Chancellor's Reading Club

2008 Reading Club Selection

The Chancellor's Reading Club selection for 2008 is The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd.

About the Author

Sue Monk Kidd was born and raised in small-town Georgia. Drawn to writing as an adolescent, she pursued an education and career in nursing before returning to writing. After writing the spiritual memoirs God's Joyful Surprise and The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, she turned to fiction.  Her first novel was The Secret Life of Bees, published in 2002. More...

Resources

• Reading the Secret Life of Bees: This presentation, developed by FSU faculty and students, will help introduce you to the text. [PDF]
• G. Robert Bohanon III, "Lily Imagining her Mother Deborah."  A photograph by an FSU art student.
• Sam Cooke, "A Change is Gonna Come."

About the Selection

Experience the story of a fourteen-year-old girl who leaves her abusive father to travel with her caregiver in search of links to her dead mother. While living with a family of beekeeping sisters, she experiences "family" for the first time and makes peace with her past.

Where to Find the Selection

Incoming freshmen must purchase The Secret Life of Bees and read it before Orientation begins on August 16.  Over four million copies have been sold. The Secret Life of Bees can be found new and used at most bookstores and online.