"The second grade was grim, but Jem assured me that the older I got the better school would be, that he started off the same way, and it was not until one reached the sixth grade that one learned anything of value. The sixth grade seemed to please him from the beginning: he went through a brief Egyptian Period that baffled me--he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other. He declared Egyptians walked that way; I said if they did I didn't see how they got anything done, but Jem said they accomplished more more than the Americans ever did, they invented toilet paper and perpetual embalming, and asked where would we be today if they hadn't? Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts."
--To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
How did I ever manage to get this far in life without having read this most excellent book? If you have not yet read this---please do! I am about halfway through, and I just love this novel. Today an article appeared in the Book Section of The New York Times . There is also a new biography out about Harper Lee, which I imagine is very interesting. This was an excellent book choice for the Omaha Reads program!