My Favourite Book:To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
When writing about books, travel, or food, I am often asked, “What’s your favourite holiday destination?” or “What’s your favourite restaurant?” or “What’s your favourite book?”. The first two vary depending on where I am in my life and the current experiences I’m having, but the answer to the last question has remained the same since I was 11 years old and studying English Literature at school; To Kill a Mockingbird by Pulitzer Prize winner Harper Lee remains my favourite book of all time, and I can’t see that ever changing in the future.
There are so many reasons for this being my favourite book; I read it in my formative years; I fell in love with the characters, especially Scout and Atticus; I loved the simple black cover with bold lettering and a chalk drawing of a bird on a branch; the subject, alien to me growing up in a predominantly white town in the UK, gripped me from beginning to end. I never tire of reading it, whether cover to cover or a selected chapter or paragraph. Chapter three contains one of my all-time favourite lines from any book, when Atticus explains to Scout that in order to get along with all types of people she needs to see things from their point of view by telling her, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” It is so important to open the mind and that phrase will be valid forever.
Over the years and during my travels I have built up a quite collection of copies, 13 in total, from different countries and publishers to special anniversary editions. Transitioning to the electronic age has seen me shrink my book collection from two or three bookcases to just two or three shelves, but my collection of To Kill a Mockingbird remains untouched as it will always. I hope to continue to grow my collection and want to broaden it to foreign translations, despite not being able to read them fully!
Do you have a favourite book or series of books? Share them with us in the comments and see if we’ll be discussing them at an upcoming Booknbrunch event here.
With 30 years of general management experience in the global insurance industry and having lived in 4 countries, Jacqui now spends her time between London and New York where she continues to pursue her passion for writing, food, books and travel.
A Reiki practitioner, yogi and huge animal advocate, her home isn’t complete without a furbaby or three. In addition to being a BooknBrunch contributor, she writes for industry publications.
Favourite book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Favourite brunch dish: avocado toast with tomato and chilli
