Book Clubs and Inspirational Literature

Book clubs have grown in popularity in the twenty-first century thanks to high-profile reading projects such as Oprah Winfrey's televised monthly club and promotion by publishers and bookstores. Previously unknown authors have found themselves propelled up the bestseller lists through book-club promotion. The Secret Life of Bees received a similar boost after its publication in 2002 when it was selected as the Good Morning America "Read This!" book for October of that year. In 2003, the Penguin paperback edition of the novel was published in a format friendly to book clubs, with an author interview and questions for discussion appended to the end.

Sue Monk Kidd's novel was well poised for success as a book-club favorite because of its focus on issues of interest to women readers, the majority of book-club participants. Its predominantly female cast of characters, small-town setting, and themes of motherhood and...