Follow-up to Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ draws locals
By Anna Skinner
There are some books that people wait decades to read.
Harper Lee’s sequel to “To Kill A Mockingbird” is one of them.
“Go Set A Watchman” was released July 14 across America. The long awaited sequel had many buyers, but another event preceded the release.
Barnes and Noble stores nationwide participated in a daylong, marathon reading of “To Kill A Mockingbird” inside the store, and Barnes and Noble on the Westfield/Carmel border was no exception.
Teachers and students from Westfield Washington Schools participated in the reading, with one of the main players being Joel Bruns, media specialist at Westfield High School.
“We thought it would be fun to get involved,” Bruns said. “If people come in and purchase items from this Barnes and Noble, it benefits the (WHS) library.”
The collaboration between the schools and bookstore brought benefits to the school for all purchases, even music and café items. Between 10 and 15 percent of purchases were donated to the WHS library.
The readings began at 9 a.m. and ended around 8 p.m. The almost 12-hour marathon consisted of readers switching off every 30 minutes to continue where the previous reader left off. Teachers, staff and students got involved in the event.
Many readers and listeners ate lunch at the store’s café, most of them not leaving the store until the book had been completely read.
“It’s a real cool thing,” Bruns said. “We’re basically locking ourselves in here until we get through the book entirely, which will take about 10 to 12 hours.”
“Go Set A Watchman” is now available for purchase in stores and online.
