Previous Big Reads

2009 - The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett's third novel, The Maltese Falcon (1930), set the standard by which all subsequent detective fiction would be judged. Hammett's clean prose and sharp ear for dialogue produced an exceedingly readable novel with enough twists to keep the reader turning the pages in search of clues. It is a detective novel—one of the best ever written. It’s also a brilliant literary work, as well as a thriller, a love story, and a dark, dry comedy.

2008 - To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird is the rare American novel that can be discovered with excitement in adolescence and reread into adulthood without fear of disappointment. Lee tells two deftly paired stories set in a small Southern town: one focused on lawyer Atticus Finch's defense of an unjustly accused man, the other on his bright daughter's gradual discovery of her own goodness. Along with its twin plot lines, To Kill a Mockingbird has two broad themes: tolerance and justice. Tying the stories together is a simple but profound piece of advice Atticus gives Scout: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."