The Bees: Review

THE BEES by Laline Paull, published in 2015 through Harper Collins Publishing.  This book is about bees, but more importantly a mutant in the bee world, Flora 717. It has been likened to a dystopian society, in the bee form. Now as an apiarist I had to suspend belief, there are certain liberties and things that just cannot happen in the real bee world, besides the obvious bees chanting prayers, tablets of predictions. Our hero or mutant is inquisitive breaking boundries established in the bee realm, doing many jobs such as cleaner, baby sitter, forager and egg layer. She is in cahoots with a drone and pretty much does whatever she pleases, saying it is for the good of the hive, but is it really.

At my book club, I explained that there were many truths in the story, there are bees that have specific jobs, not as specific as those indicated in the book. There are foragers, queens attendants, drones, protectors and maintenance hive bees. I have seen bees carry out the dead bees, especially on a warm day in winter. I have been attacked by the sentry , whose job is to get me away from the hive. I have watched bees who have gotten lost from the hive die. The bees do have the problems discussed in the book: pesticides, brood disease, attacks by mites, moths and other bees.

In other words this is a book that brings to attention the problems we face with our bee culture and its demise. It is a book about societies clinging to false notions and not moving forward with the times. There are also biases against those that are different and how to overcome the barriers placed in our way.
Not a bad book. Please be careful in your gardens and try not to use pesticides, it is okay to have spots.

Waiting to review The Bees

I am waiting for the return of my book, so that I can review the book THE BEES by Laline Paull. It was my book club choice for October. I had a good time putting bee related items around the house and using honey in most of my foods. Even made a bee cake. The book does not come with questions at the end like most books do now a days, so I had to cobble some questions together. Our next book for book club will be THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS.
 but hurts 
I am still reading DON QUIXOTE, and that seems to be taking some extra time. Small print does not help, but if it was not for the small print this book would be in two volumes. Not that I condone book burning, but the scene where they are trying to decide what books should be burned is pretty funny, especially when one of Cervantes books is up for the offering to the fire. Good book so far, but hurts the eyes reading it.

Winter: review

WINTER by Marissa Meyer, the last book in the series that started with CINDER, SCARLET and CRESS. I have to say this is not my favorite book in the series. I kept wanting to move along, it felt slower.  I was also not happy with the ending not sure why, it felt unfinished, but maybe that is what we were supposed to feel. Liked the first book and then felt my enthusiasm draining with the other books. It is a lovely series, just wanted it to end sooner than it did. But I am an adult and this was written for a younger audience.

Started Don Quixote

Okay, I just started reading Don Quixote and so far I love it. That is of course only reading the prologue. The favorite part of that is that it encompasses my whole feeling about the books I have been reading where author's have to put in works or references to other writers, foreign languages abound in a kind of scripted way writers are supposed to make a work of art. He laments in this prologue that his book has none of this and who would consider this a work of art without those things. His friend comes in and says oh well for the foreign language just add lines like these and for the references , if you talk about a giant then reference Goliath and continues for several more things the author can do to get the format of the other authors.

It is hilarious just because he adds this just to get in those things out of the way. I loved it. Now I have not read the entire book, so maybe he does add some more, but to me he just summed up in writing my feelings about what people consider a good writer or author. My daughter tells me I will not be disappointed in reading this book.

Happy Reading

Undaunted

I am in the midst of several books, I think because I really do not want to start reading Les Miserables, Don Quixote or In Search for Lost Time. I am reading my book club selection, The Bees by Laline Paull. I am also trying to finish up a Judicial Hall by Laurie King, which is a series about Sherlock Homes and Mary Russell. In addition I am trying to finish the series by Marissa Meyer and am almost through Winter.

Having said all that I have started In Search for Lost Time, but keep getting lost in the book, I need to view it on a bigger screen as my phone just makes it seem daunting. I keep looking at the bottom to see how much more I have to go and find I have not made it even 1% finished. I did pick up both Don Quixote and Les Miserables at the library, so they are in my possession. Once I finish them I think I will only have a couple of more books to scrutinize, both of these are books I picked up once before and did not finish for one reason or another. Hopefully, I will be through before the end of the year, but I am thinking we are going to be rolling into 2017.

Happy reading.