After 55 years Harper Lee "To Kill A Mockingbird" sequel will be released in July it's called "Go Set A Watchman" which will follow an adult Scout Finch

I am excited about this! I am wondering how long it will be to come out as an audio book and who would get to read it.

This was an interesting story about it all.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/03/harper-lee-new-novel-to-kill-a-mockingbird

I've already placed my name on a waiting list for this through my favourite bookseller!

Edited to add: "To Kill a Mocking Bird" is both my favourite book and my favourite movie. I've loved this book since I read it in high school and it is one of the very few books I have read multiple times.

I wonder how many funtrivia questions now need editing? Who knew they would suffer from timestamping?

Would you believe I had that exact same thought when I first heard this?

Believe me, so did the Lit editors.....

A first print run of 2 million, if that is true, Wow!
Also the fact that this book was written first,
and 'To KIll A Mocking BIrd', was suggested
by her editor as a prequel, knock me down with a feather!

I'm very excited about this! I can't wait to read that book.

I admit I thought this too. Now the question is, who will be the first person to write a question or a quiz on the new book?

what I find odd is that a novel, supposedly "missing" since before I was born, has suddenly come to light. I can only hope that Harper Lee (who is now at least 88) is not being taken advantage of.

She's living in assisted housing in some dinky town in Alabama. If she's a heroine to you, you'd be better off sending her money directly, because that would be more than she will receive royalty-wise on something she obviously didn't want published within the last 60 years. There is something fishy about this whole thing.

The "dinky town" is the one she grew up in. There was more than copy of her original novel, To Set a Watchman. It was at the suggestion of an editor that rewrote it and it became To Kill a Mockingbird. From what I've read, the Watchman manuscript was found with a copy of the Mockingbird manuscript. Her sister, who died last fall at the age of 103, had an original manuscript of Mockingbird in her safety deposit box. Or the Watchman manuscript was found in the family home, which was owned by Harper Lee's sister.

According to people that visit her on a regular basis, very longtime friends, she is aware the manuscript is being published. If she didn't want it published, she could stop it.

As for potential royalties, she currently gets approximately half a million dollars a year now from sales of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Have already received my first correction note on my quiz "Literary One Hit Wonders". I wrote back to the effect that it would be premature to amend the question prior to the book's release - particularly since the question has been raised about authenticity.

I am really hoping that a small cadre of people who will benefit greatly from this book's release aren't taking advantage of Harper Lee. She suffered a stroke recently, and she is 89 after all...

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/02/harper-lee-go-set-a-watchman-manuscript-discovery

I don't think she is being taken advantage of. She was certainly aware enough to insist the book be published as it stands, no editorial "prettying up". I've ordered it and I think it will give a whole new slant to Mockingbird

From what I've heard reported over the last few days and was alluded to here is that the 'new' book was actually written before "...Mockingbird" and it is essentially the same story just a different name. So, I'd say she was still a one hit wonder.

One thing is certain, some people are going to make a lot of money out of this. I don't recall so much excitement around a book since the very last Harry Potter came out.

I don't believe it's at all "essentially the same story." Watchman revolves around Scout's (now just Jean Louise) return to her hometown 20 years after the events in Mockingbird and the personal, political, and cultural issues she faces in Alabama in the 1950s. There are flashbacks to her childhood and those, apparently, were the impetus for Harper Lee to write Mockingbird.

The first chapter is online. There are echoes of the writing style from Mockingbird. And something that surprised me. I hope it's addressed later in the book.

I should get the book from Amazon tomorrow, so I'd better get cracking and finish the book I'm reading now!

I ordered a copy at Waterstones in February, so will collect it as soon as I travel home later in the week.

Mine should arrive tomorrow, and I've cleared the decks ready to dive in

Reese Witherspoon reads it for the audio book. It's important to remember that Go Set a Watchman is not a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. Yes, some of the characters are the same but it's not a sequel.

I've got mine

It didn't come by regular mail, which disappointed me. But two hours later, there was a knock on the door and there it was! After I signed for it of course. The mail carrier said that's all he's doing today, delivering it to the local schools, library, and to people.

I love the smell of new books

I'm sad--normally Amazon sends out pre-ordered books so they arrive the day they're released. For some reason "Watchman" wasn't shipped until today so won't arrive until Thursday. I'll just have to read another book in the interim!