You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. -- Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
You know, the farther I get on this "project" the more I realize that this list reads like a list of state mandated high school reading. My choices may be fairly obvious, but I guess the reason is because they (for the most part) are powerful authors who have captured the imaginations of millions. Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird is certainly on the high school reading list and it is certainly because of the way it evokes emotions in the reader. It is told from the perspective of a young girl, innocent and naive, and through her eyes we get to be a child again. In the process we learn that the world can be a cruel and nasty place but also that there is good in the world that can be found in places where you least expect it. Things are not always as they seem, people can't be judged by their appearances and (in Harper Lee's world) goodness prevails. Yep, there is a reason that all these great books become required reading and I think that it is because they capture something ethereal that we can all relate to in someway, but are hard pressed to explain. I am not, or never have been a young girl raised by a benevolent lawyer in rural Alabama, but I can relate with the character (and the other characters in the book) to the extent where I empathize with her. I am sure I am quoting someone here, I have no idea who, but when we see each other we see ourselves.