“Hey Boo.”

Wow, that last post was a downer, wasn't it?  But it's important and something I feel strongly about. And yep, occasionally there will be heavier posts on here. If you don't like 'em, feel free to skip them. I won't judge.

We're gonna switch gears now and talk about books. My favorite book, to be exact. And when I say favorite book, I don't actually mean "favorite book." Let me explain.

I'm in the same metaphorical boat as John Green--although, for the record, I would not be complaining if I was on a literal boat with him, because the conversation would be ah-mazing--and that boat is "I don't have A favorite book, I have hundreds!"So when I say favorite, it's just the easiest way to express this concept:

In Fahrenheit 451 (a novel where books are contraband and also incidentally one of my favorite books) by Ray Bradbury, the protagonists finds a group of people who are literally a library, because each one has memorized a book word-for-word. They are the keepers of the stories until such time as they can be written down again. When I read this book in high school, my honors English teacher, Ruthie, challenged us to think about what book we would memorize if something like this ever happened to our society (Shakespeare forbid!). She told us that her book had changed over the years, but she finally settled on Huck Finn by Mark Twain. 

So, being the thoughtful 16-year-old that I was, I went home and thought about it. A lot. I don't remember what the first book I decided on was, but it changed a few times until I picked this little gem:

This, to me, is one of the most important works of American literature. Granted, it has some overall racial-themed problems (in that the white characters intercede on behalf of the black characters), but this  little book is--I think--one of the most honest and mimetic books about a time period. Ever. Harper Lee wrote only one novel, but she hit it out of the park. Especially when you consider that the only other Southern woman who wrote only one popular novel was Margaret Mitchell and that novel was Gone with the Wind. Which is an important book and a good read, but nowhere near on the scale of To Kill a Mockingbird and at least twice as long. 

I think what makes this novel so honest and so important is the fact that it is told through a child's eyes. And Scout is a great person to keep company with, because she tells it like she sees it. Lee is a genius at weaving together the voices of Innocence and Experience seamlessly, so that the reader barely even notices it, and you end up learning something from this child about human nature. As Scout says: "I think there's only one kind of folks--folks."

The narrative is so direct. It looks at ugly themes right at the face and tells us exactly what they are, which takes away a good deal of their power. Bob Ewell, who is the main face of racism in the book, becomes small and kind of pathetic when Scout looks at him during Atticus's cross-examination. 

And--speaking of--there's something about Atticus. 

Of the literary figures I have crushes on, Atticus is actually on the top of the list (I know you all are shocked it's not Sherlock or Darcy--maybe I just have a thing for specs). I love Atticus because of the type of man he is--he's honest with himself, his children, and he is not afraid to stand up against the majority. The courtroom scene, where he defends Tom Robinson--his rhetoric is just so flawless, amazing and airtight and even though he's white you just know he is a good person.  I think that's kind of sexy. Not to mention Gregory Peck's acting skills are of the best variety. It'd be hard not to have a crush on him.  

In fact, Atticus helped me get into college. In order to complete my application to school, I had to write an essay--a common occurrence, granted. I wrote mine about Atticus, and how I wanted to grow up to be someone like him. I want to be the kind of well-educated, morally responsible citizen that he is. If there were more people like Atticus in the world, we'd be in good shape. 

I really do think this book is important. Even with its flaws. It says something very important about the amazing aspects of human nature and resilience as well as human foible and ugliness. 

And that's what art is supposed to do, as far as I'm concerned. It shows you the entire range of the human existence without hiding behind fancy diction.

And that's why it's my favorite book.