"A book, like music, is very personal. You bring yourself, your own story, to everything you read." In what ways is this reflected in Mockingbird Summer? Have you found it to be true in your own reading?

Mrs. Yoakum tells Corky, "A book, like music, is very personal. You bring yourself, your own story, to everything you read." In what ways is this reflected in Mockingbird Summer?

Have you found it to be true in your own reading and if so, how? Are there books you associate with a certain time in your life?

Have you ever noticed that when you find someone who likes the same book you do you feel an affinity for that person? You do bring yourself to every story, there are parts that reach out and touch the reader based on their own background and backstory. I can read a book and gloss over the parts that don't touch me but to someone else those parts are enormous. An example of this is "Lessons in Chemistry" a book I enjoyed. A friend read it and felt it had atheism as one of its major themes and she didn't like it because of that. It was a theme I hadn't noticed one way or another.

This was reflected in Mockingbird Summer as Corky thought To Kill A Mockingbird was a good book and wanted to share it with America. America was appalled that Corky would give her a book that had a potential lynching in it. Each of the characters brought something different to the reading.

I think it is a true statement. If you are younger I think it is easier to engage in a "willing suspension of disbelief" because you have not had as many life experiences. As you get older I think your beliefs become stronger and probably more rigid. At least it is true for me.

To Kill a Mockingbird is such a great book, I'm sure Corky thought she was doing a good thing by recommending the book to America. She just didn't know better.

When you share a communality with another reader you can easily develop a kinship with that person and feel confident in recommending other books to read and discuss. Because Corky felt she had developed a friendship with America thus communality of reading reading interest she felt sharing the book To Kill A Mockingbird would only increase the bonds of friendship not disrupt it.

Poor Corky. She was so young and so naive. She thought that "To Kill a Mockingbird" would bring her closer to America. Belonging to a book club is a great way to find out what others will bring to the book. Sometimes it is surprising what others "see" in a book that meant little or nothing to you. However, learning what they bring to a particular book opens up a world to you that you have little experience with. While I was reading "Mockingbird Summer" I kept thinking about "To Kill a Mockingbird" and what it meant to me as a teacher years ago, and how it opened up unknown worlds to my students who would never have known that these things occurred.

I loved this quote - it made it so clear to me that everyone does bring themselves to what they read. I know when I share books with friends, that we are each bringing different experiences to the story. We then sometimes make very different connections. I plan to share this book and talk with friends about how it impacts them.

A book choice is very personal. I belong to a book club and the great thing about a book club is it pushes you to expand what you would normally read. The discussions and the insight into how and why an author writes a certain book also adds so much to understanding and appreciating a book. In Mockingbird Summer Corky wants to share To Kill A Mockingbird with America as she witnessed America’s want of books. She does this without understanding what the story might mean to America. This aspect of the story is another catalyst for the story to move forward.

A book definitely is like music. Yes, you do bring personal preferences to a book or music. But more than that, I think every book has its own rhythm and sometimes the rhythm of a book is what makes you like it or not. It’s all in the hands of the author.
Because this book mentioned To Kill a Mockingbird and the title reflects the racial tension of the times you can’t read Mockingbird Summer without thinking about the other book and what it brought to its readers.
So many books have affected me through my life. To be honest way too many. Mentioning them may give you to much insight into my life. 😀

"A book, like music, is very personal. You bring yourself, your own story, to everything you read." Absolutely true! That is why I keep reading. My motto is "Read Until You Understand." I don't have enough years left in my life to accomplish that, but I'm trying.

What a wonderful quote and so true! As a book group member, learning other readers' perspectives enables me to appreciate their personal life experiences. I am always grateful for these opportunities to deepen my relationships with them. As an avid and enthusiastic reader, I have learned to attempt to respect the life experiences and opinions of friends (as much as is possible) when I recommend a book. Corky, at her age, could not be expected to understand the importance of this.

I loved this quote! I have belong to my book group for over 25 years. I treasure our monthly gatherings as we each share our own individual experiences that impacted the reading of a shared book. We don’t all like the same genres or even feel the same way about a given book, but it is through our sharing that we better understand each other and grow as individuals. You learn to respect each other whether you agree or not. Oh yes, there are books that changed me forever, but isn’t that what reading is all about? Taking a journey through the pages that never leaves us quite the same.

Oh my. I just wrote about this quote a couple of questions above. I love to feel the book's emotions from the way I would feel, but also to try to understand the character's feelings if it differs from mine. That's why I loved this quote. I have pieces of music that have affected me very deeply also that others don't understand at all.
It also depends on what time in my life I have read a book. Maybe if I had read this book in the 60's, I wouldn't have the same personal understandings of reading it now in my 70's.

Books are so personal that I'm reluctant to recommend a specific book to a specific person unless I know them and their reading tastes very well. A Facebook friend (so someone I don't know terribly well) asked for a historical fiction recommendation. I found that every time I started to suggest something, I started second-guessing myself. So it's been months since they asked but I'm stymied, even though its a genre I read often.

Corky brought her innocence and lack of life experience to To Kill a Mockingbird - totally different from what America brought to the book. I definitely think it’s true in my own reading. I’ve shared books I’ve loved with friends that they didn’t like at all & vice versa. It can be a matter of your prior experiences or just what you do or don’t like to read.