Lily's Motherly Figure

Towards the end of the book I realized that Lily would realize that having a mother wouldn't make her happy but excepting and loving herself would make her happy. I was wondering what all of you thought?

Ending

I wasn't too shocked by the ending of the story, I knew that T. Ray would appear back in the story but I didn't really foreshadow that he would leave Lily with August.

Ending

I know for a fact that I believed T-Ray was the one to kill Deborah.  It was true though, Lily did in fact kill her mother.  Did this shock anyone else?

Shocking

Hey, the ending took me by surprise. I was shocked that T. Ray came, even though I knew it in the back of my mind, but was even more shocked at how Lily handled this encounter. She was able to get T. Ray to leave her with August. I thought that Lily would be going home with T. Ray. What did you guys think? Did you believe that it was possible for Lily to stand up to T. Ray and get what she demanded? Did anything else shock you with the end of this book?

The End

Hey guys,
One final post, and also some questions to follow up my last. First, do you believe that T.Ray will send her a loving letter or gift ever in Lily's life now that she lives in the Pink House? What about Zach and Lily, will they amount to anything? And lastly, the question to end all question, how did you guys like this book? Good, bad?
Signing off, once and for all,
Mia.Wright

Questions

Hey y'all,
So we read the last chapter. Lily confronted T.Ray about if she really killed her mother and he answered. Yes, Lily did kill her mother. How do you think this will affect Lily now that she finally knows that she did indeed kill her mother. Do you think Lily will handle this negatively or maybe not at all? Please let me know!
Love, Mia.Wright

End of the Book

Hey all,

This will be a relatively short post, but I wanted to know what you all thought of the end of the book. Did it give you a sense of completion or did you feel like it was over?

Thank you,
Aiden Smith

Civil Rights Today

In this book, we have learned about the racism that took place in the 1960s, and the efforts made to try to give the blacks equal rights. Do we see a dramatic change between racism then and now? What more do we still need to do in terms of civil rights?

Predicting

I was just wondering what your predictions are for the last chapter, and the resolution of the story. We know that it will have a happy ending because it is a bildungsroman, but what will that happy ending entail? Will Lily and Zach end up together? Will T Ray find Lily? Will we find out the truth abut her mother's death?

Lily vs. Mother

Hey
Do you think that Lily is same as her parents or she is different because of her life? Do you think her journey is changed her a lot or her parents will react same as her?

Almost there

Hi
We are almost done and we know a lot about the story and all that stuff. What do you think about that book? Did you like that book? Me personally, I didn't like that book and I think this was the weakest book what we read.

The Book Evolving

This novel has evolved into something that I never expected when we first began reading. Lily has grown into a new person, and has truly moved forward in finding her identity. She now knows the truth and has been exposed to many new concepts that she wouldn't have thought of if she had stayed and lived in her town with T. Ray. What else do you think will happen in the last chapter? DO you think Lily will evolve more and do you think she/us will see more surprises? Also, how have we seen the characters and the story evolve into something so complex and thoughtful?

The Truth

Now that you have heard the truth about Lily's mom, what do you think of her?  Do you think she treated Lily was treated right?  Should have Deborah treated her differently? What are your thoughts?

Surprise

Hey
What was your biggest surprise in this book? What did you could expect and couldn't expect from Lily or form her story?

Chapter 13 Deborah

Hi Guys,

What do you think about Lily's imagination about her mother? What do you think she expect from her? When August tell her about her mother, she was really surprised. Do you think she felt like not her daughter?

Questions!

Hey y'all,
So a lot has happened lately, Lily has discovered her mother did indeed abandon her. But, as Lily discovers, her mother loved her. So here are a few question for you.
1. How has Lily evolved as a character?
2. Was Lily depressed throughout chapter 13?

Faith and Love

All,

I think the last paragraph of Chapter 13 is important to what we have been discussing as far as the motifs "faith" and "love".

"I looked down at the picture, then closed my eyes. I figured May must've made it to heaven and explained to my mother about the sign I wanted. The one that would let me know I was loved." Chapter 13, Page 276

Perhaps we can add this to our motif/theme google doc somewhere? I think this is beautiful.

Chapter 13 Question 2

Is it true that you cant talk yourself out of anger? ... What could've lily done to get her anger out

I believe she could've talked herself out of being angry she knew she was angry and people can calm themselves down.  She also could've went to someone to calm her down like August or Roseleen.
What do you think

Chapter 13, question 2!

   Lily thinks that you cant talk yourself out of anger, is that true? "Either you are angry or you're not" Does lily's anger justify her smashing Augusts honey? 

   I think you totally can be talked out of anger, but I haven't been through all the things that she has. Her statement is correct as there are no degrees to anger. However, this does not justify her smashing August’s honey as it was totally unnecessary. Instead of having a tantrum, Lily could have sat down and thought about her emotions or went to someone to speak with. She also could have gone to the wall May went to, its not just "May's wall."

Any other thoughts? 
Anyone agree with Lily that you cant talk yourself out of anger? 

Question 6 chapter 12

Has Lily found "the mother within herself?" how do you know? 

I think she hasn't because she imagined her mother to be a saint and when she learned the truth she was let down to know the truth.  She still loves her but i don't think she found it.

Sue Monk Kidd Oprah Interviews

Hi,
I've found some great clips from an interview that Oprah did with Sue Monk Kidd. They are about her newest book, The Invention of Wings, but I thought there were some parallels between the two books. I have included two clips that I thought were especially good, but there are more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9HH_-FlG2E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD2K5qyLAgo

Question 1 of Chapter 12

Hey all,

I really liked the second half of this question because it made me think back on what I learned and how I grew up. I wanted to know what happened to you all as younger people and what you learned from your parents. The question is "Share something that you have learned from your mother's choices and how it has shaped who you are."

Thank you,
Aiden Smith

Why June is so scared of marriage

Hey guys,
I don't know about you, but I though it was kind of weird how June was so opposed to marrying Neil for so long. I understand that she values her freedom, but you can tell that she and Neil love each other so much. August says that part of the reason Deborah was so depressed was because she was "married to a man she really didn't want to be married to."(253). We know that June spent time with Deborah after she ran away from T Ray.
Do you think seeing Deborah's experience with marriage is one of the reasons why June won't marry Neil for so long?

May's suicide

May left a suicide note for her sisters. In the note she tells them to live their lives fully. Then shortly after they celebrate Mary day. Do you think they will stop celebrating this holiday now that May is dead?

similar experience

I was just writing the discussion questions, and suddenly found out that I share similar experience with Lily, how she was missing her mother, and Rosaleen and August took care of her. I was kind of similar. My mom works in a city that's really far away from me, basically I was in the south and she's in the north, we barely meet each other in a year. And I got this aunt, which is kind of like Rosaleen, she took care of me and be the substitute for my mom. My family is also a female dominant environment, I only lived with my aunt and other relatives (all women) and does not have much time to be with my dad. I feel like this environment actually shape who I am today.

De-Segregation in 2016

All,

I found this article in Time today about a town in Mississippi that still has segregated schools! How is this possible you ask? Well read it. They are being forced to desegregate as we speak. Crazy, huh?


http://time.com/4338136/cleveland-mississippi-desegregate-schools/

Themes, Motifs, and more

As was posted on the board in class...

Themes being developed:
*Coming of Age
*Search for Identity
*Resilience of the human spirit
*Death gives way to life

Motifs:
*Love
*Darkness
*Faith

Extended Metaphor: Bees

Symbol: Our Lady in Chains

True Love

In the end of chapter 11,  Zach gave Lily his dog tags. To me, this is a huge sign of love and care. With this and what he said along with it (they will be together one day) I feel that they will be able to be together. What do you guys think? Will their love overpower all, or will it crumble to the ground with everything around them?

The talk between August and Lily

Hi everyone,

I am excited and nervous for when Lily tells August about who she really is, I don't know what to think about how it will go down though. I feel as though the sisters will be taken aback, but I think they will also be able to understand and accept because they both like Rosaleen and Lily. What are others thoughts?

Marriage

I was happy to see that June finally accepted Neil's proposal, May said they should start to live life in her departure letter, do you think there will be other changes?

Zach

Hi guys,

I was mulling over the though of Zach changing, how he seemed much more angry at the world now and how that is kinda sad. He even admits, "sometimes, Lily, I'm so angry I wanna kill something." What do people think of the fact that Zach is changing or has changed, does anyone feel sad that we may be losing Zach and the part Lily likes?

Could they have prevented Mays death?

I think if they had just followed her or gone sooner they could have saved her they knew something was wrong because she didn't want anyone to follow her so why didn't they stop her sooner? Anyone Agree.

surprised by May's suicide?

As we all know, May committed suicide. I was wondering if it surprised you guys because it didn't surprise me at all. The moment we learned that April committed suicide and that May was really depressed all the time, I knew that it was going to happen at one point in the story. In contrary, did you think she was going to get better and fix her problems or thought she was going to do it?

The symbolize of bee

     Hey,guys.
     In the last 3 paragraph of chapter 10,bees appear over and over.Like bees buzzed around the front-windows screens;my ears were filled with nothing but bee hum;that night is closed my eyes,bee hum ran through my body.What is the connection between May's death and the sound of bees.

Who is to blame?

What set May off differently this time?  Why was this sadness different then all the rest?  Do you think that August or June could have prevented the death from occurring?  August had the feeling something was wrong but waited to long to react.  Why wouldn't someone accompany her to the wall, make sure she is okay?  I know that if someone was really upset then and seemed like they had the capability of killing themselves, I would not leave them alone at a time of sadness.  What do you all think?

June and Lily

What effect do you think May's suicide will have on June and Lily's relationship?

Do you think it will cause June and Lily to come to their senses and give up all the fighting they have been doing, or do you think it will make June even angrier and hateful towards white people thus causing her to hate Lily even more than she already does?

May suicide

Did May killing herself make you kind of mad?

It made me me sort of mad because May has it a lot better than most African Americans, but she still killed herself.

Lily and Zach

Do you think Lily and Zach have releshionp? more then friend? or just friend ?

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ CHAPTER 10 YET!!!!!! (CRAZY THING)

Hello all,

Read only if you finished chapter 10. Before reading chapter 10 I read online by accident that May would die and it would do things so that was spoiled for me so my reaction was suppressed in a way. I was curious what everyone else thought while they read this part.

Aiden Smith

Queen Bee?

Yo folks,

Through these much chapters we have read, who do you guys think is the actual queen bee in August's family? Is it August or is it the Black Mary figure. I thought it would be August, but the Daughters of Mary all went and touch the Black Mary for strength. If the queen bee is Black Mary, August is the actual person that gives instructions and lead the family.

I am pretty confused, what do you think?

Zach...as a love interest?

Hey y'all,
So the last two chapters we read we were introduced to Zach for the first time. Lily seems to have an interest in Zach, and not in a platonic way at all. Please tell me how y'all feel. Do you think these feelings will go anywhere? What might the consequences be? Please give me your feedback.
Until next time,
Mia.Wright

Growth

Throughout these first few chapters, and probably through the rest of the novel, we see a lot of change and growth in Lily. Since running away, she has become aware of the differences, but not flaws in African Americans, seen how pain can completely tear someone apart, became more mature, and so many more. August has a big role in this, but does everyone else in the book. How do you think Lily has grown, and where in the book do you see this growth put into action?

Is it a true forbidden love?

In chapter 7, there was a lot going on between Lily and Zach. They had a connection that the readers could feel just by reading the words on a page. At the end of the chapter, they both agree that a relationship could never happen. I really want this relationship to happen, as I think it is destined to be. Do you think this is a true forbidden love between them, or do you think they will do something and go against the odds? Will they be able to love without fear?

Chapter 6 Question

Hey everyone,

While I was answering discussion questions I thought that number 6 was a very interesting questions that could yield some diverse answers. "If you were Lily, how would you react to June's attitude?" In that situation I would have been very frustrated and aggravated at June for her action and I would be a little confused at why she would not accept me as a person. So what do you guys think?

June's attitude

I just don't like how June treated Lily so badly. Lily wants to join them and be part of their family and share a similar religion, or be part of Daughter of Mary. June just simply rejected her. I just totally don't get what she's doing. Why does she just hate Lily that much?

Lily is mom

why do you think Lily is dad did't tell anything about her mom. and why he  don't like to talk about it?

Whats a message the book represents?

I feel like every book we read it has a message do you think the secret life of bees has a message within it. if so what might be a clear message to the reader. I think it is don't stop what you haven't finished because lily keeps on finding all these symbol's to find out who her mom was and she doesn't stop no madder how far she gets or how endanger-ed she might be.

May's sensitivity

I really like the quote in chapter 5 that said "Would it divide the hurt in two, make it lighter to bear, the way feeling someone's joy seemed to double it?"(page 95)

Feel like May's depression is based on this quote because the twin sisters used to share the same feeling, which makes them feel much better than just carry everything by one person. However, with one of the twins died, the other need to feel the double amount of a specific event than before and half joy as before. Thus making May sensitive and depressed

Lily's knowledge of the world

Lily doesn't fully understand how black people could overcome the barriers of segregation. Lily's only knowledge of a African American is of Rosaleen. Although Lily respects her she sees Rosaleen as a stereotypical African American, at the bottom of the social hierarchy.

The Boatwright sisters and their black friends

Hi everyone,

I was wondering how everyone felt about the religion May, June and August practice. I was also wondering about how people felt when Lily was describing the blacks who were coming into the house for worship, she kept saying that they were dressed much nicer than the Boatwright sisters and we already know the Boatwright sisters are financially well off. Is it that in the town, most of the blacks are treated equally? If not how do they acquire the money they would need to buy such nice clothes?

May and her wall

Hi everyone,

So we all know how sensitive May can be, but what really surprised me was when we found out that May had 1st: built the wall herself and 2nd: written on the peaces of paper...... If we look back on page 80 we see Lily take out a peace of paper and read Birmingham, Sept 15, four little ones dead. This only leads me to wonder what that means, and if May can feel more pain that is just brought up or shown in the house.

Lily v.s. June

June and Lily have not seemed to see eye to eye.  June is really striving to kick Lily out of the house.  Do you think she ever will kick Lily out?  Do you think that she will eventually come to like Lily and Lily stays? I can't decide on what will happen and just curious to see what y'all thought. 

If you have any other opinions about what might happen other than the two scenarios I put, then please share.

The religious Ceremony


Do you think that Lily wanted to touch the statue because she wants to put faith and maybe putting faith will help her find her mother?

Quetion

I know that August knows Lily's lying, but why doesn't she ever hint towards it and try to get the truth out of her.  She never hints towards Roseleen either

!!!!!August!!!!

   Has any one else noticed that when August was on the porch talking, she doesn't agree to kick Lily out of the house. Why is August being so nice to lily when she already knows she is telling lies? Maybe August knows her mother, but she is so mysterious in that chapter.

Rosaleen Vs. Lily

Does anyone agree that there might have been a character vs character with Rosaleen and lily before they went to the farm how Rosaleen got mad at here because Rosaleen felt left out when lily said she was going to run away for herself and then Rosaleen got mad at lily because she thought lily was doing this for herself and left to go to the lake.

Lily Owens and Walden Pond

Excerpt from Walden by Henry David Thoreau:



[15]    We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour. If we refused, or rather used up, such paltry information as we get, the oracles would distinctly inform us how this might be done. 

[16]    I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, whether it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to "glorify God and enjoy him forever."(17)

Chapter 6 question!!!!

Good evening guys:
     In the end of Chapter 6,Lily thinks about the dream that how the moon had cracked to pieces.Why she has such a dream.Does that dream indicate something?Maybe it is a foreshadowing but I don't know what it means.How do you think about it?

June is mean!

Hey y'all,

To start of my post I want to state the absolute truth, June is so mean to Lily! I personally when I read chapter six became infuriated because of June's actions toward Lily. Lily was about to have a touching moment with "The Lady in Chains" and June ruins it by discontinuing her cello playing. Maybe I'm wrong to be so angry. What do y'all think? Do you think June is acting so mean as a sort of defense? Please post your thoughts and comments below. Until next time, \
Mia.Wright

T Ray vs May

On page 96, Lily says, "The last thing I wanted to be like that [May's behavior], but I didn't want to be like T Ray either, immune to everything but his own selfish life. I didn't know which was worse."

What do you think is worse, feeling everybody's pain or feeling no pain but your own?

Chapter 5 question

         Hey guys~when I read Chapter 5,I found something that really confuse me a lot.
         In page 87,Lily says that she had never known that this was possible-to reject people for being white.From this psychological description,I learn that she always think that white people should never be discriminated.From her deep heart ,she thinks that the white people are greater than the black. Although she says that she likes to live with black people by appearance,she still has a little bit discrimination to the black people.Maybe she even didn't realize it.How do you guys think about this point?

Why do you think May is so distraught about the African American man in Georgia being shot;
Lily says she has never seen May so upset.

Put Yourself in Their Position

Hey fellow bee reading people,

     With tonight's homework, one question with Chapter 5's questions really got me thinking. Number 5 asks, "What does Lily mean "Since Mr. Johnson signed the law, it was like somebody had ripped the seams right out of American life."
     I understand this use of figurative language as that the law completely changed the function of Americans. They weren't used to having to give respect to blacks, and the passing of the law changed their way of living. If you were in the position, do you think that you would be able to change your actions, or would struggle to respect blacks as well. Would your life be torn apart and what do you think this quote means?

racism with June

What do you think about June being racist towards lily and not wanting her in the house with them? Do you think June will end up liking lily or not?

Mr. Johnson quote

In the quote "since Mr. Johnson signed the law, it was like somebody had ripped the seams right out of American life."
I think that the seams are a metaphor for the laws that keep America in order, so when these new laws  are signed it causes social upheaval.

Boatwright's House

While I was reading the past few chapters I got a feeling about the Boatwright's home. I felt like and still feel that the house is going to become a very important place where most of the book will take place. Like, the same exact Virgin Mary pictures on the honey jars and Lily's could be just a coincidence. y question to you all is what do you think about the Boatwright's house, will it be significant or is it just a temporary setting?

Class discussion-August/June/May/Rosaleen

In our class discussion today, we talk about the differences between August, June and May. 

We found that August is the kind of well educated, calm, queen-bee figure while June is kind of aggressive, always kind of angry and feel not that welcome toward Lily and Rosaleen. Beware of the up coming quote from June saying something like "She is white" (According to Ms. Farmer) and what does it mean when she said that. 

At the same time, May has a twin sister, who died couple years ago, which make her cried a lot easily.

They all have different characteristics from Rosaleen, who worked for a white family and stayed with Lily for a long time. Also, we think that Rosaleen is more of a friend than mother-figure to Lily when she met August, and August is more like a mother-figure to her. What do the other class think about this? Agree? Disagree?

More Modern Day Civil Rights

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/05/04/476794234/justice-department-says-north-carolina-bathroom-law-violates-civil-rights


Please click on this link and read the following article.  What do you think of this modern day civil rights argument between North Carolina and the Federal Government concerning Transgender individuals and bathrooms?  Is this argument and discrimination similar to that of the discrimination we have been discussing from the sixties?  How? or Why/why not? Let's discuss.

Tiburon and the Boatwrights

Lily doesn't have a mom, so Rosaleen is the mother in her life. Then Lily goes to Tiburon where she is surrounded by other females. Now that she is receiving more attention, from the Boatwrights, how do you think this will affect her development?

Rosalie's Behavior

Hey guys,

I was wondering what you think about Rosalie's behavior towards the white men, specifically when she pours the snuff jar on them and then refuses to apologize. Do you think her actions were justified, or did she go too far?

Bees opinions

About , It is talking about the Lily find her mom's marks, she become peaceful. In this small farm. She is trying to be a normal girl that who just travel to here, not that girl who killed her mom. August is a really kind woman, her sisters are also really friendly to Lily and Rosleen, they become a part of this bee factory. Lily lied to August but she tried to find the connection between her mom and herself.

I feel Lily believe religion, she put a bit hope on Virgin Mary.
I believe Lily is not racist because she feel comfortable to stay with Rosaleen.

I believe in this farm, Lily can find her own piece.

Question

Lily lies a ton even on little things that wouldn't matter. Is that a good trait for her or will it eventually be a bad trait for her?

Question!

Hey,
I have a question, it's on Chapter 3:

4. Lily seems to always be looking for a sign to guid her. Is this a demonstration of faith, superstition, or childish thinking?

I think that Lily's action of looking for sign is a demonstration of faith and childish thinking. Because she didn't live with her parents when she was young, so that didn't learn too much about the experience about the society. But I'm not sure about that.

What do you think about it?

Hi everyone!

We know that when lily leaves, T-ray looks for her. Do you think that he is still looking or that he thinks they will never come back? I have so many questions about T-ray because we don't hear about much about him after lily leaves. 

The lies that Lily tells

Hi everyone,

What do people think about the lies Lily is telling her hosts? Do you think she will tell them in the end, and if so how do you think they will receive the real truth?

Mother search

It is known that Lily has this obsession with finding the truth about her mom.  Although I am curious about what she will end up finding, or if she will find anything at all.  I wanted to know what you all thought?  Also, what if what she finds out is bad and against what she believed? How do you think she will handle it, and wouldn't that kind of mean that this whole journey was a waste?

Just wondering what y'all thought :)

First Post!

Hey y'all,
We've been reading The Secret Life of Bees, and I'm interested to hear your views on it. So far we have learned about Lily, the young protagonist with a want to fit in and a troubled past.
Here are a few questions for y'all if wanted:

1.) Will Lily's lying ever catch up to her? What consequences will she face?


2.) Do you believe Lily is racist? If so, how racist?

3.) What do some of the preludes of the chapter about the bees foreshadow to?


I would be so happy to see any answer to these questions. Until next time....
Mia.Wright

!!!!Bees!!!!!

         Hey everyone, what is the meaning of the bees and how they relate to Lily?  Sue Monk Kidd started of by telling us what the bees did in Lily room but why is it so significant? Ms. Farmer even made us do a presentation about bees!!!
     I think Lily likes the bees because she said in Sylvan ( her home town )that she felt Deborah's (her mother) presents when the bees enter the room. I also think that Lily needs a Mother figure in order to function, just like the bees. Lily wouldn't have run away if her mom was there.
      There will probably be more on the bees later in the book.
                            ??????? Any thoughts??????

Where the journey is heading

I keep thinking to myself, how long this journey will last?  Lily has ran away from home, got a prisoner out of jail but yet no one is searching for them.  I was wondering what your opinion was about how long and how far they will take this journey?

Chapter 4 Question!!!

Hey guys,

I was doing the homework last night and this question seems really weird to me:

6. Why does Lily think that the figurine is the Virgin Mary?

And the book goes like this :
"Even though she wasn't dressed up like Mary and didn't resemble the picture on the honey jar, I knew that's who she was" (Page 70)

All I could think about is Lily can feel the religious power that' is within the Black Mary.
What do you guys think?

video

This is a trailer for the Bees movie. I thought it would be fairly interesting.

Welcome to Your Bees Blog!

Hi All,

For our final unit we will be reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, and responding here on the blog.  This blog will serve three functions:

1) We will all be able to engage in one big conversation about the novel, much like we did for Catcher in the Rye, but every freshman's voice will be heard here no matter the class.

2) This forum will allow us to continue to read and respond even when we are away from class.

3) This will serve as a way to evaluate reading as a supplement to quizzes

The blog is a place to break down the barrier between classes and all learn from each other.  Think of it as the great online conversation!

Assignment: You will be required to write an original post on the blog at least three times a week and respond to at least two of your classmates posts a week.

Follow the rules and regulations outlined in the "Bloggers Contract"

And above all enjoy the novel and the conversation you create!