A man with a gun in his hands.

'I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.'

- Atticus Finch

To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my all time favourite books. I first read it for school, and then somehow figured out a way to read it the next two years (for school) also. I still read it and love it again, and again. The way Harper Lee has captured the attitudes of the south, her portrayal of Atticus Finch and his beautiful gentleness and seemingly unwavering morality. And Scout, oh what a character. What a perfect way to show us how things ought to be seen.

It's Banned Books Week starting this Saturday, and somehow this book is still in the Top 100 Most Challenged Books for 2000-2007. Still! It's way up at 23rd in fact, surrounded by such classics as Of Mice and Men, The Colour Purple, Catcher in the Rye (!!), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and almost all Judy Blume books.

Still!

So, here is what I'm going to do. I am going to chose a book from the above list, that I haven't yet read, check it out from the library and start reading it this Saturday. I would love you to join me! I'll announce which book I've chosen before the weekend, so feel free to leave me a comment with the book you've chosen. Once we're finished we can either blog about it (please let me know when you do!) or if you don't blog you could always email me your 'review' and I can post it on here.

Even though this is technically an American thing, a) we all know the influence this country has over popular culture, and b) we should be promoting freedom of speech, anywhere.

Happy choosing.

xx