To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

I probably re-read this book once a year. We read it at school and I came back to it in my 20s when I borrowed the book from someone. It's the only book I've ever 'forgotten' to return. The cover's falling off and I've dropped it in the bath, but I still come back to it time and again. It is a beautifully structured story and a perfectly created world that you feel as safe as Scout in, so the bigger themes don't feel like preaching. By the way, Harper Lee based the character of Dill on Truman Capote who she knew as a child and remained friends with all his life.

I love this book, read it at school and have re-read it twice since.

My favourite book of all time, it is an entertaining read and engagingly written from Scout's perspective but gives plenty of food for thought. I first read it in my early twenties and have probably re read it every couple of years since.

I read this book in school about 6 years ago, and loved it.
It has so many different themes in it, my curiosity about Boo Radley meant I couldn't stop reading!

After seeing the film recently, I just remembered how brilliant the story really is.

I must be one of the few people who didn't read this at school - I actually only got round to reading it a couple of years ago. I agree, it's a fabulous book - wonderful characters and an engrossing plot. It's certainly in my Top 10 Best Books Ever.

I loved this book and still remember reading it even though it was over 20 years ago.

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I have to agree with all the reviews. I also read this book when I was fourteen as part of my English curriculum and I'm still teaching it today. This novel was one of the first to fuel my love of literature and I feel I almost know it off by heart now, yet I'll never tire of it. The courtroom scenes are electric, but there is also the sub-plot featuring the indomitable Mrs Dubose and Atticus' young son, Jem who reads to her to help her kick her morphine addiction. In spite of her bigotry and foul temper, Atticus describes her as 'the bravest woman I ever knew.' Harper Lee's characterisation is complex, rich and challenging. The best book I've ever read.

Brilliant book. I re read it recently and loved it even more

I first read this book when I was fourteen, as part of the english curriculum, and I can honestly say that it was the catalyst for a love of literature which still continues today. Now, thirty seven years old and many, many books later I still feel that Harper Lees novel still holds the No.1 spot for me. The characters and their descriptions transported me to a place and time I had never visited, the courtroom moments were absolutely gripping. I felt when I read the last page, that I didn't want to leave the characters behind! The themes are still so relevant today because human nature doesn't change Go and read it.

This book shows an alternative to testosterone fuelled masculinity!

It is about a man who takes on something that he is afraid of because he know it is morally right, even though he knows there will be repercussions for himself and his children.

Atticus Finch is the kind of man I'd like to have met and married (not that I'd have deserved him)!! Really an example of an excellent human being, and how he tries to see things through the eyes of others, rather than judging them.

For anyone who hasn't read this wonderful book - go and do so immediately - it's written from the point of the view of Scout, a 10 year old tomboy growing up in the American south in the 30's with her widowed lawyer dad Atticus and brother Jem. Her dad defends a black man accused of raping a white girl and the story is about the impact of the trial on her personally and the community she lives in. It's tragic, human and funny. When I was young I was a tomboy so Scout was something of a heroine and as an adolescent the message of human understanding and anti-prejudice (of all sorts) touched me (and still does). It's simply beautiful.

A truly moving 'classic', easy to read and utterly thought-provoking. I first read this as a teenager, and was shocked to discover it was possible to have a crush on a fictional character..and I still love Atticus Finch to this day!

Written in 1960's, this is a book which has stood the test of time. Whilst it deals with the heavy issues of race and rape, it takes the perspective of the six year old narrator to show just how illogical prejudices can be, and how we can all be prejudiced and judge someone without knowing them, even if it's not on the basis of their colour or race.
Don't let the fact it's seen as a "classic" stop you from reading this fantastic book - it's just as much of a page turner as more modern offerings, thought provoking without being heavy and well worth giving a go.