Summer Reading Program

Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Our 2013 summer reading will be Pulitzer prize-winning author Katherine Boo’s notable book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, a work of narrative nonfiction describing life in Annawadi, a poor settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport in India. There is an excellent reader's guide available that contains questions for you to ponder as you read this book.

The summer reading program at Eckerd College is designed to build community and to help you to think about the connections between your life and the lives of others. We are also thrilled to announce that we have arranged for Katherine Boo to visit campus. You'll see her in person when she delivers a lecture about her book in September. You will thus have the unique opportunity to engage Boo about the book and interact with her about this reading. Boo will also give a public lecture to the entire Eckerd community during her visit to our college.

During the first two weeks of the fall semester you will complete a writing assignment on Behind the Beautiful Forevers. The questions in the reader's guide should help you to focus on some of the key issues in the book, which we will all be discussing in class and writing about in September. This fall writing assignment will build on the opportunities for you to engage in our writing excellence program during Autumn Term. So, please arrive at Eckerd College having read and thought about Boo’s captivating book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, in order to excel in one of your first college writing assignments. Go out and get your copy of the book and happy reading!

Random House Reader's Guide

About the Author:

Katherine Boo is a staff writer at The New Yorker and a former reporter and editor for The Washington Post. Her reporting has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize, a MacArthur “Genius” grant, and a National magazine Award for Feature Writing. For the last decade, she has divided her time between the United States and India. Behind the Beautiful Forevers won the 2012 National Book Award for nonfiction. Boo is a graduate of Barnard College.