--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now, 75 years [after To Kill a…" description: "\"“Now, 75 years [after To Kill a Mockingbird ], in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods, and minds like empty rooms, I stil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/harper-lee-451_book_now-75-years-after-to-kill-a-mockingbird_1589251.png" --- # Now, 75 years \[after To Kill a Mockingbird \], in an… ![“Now, 75 years [after To Kill a Mockingbird ], in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods, and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books. [Open Letter, O Magazine , July 2006]” quote by Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/harper-lee-451_book_now-75-years-after-to-kill-a-mockingbird_1589251.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/harper-lee-451_book_now-75-years-after-to-kill-a-mockingbird_1589251.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/harper-lee-451_book_now-75-years-after-to-kill-a-mockingbird_1589251.png) > ““Now, 75 years \[after To Kill a Mockingbird \], in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods, and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books. \[Open Letter, O Magazine , July 2006\]”” [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even in a tech‑saturated age, books remain essential for deep thought and personal growth. **In simple terms:** Books still matter despite digital distractions. Key Takeaway Read to think deeply. Themes literature technology solitude Mood reflective nostalgic Type literary personal When to use this quote - commuting - late night reading - academic study - creative writing Key Concepts Cultural criticism personal reflection Questions to Reflect On - What role do books play in your life today? - How does technology affect your reading habits? A Different Perspective Digital media can fragment attention, reducing deep reading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cell phone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phone/) [Cell phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cell-phones/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Critical thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical-thinking/) [Modern life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-life/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Superficiality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficiality/) [Vacuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vacuity/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Now...in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, ipods and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/now-in-an-abundant-society-where-people-have-laptops-cell-phones/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [So it took an eight-year-old child to bring 'em to their senses… That proves something - that a gang of wild animals can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/so-it-took-an-eight-year-old-child-to-bring-em-to-their-senses-that-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/mockingbirds-don-t-do-one-thing-but-make-music-for-us-to-enjoy-they/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but i know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-d-rather-you-shot-at-tin-cans-in-the-back-yard-but-i-know-you-ll-go-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/shoot-all-the-blue-jays-you-want-if-you-can-hit-em-but-remember-it-s/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/shoot-all-the-bluejays-you-want-if-you-can-hit-em-but-remember-it-s-a/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand. ~Harper Lee, To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/why-reasonable-people-go-stark-raving-mad-when-anything-involving-a/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“To kill a mockingbird is a sin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-kill-a-mockingbird-is-a-sin/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“To the Richmond Leader in 1966 when the school board banned her novel: “Surely it is plain to the simplest intelligence that ‘To Kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-the-richmond-leader-in-1966-when-the-school-board-banned-her-novel/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/remember-it-s-a-sin-to-kill-a-mockingbird/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Atticus said to Jem one day, "I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/atticus-said-to-jem-one-day-i-d-rather-you-shot-at-tin-cans-in-the/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I remember when my daddy gave me that gun. He told me that I should never point it at anything in the house; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-remember-when-my-daddy-gave-me-that-gun-he-told-me-that-i-should/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Be a little careful about your library. Do you foresee what you will do with it? Very little to be sure. But the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/be-a-little-careful-about-your-library-do-you-foresee-what-you-will/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I do love secondhand books that open to the page some previous owner read oftenest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-do-love-secondhand-books-that-open-to-the-page-some-previous-owner/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [“Books are open doors to other dimensions where everything is possible and nothing is forbidden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-tyran/books-are-open-doors-to-other-dimensions-where-everything-is-possible/) Danny Tyran ## More by Harper Lee > [“No jury in this part of the world's going to say, "We think you're guilty, but not very," on a charge like that. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/no-jury-in-this-part-of-the-world-s-going-to-say-we-think-you-re/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [That proves something- that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/that-proves-something-that-a-gang-of-wild-animals-can-be-stopped/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-something-about-her-i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. 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It just shows you how poor that person is, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/it-s-never-an-insult-to-be-called-what-somebody-thinks-is-a-bad-name/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I wonder how much of the day I spend just callin' after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wonder-how-much-of-the-day-i-spend-just-callin-after-you/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Writing is something you'll never learn in any university or at any school. It's something that is within you, and if it isn't there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/writing-is-something-you-ll-never-learn-in-any-university-or-at-any/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-have-come-to-trial-the-state-has/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Naw, Jem. I think that there is just one kind of folks. Folks." Jen turned and punched his pillow. WHen he settle back his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/naw-jem-i-think-that-there-is-just-one-kind-of-folks-folks-jen-turned/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The course of English Literature would have been decidedly different had Mr. Wordsworth owned a power mower.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-course-of-english-literature-would-have-been-decidedly-different/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I would like to be the chronicler of something that I think is going down the drain very swiftly, and that is small-town, middle-class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-would-like-to-be-the-chronicler-of-something-that-i-think-is-going/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The gum looked fresh. I sniffed it and it smelled all right. I licked it and waited for a while. When I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-gum-looked-fresh-i-sniffed-it-and-it-smelled-all-right-i-licked/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I just thought you'd like to know I can read. You got anything needs readin' I can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-just-thought-you-d-like-to-know-i-can-read-you-got-anything-needs/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) [Explore all 494 Harper Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Now, 75 years [after To Kill a Mockingbird ], in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods, and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books. 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