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The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
by Sue Monk Kidd | Women's Fiction
Registered by andersor of San Francisco, California USA on Friday, November 26, 2004
Average 8 star rating by BookCrossing Members 

status (set by potok-fan): travelling


This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!

11 journalers for this copy...

Journal Entry 1 by andersor from San Francisco, California USA on Friday, November 26, 2004

10 out of 10

"Set in South Carolina in 1964. The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina - a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come."  

Journal Entry 2 by andersor at Controlled Postal Release in San Francisco, California USA on Monday, December 06, 2004

This book has not been rated.

Released on Monday, December 06, 2004 at about 3:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at Controlled Postal Release in San Francisco, California USA.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to SoberGirl in Finland, trade for The Ground Beneath her Feet. 

Journal Entry 3 by Sobergirl from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Friday, December 17, 2004

This book has not been rated.

Thank you, Andersor! This arrived in the mail this morning. It will go in my TBR pile for a while. Only for a while :) I can't wait to read this, I've heard so many good things about it!
I hope "The ground beneath her feet" arrives soon.
Thanks for the trade!
I love Bookcrossing!

 

Journal Entry 4 by Sobergirl from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Monday, December 20, 2004

9 out of 10

I got this book on Friday, and thought I'd just read a few pages to see what it was like/if I liked it at all...Finished reading it last night :) It was great! I really liked it! Thank you andersor for the trade! 

Journal Entry 5 by Sobergirl from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Monday, December 20, 2004

This book has not been rated.

I will set it up as a bookring in Finland.Please PM me if you want to participate! Here are the rules:

Here are the rules:

1. Please journal the book to say you have received it.
2. PM the next person on the list for their address.
3. Read the book within one month (or PM me if you need longer)
4. Post to next person on list.

Any problems, please PM me.

Thank you for participating!

Sue Monk Kidd
 

Journal Entry 6 by Sobergirl from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Sunday, December 26, 2004

This book has not been rated.

The list for the bookring:

1. zayah
2. em64
3. annelis
4. dotdot
5. eisisa
6. intrycksflikka
7. ika-cassiopeia
8. back to sobergirl

 

Journal Entry 7 by Sobergirl from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Monday, December 27, 2004

This book has not been rated.

I will mail the book today to Zayah-may the bookring begin! 

Journal Entry 8 by zayah from Helsinki, Uusimaa Finland on Tuesday, December 28, 2004

This book has not been rated.

This arrived in the mail today - thank you Sobergirl! I read the beginning on the bus already, it seems great. It wont take long to finish it now :) 

Journal Entry 9 by zayah from Helsinki, Uusimaa Finland on Thursday, December 30, 2004

9 out of 10

Wow. I rarely read fiction, so it was nice to find a good fiction book to read. The text was easy English, still I found myself taking hours of reading time. The pace of the text and story itself seemed to slow me down, and this was not a bad thing.

I liked the story, it was touching, fun, dramatic, wise, and of course had lots of bees and honey :) The author really has a way of bringing the place and the story vividly alive, I really could see the places and colors in my mind. Also the thoughts and feelings of a 14-year-old girl were well put.

In short version: a good book!

edit 2nd January: the book went in to the mailbox today for em64. 

Journal Entry 10 by wingem64wing from Tampere, Pirkanmaa Finland on Tuesday, January 04, 2005

This book has not been rated.

The book arrived today in the mail at the same time with another bookring book. Thanks, zayah! 

Journal Entry 11 by wingem64wing from Tampere, Pirkanmaa Finland on Friday, January 14, 2005

8 out of 10

"It is the peculiar nature of the world to go on spinning no matter what sort of heartbreaking is happening."

That sentence describes the book - and life - pretty well. All kinds of things happen, good and bad, but life just goes on. The story of Lily was quite charming and I ended up liking the book a lot. At first a story about a child growing up without a mother didn't strike as something I would like to read, considering the sad thing(s) that had just happened. But it was so comforting to read how Lily managed to find a way to deal with her past and keep on living her life. It would be quite interesting to read what happens in the future...

Will be sending the book to annelis next week. 

Journal Entry 12 by wingem64wing at Postal release in bookring, Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Sunday, January 16, 2005

This book has not been rated.

Released 8 yrs ago (1/16/2005 UTC) at Postal release in bookring, Bookring -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Pistin postiin ja on nyt matkalla annelikselle. 

Journal Entry 13 by wingAnneliswing from Kerava, Uusimaa Finland on Wednesday, January 19, 2005

8 out of 10

The book arrived today. I have heard good things about this book so I am really looking forward to reading it!
Thank you!

Edit March 11th
It seems I forgot to journal about reading the book. I had also forgotten what I had read about the interracial situation in the USA in the 60s and 70s. I used to read all the books about these things I got by, books by James Baldwin etc. Somehow I thought it was the past. Maybe things are better now but not yet well enough. This book goes back to those days when racial tolerance was totally missing in many minds. Another sad thing in this book were the feelings of the negletted child. Somehow there was hope and optimism in the story in spite of the bad things what happened. This book certainly was worth reading!

This book counts for USA in my my Geographical Challenge 

Journal Entry 14 by wingdotdotwing from Helsinki, Uusimaa Finland on Tuesday, March 08, 2005

This book has not been rated.

I got the book tonight. Thanks Annelis and Sobergirl. 

Journal Entry 15 by wingdotdotwing from Helsinki, Uusimaa Finland on Monday, March 21, 2005

9 out of 10

This story was predictable, but that didn't matter. It was a lovely story (almost a fairy tale) about a haven of love and wisdom in a very cruel world. I'm glad that I read it. I loved the cult of Black Madonna, Our Lady of Chains. It was both funny and awe-inspiring. Bees are mythical all over the word. They gave the book the touch of mystic. i liked writer's style also. It was vivid and clear.

I mail the book to eisisa today. 

Journal Entry 16 by eisisa from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Friday, April 08, 2005

This book has not been rated.

I couldn´t find the time to read this book now, so I´m sending it to Intrycksflicka shortly.
Eisisa 

Journal Entry 17 by intry from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Monday, April 18, 2005

This book has not been rated.

I got the book from eisisa last Friday. Will try to read it ASAP, have two other bookrings before this though. Thanks sobergirl for sharing! 

Journal Entry 18 by intry from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Monday, May 23, 2005

8 out of 10

I'm sorry for the delay. This wasn't a book that I would have picked up at the book store or in the library. But I did like it. It was beautiful.



Will PM ika-cassiopeja... 

Journal Entry 19 by Sobergirl from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Saturday, June 11, 2005

This book has not been rated.

The book will go to snowy652 as loan once it gets back to me.
She knows the book is still in circulation and it might take a while before she gets it. She said she'd wait. 

Journal Entry 20 by intry at post office in mail, A Book Relay -- Controlled Releases on Friday, June 17, 2005

This book has not been rated.

Released 7 yrs ago (6/17/2005 UTC) at post office in mail, A Book Relay -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

The book is finally on its way to ika-cassiopeja. Sorry for the delay! 

Journal Entry 21 by ika-cassiopeia from Vaasa, Pohjanmaa Finland on Friday, June 24, 2005

This book has not been rated.

Recieved the book in the mail two days ago. Thanks to Intrycksflikka for passing it on and to Sobergirl for sharing the book with us! Will see when I get around to reading it, I have a huge TBR-pile and my wummer job on the library doesn't exactly make it smaller... The book sounds interesting, and I've heard a lot of positive things about it. 

Journal Entry 22 by ika-cassiopeia from Vaasa, Pohjanmaa Finland on Monday, October 10, 2005

8 out of 10

I'm very sorry it has taken me so long reading this book... I had a lot of books to rad during the summer, and did not get around to starting until about 2-3 weeks ago. It has also taken me a long time to truly get into the book. I think this is rather my fault than the book's, though. Last week i spent almost five hours on a train and had brought the book with me. As I finally took time to really sit down to read I got caught up with the story.

I think this is a very nice book. It is partly cute, but not in the way that makes ypu feel that it is too cute... It is not cute in an overloaded, disturbing way.

It is not only the story told in The Secret Life of Bees that made me like the book, it is also Sue Monk Kidd's style of writing. As others have already said she offers the reader a scenery that feels truly alive. Sometimes I felt like I was experiencing all the small things that Lily experienced, I could see the surroundings around me, I could feel the smells and feel the sensation of heat on my own skin. I actually think this is what will keep the book in my mind afterwards - not the story, but how The Secret Life of Bees gave me an experience of life in the South in the early 60's. And also how it gave me a lot of new information on the racial situation at that time and place. As I was born in the early eighties in Scandinavia I don't have any conmnection to those events. Of course I have heard about them, but I have not fully realised how terrible the situation was before i read about it in this book.

Thank you all earlier readers of this copy for passing it on and sharing this reading experience! 

Journal Entry 23 by Sobergirl from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Wednesday, October 19, 2005

This book has not been rated.

The book is back with me, safe and sound! Thank you everyone for participating in the bookring!
I will mail the book to snowy652 today.
 

Journal Entry 24 by snowy652 from Abbotsford, British Columbia Canada on Thursday, November 10, 2005

This book has not been rated.

The book arrived safe and sound. I have a bunch of rings/rays to read before it but I will hopefully get it read in the next month. Thank you for lending me the book -- I will send it back to you as soon as I am able. 

Journal Entry 25 by snowy652 from Abbotsford, British Columbia Canada on Tuesday, January 10, 2006

9 out of 10

***This was an enjoyable read. In all honesty it wasn't as good as I had thought but that happens when I find myself listening to a lot of hype. I enjoyed taking a peek into these women's worlds and it was interesting to see how the characters evolved. It is hard to believe that a girl as young as Lily could go missing for so long without more attempts of being found. I found the book easy to read and follow and it kept my interest for the most part through-out the entire book.

Thank you for the loan sobergirl I will send it back as soon as I get confirmation of your address. 

Journal Entry 26 by snowy652 at please use CONTROLLED RELEASES country in -- By post or by hand-ie ring, trade, RABCK, meet, British Columbia Canada on Friday, January 13, 2006

This book has not been rated.

Released 7 yrs ago (1/13/2006 UTC) at please use CONTROLLED RELEASES country in -- By post or by hand-ie ring, trade, RABCK, meet, British Columbia Canada

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

sending back to sobergirl. Thanks again for the loan.

Hope you have safe travels back home little book. 

Journal Entry 27 by Sobergirl from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Friday, January 27, 2006

This book has not been rated.

The book now again back with me!
Thanks for the stickers!
 

Journal Entry 28 by Sobergirl at Café Fontana in Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Tuesday, February 14, 2006

This book has not been rated.

Released 7 yrs ago (2/14/2006 UTC) at Café Fontana in Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

I will take this book along to the BC Meetup tonight. I will leave it in the newspaper stand if no-one wants this one. 

Journal Entry 29 by potok-fan from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Tuesday, February 14, 2006

This book has not been rated.

I brought this home from the Valentine's Day BC meeting (we had chocolates and Jane Austen in *two* languages!). This is the most well-travelled (or at least the best-documented) book I have ever had. Thank you Sobergirl, and everyone who kept this book moving in the ring. Since it's no longer officially a ring, I may not start reading it right away, but I will look forward to it. 

Journal Entry 30 by potok-fan from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Monday, April 17, 2006

7 out of 10

I tried to start reading this book about a month or six weeks ago, and just couldn't get into it. It came across as too schmaltzy! Obviously it was the wrong book at the wrong time for me.

But I had a plane flight late last night and at the last minute I chose this book to be my airplane read. It was perfect for that! Not too hard to concentrate on, and with enough happening to keep me interested. I have only about two chapters left (and am very glad this hotel has broadband so I can journal this).

Thanks Sobergirl, Andersor, and everyone who participated in the ring for bringing this book to me! 

Journal Entry 31 by potok-fan at phone box near the post office in North Ferriby, East Yorkshire United Kingdom on Monday, April 17, 2006

This book has not been rated.

Released 7 yrs ago (4/17/2006 UTC) at phone box near the post office in North Ferriby, East Yorkshire United Kingdom

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Not sure exactly of the time - we're driving up from Stansted today - but on our way into the village we'll drop off this book! Happy Hunting.

UPDATE: I dropped the book off at 4 pm. When I checked back the next day, the book had already been taken. 



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