAM in 1993: "Please spare Mockingbird an Introduction...As a reader I loathe introductions. To novels, I associate Introductions with long-gone authors and works that are being brought back into print after decades of internment. Although Mockingbird will be 33 this year, it has never been out of print and I am still alive, although very quiet. Introductions inhibit pleasure, they kill the joy of anticipation, they frustrate curiosity. The only good thing about Introductions is that in some cases they delay the dose to come. Mockingbird still says what it has to say; it has managed to survive without preamble."

"If I hear a consonant, I look around." (This was regarding her Southern drawl)

"Inside the entryway of the Lee's one-story brick ranch house are photographs of family members. But everywhere else are books: in a bookcase that takes up half the entrance hallway; in Alice's bedroom, off the kitchen; and in Nelle's blue bedroom at the end of the hallway. In her room, the walls are devoted to built-in white bookshelves, floor to ceiling. There is a third bedroom, a guest bedroom, and it has bookshelves, too." Her sister Alice said, "All she [Nelle] needs is a good bed, a bathroom and a typewriter...Books are the things she cares about."

As it should be.