The Secret Life of Bees

by Sue Monk Kidd | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0142001740 Global Overview for this book
Registered by vraciousrdr of Vista, California USA on 12/13/2003
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This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!
15 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by vraciousrdr from Vista, California USA on Saturday, December 13, 2003
Christmas gift for pgetrnr

Journal Entry 2 by pgetrnr from Macomb, Michigan USA on Wednesday, December 31, 2003
This is part of a wonderful Christmas gift I received from vraciousrdr. A book that I have had on my wishlist for a while because I had read so many positive comments about on BC so I am very much looking forward to reading it as soon as I possibly can.

Thank you so very much Deb! You are a gem!

Journal Entry 3 by pgetrnr from Macomb, Michigan USA on Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Good but not as good as I had anticipated. From my view it lacked depth. I enjoyed the style of writing and the story however because of the lack of depth of some of the characters I rated it at only an 8.

Mailed this to Gwendy because it ws on her wish list and she is a fellow geocaher. Enjoy the RABCK Gwendy.

Journal Entry 4 by gwendy from Rochester, New York USA on Thursday, April 1, 2004
thanks so much for the surprise RABCK! can't wait to read it!!

Journal Entry 5 by gwendy from Rochester, New York USA on Thursday, April 29, 2004
will be finishing this up tonight (20 pgs left! :) absolutely loved it.. mucho thanks to pgetrnr!
i'm starting a bookray to spread the love.

the magically-ordered participants:
Metropolitan in Brazil
symphonicca in Halifax NS
LGinder in CA
MollyGrue in WA
JeepACV in MD
raralovestoread in FL

Journal Entry 6 by Metropolitan from São Paulo, São Paulo Brazil on Monday, July 5, 2004
Received today. Thanks, gwendy!

Journal Entry 7 by Metropolitan from São Paulo, São Paulo Brazil on Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Good book - I've always believed in a special connection between mothers and daughters.
I had no idea The Black Mary existed outside of Brazil. Here, she is considered the patron saint of the poor and oppressed and October 12th is a national holiday in her honor.
The book was mailed to LGinder today.
Thanks for sharing, Gwendy!

Journal Entry 8 by LGinder on Monday, August 23, 2004
Just came today from metropolitan all the way in Sao Paolo, Brazil!! I'll get to it soon and get it back on it's way.

Journal Entry 9 by LGinder on Thursday, August 26, 2004
This was absolutely one of the best books I've ever read. From the first page it grabbed you, pulled you into the story and didn't let you go. I would say this would make a great movie, but then I'd probably be disappointed when they made it!

I'll mail to the next in line early next week.

Update to journal entry: My 18 year old daughter heard me raving about this book and next thing I knew she was engrossed in it. I didn't have the heart to wrench it from her hands (she's bigger than me). She's done and it's packaged up - PROMISE to mail on 9/7

Journal Entry 10 by MollyGrue from Tacoma, Washington USA on Sunday, September 12, 2004
I have a few books in front of this, but I should get to this soon.

Journal Entry 11 by MollyGrue from Tacoma, Washington USA on Saturday, October 16, 2004
Much later than I thought, I am starting this today. It shouldn't take (I would think) more than a week to read this, though.

Journal Entry 12 by MollyGrue from Tacoma, Washington USA on Sunday, October 17, 2004
Wonderful story! I really loved the info on the Black Madonna.

At any rate, on to the next reader!

Journal Entry 13 by MollyGrue at In The Mail in Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Friday, October 29, 2004
Released on Friday, October 29, 2004 at about 3:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at in the mail in Bookring, A Bookring Controlled Releases.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to JeepACV. Happy reading!

DC# 03040370000131395746

Journal Entry 14 by JeepACV on Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Bookring arrived yesterday. Thanks!!! It'll be read and passed on soon.

Journal Entry 15 by JeepACV on Sunday, November 14, 2004
I thought this was a wonderful story about the power of sisterhood and the depths that can be found in the human spirit. The depiction of the south in the 60's provides a backdrop of political and civil unrest that weaves its way into the story of these women and enriches the ties that bind them.

I have the addy and I'm ready to pass it on to raralovestoread in FL early this coming week.

Enjoy!

Journal Entry 16 by JeepACV at BookRing in Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Monday, November 15, 2004
Released on Monday, November 15, 2004 at about 12:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at Bookring in Bookring, A Bookring Controlled Releases.

RELEASE NOTES:

shipped via media mail today

DC# 0304 1560 0001 6063 8539

Journal Entry 17 by raralovestoread from Ponchatoula, Louisiana USA on Saturday, November 27, 2004
I received this book in the mail today. I have two bookrings ahead of this one - not to mention it's the holiday season - so it may take a while for me to get to it. I will read it in as timely a manner as possible. Thanks, gwendy, for sharing this book with us.

Journal Entry 18 by raralovestoread from Ponchatoula, Louisiana USA on Sunday, December 19, 2004
Loved it, loved it, loved it! This is definitely one of the best books I have read since joining BookCrossing almost a year ago. Sue Monk Kidd has a wonderful storytelling ability that drew me in from the first page. In addition to enjoying the story, I also learned a lot about bees.

Here are a few quotes that particularly struck me as I was reading:

p. 133 That's what I told myself five hundred times: impossibility. I can tell you this much: the word is a great big log thrown on the fires of love.

p. 147 "The problem is they know what matters, but they don't choose it. ... The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters."

p. 248 "You know, Lily, people can start out one way, and by the time life gets through with them they end up completely different."

p. 249 You think you want to know something, and then once you do, all you can think about is erasing it from your mind. From now on when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I planned to say, Amnesiac.

p. 271 Have you noticed the more you try not to think, the more elaborate your thinking episodes get?


I must also say that I was moved by the character of May, and I love the idea of her wailing wall. There have been instances in my life where I have felt overwhelmed by things going on in the world and by doubts about my ability to make a difference. I just felt drawn to her character in particular.

Thanks again, gwendy, for sharing the book. I am going to continue the bookray after the New Year starts.

Journal Entry 19 by raralovestoread from Ponchatoula, Louisiana USA on Thursday, December 30, 2004
Today the bookray continues - I mailed this book to PaigeTurner124 in Texas.

Journal Entry 20 by PaigeTurner124 on Thursday, January 6, 2005
I recieved this book and have already started reading it. I love it so far!

Journal Entry 21 by PaigeTurner124 on Saturday, January 15, 2005
I finished this book tonight and must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it shows the true strength of the human race. I loved every character, as they each had a special part of the story. I loved all the quotes that Raralovestoread mentioned, but would like to add one more:

P. 298 "If you need something from somebody, always give that person a way to hand it to you."

I already have the next persons address and will get this in the mail on Monday, Jan. 17th.

Update: I forgot that Monday was MLK day and the post office was closed, so I mailed it Tuesday, 1/18/05 via Media Mail. DC #0300 1290 0007 9373 8444.

Journal Entry 22 by sdkelley on Friday, January 21, 2005
I got this in the mail today. As soon as I finish my current read, I will hop right into this one!

Journal Entry 23 by sdkelley on Thursday, January 27, 2005
I just got another copy of this as a gift, so I will be sending this to the next lucky soul in a day or two.

Journal Entry 24 by bookworm1954 from Sullivan, Missouri USA on Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Received this is the mail as part of a bookring/ray yesterday, read it last night and will be sending it on in the next couple of days.
A good read, I obviously had a hard time putting it down.

Journal Entry 25 by bookworm1954 from Sullivan, Missouri USA on Friday, February 4, 2005
I had a hard time finding out who got this book next. I got in contact with JeepACV and she sent me the following list. So Merinda gets it next.


The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (continuation of gwendy's bookray)

Final order for this bookray (now closed):

1) PaigeTurner124 (TX)
2) sdkelley (MO)
3) bookworm1954 (MO) -- received 1/31/05
4) Merinda (OH)
5) labspecimen (KY)
6) Kali297 (SC)
7) agschoolgrad (GA)
8) released into the wild!

Journal Entry 26 by LabSpecimen from Alexandria, Kentucky USA on Tuesday, March 15, 2005
I received this book yesterday, as part of the bookray. I'm looking forward to reading it since I've heard good things (and mediocre things) about it.

Journal Entry 27 by LabSpecimen from Alexandria, Kentucky USA on Tuesday, March 29, 2005
My wife and I both enjoyed the book. The only trouble I had with it was that the main character was just too "adult" for her age. Still, it was a wonderful story and I'm glad I had the opportunity to participate in this bookray.

I mailed this to kali297 today. Hope she enjoys it, too.

Journal Entry 28 by Kali297 from Athens, Alabama USA on Thursday, April 7, 2005
I was out of town for a few days and found this book in my stack of mail when I returned last night. I had another bookray book in the mail pile, too, but I'll try to read them as quickly as possible. Thanks!

Journal Entry 29 by Kali297 from Athens, Alabama USA on Wednesday, May 4, 2005
I had read about a third of this book when a friend of mine (who's like a daughter and always seems to have a book in her hand) asked me what I was reading. As usual, I e-mailed back that I was reading The Secret Life of Bees. Knowing that her parents gave her up to her grandparents when she was a baby, and that she had only suffered grief from them if she ever saw or heard from them at all, I cautioned her about Bees, telling her that I wasn't sure that anyone who had been through "mother loss" should read it. I ached for the cousin I grew up with, whose mother died when she was five, and whose dad left her with my grandmother and never came back. I don't normally read fiction anyway, and certainly not a story as seen through the eyes of a 14-year-old girl. But I perservered. Now living in SC myself, the customs and colloquialisms were already familiar enough to me to make for easy reading. And I once had an older neighbor who introduced me to the world of bees, suited me up to go deep into the woods to visit the hives, and kept me plied with jars of honey. It is a simple story, as well, with no intricate twists and turns to entangle me. But I soon discovered that one should not underestimate Sue Monk Kidd's talent for telling stories. Her startlingly beautiful metaphors combined with her own soul wisdom turns the simple into the profound, and suddenly you're woozy from the heady fragrance of Jasmine and feverish heat of the South. And my friend, forewarned but always up for a challenge, rushed headlong into the bookstore anyway, searching for a kindred spirit and finding her in Lily Owens. And she quickly acquired Kidd's latest, Mermaid Chair, before she could even finish The Secret Life of Bees.
I mailed this to agschoolgrad today and hope she enjoys it as much as I did.




















































































































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Journal Entry 30 by agschoolgrad from Jefferson, Georgia USA on Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Received in the mail today. Thanks!

Journal Entry 31 by agschoolgrad from Jefferson, Georgia USA on Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Book was ok, but at times did not hold my interest.

Journal Entry 32 by agschoolgrad from Jefferson, Georgia USA on Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Sending to fellow bookcrosser in trade. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 33 by winginnaewing from Aurora, Colorado USA on Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Received in a trade with agschoolgrad!! YEAH!!!

Journal Entry 34 by winginnaewing from Aurora, Colorado USA on Sunday, July 30, 2006
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!

It is one of the best books I have read in a VERY long time. And thanks to bookcrossing for bringing it to me...I don't think it is something I would have picked up on my own.

My mom is still with me, but as a witch (pagan/whatever you decide to call us) I found the similarities to the Black Madonna worship and Goddess Worship undeniable. And the sisterhood reminds me so much of my girls (the gals I worship with) -- finding the strength in self -- I just have too many good things to say about this book...and I think I will have to add Kidd to my "must read" author list.

A few quotes I found:

"How did bees ever become equated with sex? They do not live a riotous sex life themselves. A hive suggest cloister more than bordello." - The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men pg 115

"Honeybees depend not only on physical contact with the colony, but also require its social companionship and support. Isolate a honeybee from her sisters and she will soon die." The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men pg 136

"...everybody needs a God who looks like them..." pg 141

"Really, her spirit is everywhere, Lily, just everywhere. Inside rocks and trees and even people, but sometimes it will get concentrated in certain places and just beam out at you in a special way." pg 141

I thought about keeping this book, because I believe one day I will want to read it again, or pass it to friends/family/a daughter perhaps? -- But this particular copy has gone so many places, I hate for it to stop its travels - so I will be releasing it as part of Secretariat's September Animal Release Challenge 2006 and I will buy a brand new copy to keep for myself.

thanks to agschoolgrad for sharing it!!


Journal Entry 35 by winginnaewing at Quiznos (Hampden/Tower) in Aurora, Colorado USA on Saturday, September 9, 2006

Released 17 yrs ago (9/9/2006 UTC) at Quiznos (Hampden/Tower) in Aurora, Colorado USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

on a table out front

Released as part of Can't Judge a Book by its Cover challenge
Week 35 - Windows

AND

Released as part of guinaveve's Keep Them Moving Challenge 2006

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