The Barnes and Noble at Brandon Town Center hosted a read-a-thon of the Harper Lee classic "To Kill a Mockingbird," on Monday.
The 12-hour reading event was held to celebrate and build anticipation for the long-awaited release of "Go Set a Watchman," an earlier version of the original Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
Ninth-grade Hillsborough County English Teacher and part-time book store employee Amanda Marriott could barely contain her enthusiasm for the release of the new novel.
"I'm so excited, I'm going to be here at 7 a.m. They gave me the next few days off so I can read it. I'm very excited," Marriott said. "I've actually taught it for the last two years and it has become one of my favorite novels."
Volunteers ranging from store employees to educators to writers took turns at the reading table 30 minutes at a time.
Store manager Cheryl Haller says they are anticipating a lot of demand for the book release on Tuesday.
"Oh yeah, we have a lot of people asking - are you going to have enough? and what time are you opening that day? and people are very excited about it, book sellers as well," Haller said.
Most book sellers have extended hours in anticipation of large demand for the book.
