Go Set A Watchman

Having gone to elementary and high school in the Philippines, we were required to read only 2 novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, both by the National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. When we moved to the United States when I was 17 and went to high school in California, I read some American Literature books but it wasn't until I was in my late 20s, that I picked up and read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and it became one of my favorites and one of the best books I've ever read.  It was an easy read, but hard to put down.  I would chuckle to myself whenever I would realize I missed my BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) stop two stations before because I was so engrossed in reading. 


I love to read, but I don't read too many books.  When I do, I don't like putting them down.  My husband would shake his head when he notices I'm still up and reading at 3 am.  I pay the price for lack of sleep the next day.  I sometimes wish good books were like good movies- you know it will end in about 2 1/2 hours and you'll know the story from beginning to end in that short amount of time.  But good books are rarely worth only 2 1/2 hours of reading time, but I'm not really complaining.  =)

I don't remember how long it took me to read Mockingbird.  It took me a few days to reread it (I finished just a few hours ago) because I want to be refreshed when I read Harper Lee's 'Go Set a Watchman', the sequel to 'To Kill A Mockingbird'.  I flashed the mailman my biggest smile when he handed me the package earlier today. 

For the last couple of days, these books were all I talked about.  I kept telling Michelle that by next summer, I think she'll be ready to read it.  I hope she learns to love it just as much as I do.  I was devastated to hear the news last night that Atticus Finch, the perfect gentleman and most upright of all literary figures, was not as perfect as we all thought.  I am still hoping this is just a teaser and that he's still the same old Atticus Finch from the first book. 

I am writing and delaying my reading because I am still at work and I'm afraid I will ignore phone calls and emails once I get into reading. 

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Update after reading the book....

I liked it, although I did not love it like I loved Mockingbird.  Maybe I'm disappointed that Atticus isn't the perfect gentleman I hoped he was.  It was like reading the last Bridget Jones book and knowing that Mark Darcy *spoiler alert* passed away.  I read the rest of both books with a heavy heart.  Maybe those events ruined it for me.  I still plan on re-reading Go Set A Watchman again because maybe I missed a lot of the details because I couldn't wait to see how it ended.