I first read the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee almost 32 years ago and have re-read it several times since.  Recently I thought about the time I learnt to read as a very, very young girl and this gift is one of the things I am most grateful for in my life.  I now cannot imagine a time when I will not read and of course I still love the warm feeling of a book in my hand rather than the coldness of a device.  Please give me a book anytime!

I wrote a blog post last year about the book group I joined here in the US so naturally it soon came time for me to host………and I knew the perfect book!  I chose To Kill A Mockingbird.

I really do love this beautifully written novel and as we all spoke during the evening about the book, I was surprised to learn that some people had never read it.  Happily now though, they also love it so I guess it really is one of those alluring classics.

The novel, first published in 1960 and set in the early 1930’s, is a book that I think almost everyone has or will read at some stage in their lifetime.  It is the sort of book which leaves a profound and lasting impact on its reader.  I also chose the book (not only because is it a favorite of mine – right up there alongside The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay) but because is was also set in the South (which is where I live) and it tackled the important issues of its time.  Issues which in fact are still just as relevant today.

Host duties for book club are quite painless and undemanding.  You simply open the front door to your home and you welcome people in.

I made a wreath for the front door but please don’t be alarmed book purists.  I recycled a book which was about to be ‘binned’ because it had no front cover and there were some pages missing…..

It turned out to be a great night of good food, good company, robust discussion and lively fun…..which could well have been fueled by the ‘Tequila Mockingbird Cocktails’ I served.

I really do enjoy being a member of this book group.  Each month we read a different book, head to a different hosts’ home, enjoy different food and discuss a book. For my ‘hosting night’ I also compiled a quiz (which was very well received) of twenty questions.  The questions ranged from Where did the title of the book come from (which line by Atticus) to Who was Rose Aylmer? and I also made book marks for each person in the group with memorable lines from the book printed on them.

Book marks and ‘mockingbird eggs’…..

Talking about books with like minded people will always lift ones spirits and when I do eventually return to Australia I will certainly be seeking out a book group to join.

And onto my garden.  It is the season of spring currently here in Georgia and it really is a wonderful season.  Everything is coming into bloom and my resident Mockingbird is nesting.  My little world of my garden, its inhabitants and my books are bliss xx

Oh, and for those tortured by the question Who was Rose Aylmer?……..she was Uncle Jack’s Cat.