A 12-hour read-a-loud of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ kicks off at Barnes & Noble
“I can read,” Ed Belsan said, making his voice child-like to take on the intonations of the child Dill in “To Kill a Mockingbird” and pausing before a new character spoke. “You got anything needs reading?”
Belsan, with a flat cap perched above his goatee, was the second reader in a full day of readers planned at Barnes & Noble at Bradley Fair on Monday. The store was holding a commemorative reading of the book, with less than 24 hours until the store opens early at 7 a.m. Tuesday for sales of Harper Lee’s first book in more than 50 years, “Go Set a Watchman.”
Belsan and his son Sam, who was scheduled to read next, were reprising roles they had played four years earlier in a community theater production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Sam played Jem and Ed played Atticus but they would be taking on all the roles Monday. Belsan, a ninth- and 12th-grade English teacher in Derby, volunteered his son to read, although he let his daughter, Asha, sit and listen.
Brad Purkey, 46, merchandise manager at Barnes & Noble, kicked off the day at 9 a.m. with a steady but well-articulated opening. He’s a local actor on the side, who has performed around town and is currently in rehearsals for “Pageant” at Roxy’s Downtown. “There were some words I didn’t know, Southern slang words,” Purkey said.
The plan is for the 20-odd volunteers to read in 20-minute slots and finish the book by 9 p.m. But there were around 10 empty slots at the start of the day, so Purkey may have a lot more reading ahead of him if the slots don’t get filled.
Harper Lee celebration
Watermark Books & Cafe, 4701 E. Douglas, is planning events to celebrate Harper Lee’s new book by paying homage to Lee’s classic, “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Watermark bookseller Shirley Wells will lead a discussion of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” focusing on readers’ favorite memories of the novel, intriguing passages and anticipation of Lee’s new release.
Watermark Cafe is also celebrating “Go Set a Watchman” with a special Maycomb Menu for $11.95 Tuesday through Saturday. With the purchase of the meal, readers will receive 10 percent off the cover price of the new novel.
Also on Tuesday, readers can participate in an online celebration by sharing 15-second clips reading their favorite passages from “To Kill a Mockingbird” or retelling their favorite memories of the book via Instagram, using the #GoSetAWatchman and #readICT hashtags on Watermark’s Instagram account at @watermarkbooksandcafe.
This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 11:41 AM with the headline "A 12-hour read-a-loud of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ kicks off at Barnes & Noble."